Max Lucado Daily: BE STILL
Jesus taught us to pray with reverence when he modeled for us, “Hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). His phrase is a petition, not a proclamation. A request, not an announcement. Be hallowed, Lord. Do whatever it takes to be holy in my life. Exalt yourself. Glorify yourself. You be Lord, and I will be quiet.
The psalm that says, “Be still and know that I am God” contains a command with a promise (Psalm 46:10). The command? Be still. Cover your mouth. Bend your knees. The promise? You will know that I am God.
In the midst of your family storms, and in this storm that has swept over our country and the entire world, make it a point to be still and set your sights on him. Let God be God. Be open and willing. Allow God to be hallowed– holy in your life.
From God is With You Every Day
Acts 28
1-2 Once everyone was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it.
3-6 Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its torpor by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul’s hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer getting his just deserts. Paul shook the snake off into the fire, none the worse for wear. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god!
7-9 The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius’s father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man’s room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed.
Rome
10-11 We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that had wintered there in the harbor prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: “the Heavenly Twins.”
12-14 We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week.
14-16 And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him.
17-20 Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, “The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We’ve had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I’m on Israel’s side, not against her. I’m a hostage here for hope, not doom.”
21-22 They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”
23 They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.
24-27 Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and tell them this:
“You’re going to listen with your ears,
but you won’t hear a word;
You’re going to stare with your eyes,
but you won’t see a thing.
These people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won’t have to look,
so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.”
28 “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”
30-31 Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Read: Psalm 100
A Thanksgiving Psalm
1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
INSIGHT:
Many scholars believe Psalm 100 was sung at Israel’s festivals and possibly in connection with a thank offering. It likely functioned as a liturgical conclusion to Psalms 96–99, which proclaim Yahweh’s kingship.
Each of the psalms in this section extols one attribute of God and then leads God’s people to worship Him in light of this attribute. Psalm 96 praises the Lord for His righteous judgment; He will not allow evil and injustice to reign forever. Psalm 97 praises God that He is sovereign, Psalm 98 praises Him for His salvation, and Psalm 99 for His holiness.
Together, Psalms 96–100 construct a movement of praise that culminates with a call for the whole earth to sing praise to God—the sovereign, holy, and righteous One who will judge the earth. How can you express praise today for God's faithfulness that will bear witness for future generations?
Long Shadows
By Joe Stowell
The Lord is good and his love . . . continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5
Several years ago, my wife and I stayed in a rustic bed-and-breakfast in the remote Yorkshire Dales of England. We were there with four other couples, all British, whom we had never met before. Sitting in the living room with our after-dinner coffees, the conversation turned to occupations with the question “What do you do?” At the time I was serving as the president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and I assumed that no one there knew of MBI or its founder, D. L. Moody. When I mentioned the name of the school, their response was immediate and surprising. “Of Moody and Sankey . . . that Moody?” Another guest added, “We have a Sankey hymnal and our family often gathers around the piano to sing from it.” I was amazed! The evangelist Dwight Moody and his musician Ira Sankey had held meetings in the British Isles more than 120 years ago, and their influence was still being felt.
I left the room that night thinking of the ways our lives can cast long shadows of influence for God—a praying mother’s influence on her children, an encouraging coworker’s words, the support and challenge of a teacher or a mentor, the loving but corrective words of a friend. It’s a high privilege to play a role in the wonderful promise that “His love . . . continues through all generations” (Ps. 100:5).
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Lord, help us to remember that while our lives are short, what we do for You now can have an impact long after we are home with You. Lead me today to invest in the lives of others.
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
“It Is the Lord!”
Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28
“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him. Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Falling Down Is Not Final - #7833
We knew our grandson was about to learn to walk. He was showing all the signs. He'd been crawling. He'd been pulling himself up to a couch or a table. And he would just laugh when one of us took him by the arms and, you know, let him walk step by step in front of us. And then one day he tried it by himself. And you know how he learned to walk? Same way I did, the same way you did. Step-boom! And when he fell, he had a couple of choices. He could have just laid there and said to himself, "That's it! I tried to walk. I'm not cut out for this. I failed." Can you imagine? So, let's say he is 18 years old still lying there in the middle of the living room! His mother is vacuuming around him. His friends are rolling into his room with him. That's not what he did. He did what every other baby has always done. He got up. And he went step, step-boom! Then step, step, step-boom! And he learned to walk pretty well because he got up when he fell down!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Falling Down Is Not Final."
Our word for today from the Word of God talks about falling down and getting up! Here's Proverbs 24:16, "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." Notice, it doesn't say the righteous man never falls down. It says he doesn't stay down! He gets up again and he keeps on walking, which may be exactly what you need to do right now.
Maybe you've been trying to walk spiritually, but you've been falling down. The old sin, the old temptation, the old weakness, the old you has reared its ugly head again. You made a promise to God, and you've broken it. You made a spiritual commitment to change, and you're back to where you were. In some way, you've let God down, you've let yourself down. And you're pretty discouraged.
If you've ever been on a diet and blown it (said the voice of experience), you know how this goes. You've been a real good boy or girl for a couple of weeks-just celery and water. Then one night you slip and have a few French fries. And you say, "Oh no! I blew it! Oh well, what's the use?" And you decide to wash down the French fries with a milk shake. Yeah! Followed by a box of doughnuts. Now, you could have stopped with one slip, but you allowed one failure to become many failures.
That is exactly the pattern Satan uses to make you stay down when you fall down spiritually. You say, "What's the use? I tried to walk the Jesus way, but I blew it. I might as well just keep messing up now." That's not God leading you that way. That's the devil. God says, "Forget the things that are behind." The devil says, "Focus on the past. Focus on your failures." His goal is to turn one failure into many. But the only way his tactic will work is if you let it.
God says the righteous man "rises again". Yes, you went step-boom. But the only people who never fall down are those who never try to walk! Don't stay down! Tomorrow is a brand new day. His mercies, the Bible says, "are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23). Don't let a spiritual failure last longer than one day!
Don't focus on your failures. Focus on the mighty promise of God from Jude 24. "He is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy." If you went step-boom, would you do what every baby learning to walk has done? Get up and start walking again.
Because of Jesus, no failure has to be final.