Max Lucado Daily: WHAT YOU NEEDED MOST
God is enough. Isn’t this the message of Moses and Joshua and the journey to the Promised Land? Who opened the Jordan River? Who led the people across on dry ground? Who appeared to encourage Joshua? Who brought down the Jericho walls? Who fought for and delivered the people? God!
He cared for his people. Even in the wilderness they never went without provision. He gave them not just food but clothing and good health. Moses once reminded the Hebrews, “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years” (Deuteronomy 8:4 NIV).
The following phrases were never heard in the wilderness: Oh, bummer, my robe has another rip in it…or…. Hey, new sandals. Where did you get them? There was no want for food; no need for clothing. God provided for them. And God has promised to provide you.
From God is With You Every Day
Jeremiah 35
Meeting in God’s Temple
The Message that Jeremiah received from God ten years earlier, during the time of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Israel:
2 “Go visit the Recabite community. Invite them to meet with you in one of the rooms in God’s Temple. And serve them wine.”
3-4 So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, along with all his brothers and sons—the whole community of the Recabites as it turned out—and brought them to God’s Temple and to the meeting room of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was next to the meeting room of the Temple officials and just over the apartment of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who was in charge of Temple affairs.
5 Then I set out chalices and pitchers of wine for the Recabites and said, “A toast! Drink up!”
6-7 But they wouldn’t do it. “We don’t drink wine,” they said. “Our ancestor Jonadab son of Recab commanded us, ‘You are not to drink wine, you or your children, ever. Neither shall you build houses or settle down, planting fields and gardens and vineyards. Don’t own property. Live in tents as nomads so that you will live well and prosper in a wandering life.’
8-10 “And we’ve done it, done everything Jonadab son of Recab commanded. We and our wives, our sons and daughters, drink no wine at all. We don’t build houses. We don’t have vineyards or fields or gardens. We live in tents as nomads. We’ve listened to our ancestor Jonadab and we’ve done everything he commanded us.
11 “But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded our land, we said, ‘Let’s go to Jerusalem and get out of the path of the Chaldean and Aramean armies, find ourselves a safe place.’ That’s why we’re living in Jerusalem right now.”
Why Won’t You Learn Your Lesson?
12-15 Then Jeremiah received this Message from God: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, wants you to go tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem that I say, ‘Why won’t you learn your lesson and do what I tell you?’ God’s Decree. ‘The commands of Jonadab son of Recab to his sons have been carried out to the letter. He told them not to drink wine, and they haven’t touched a drop to this very day. They honored and obeyed their ancestor’s command. But look at you! I have gone to a lot of trouble to get your attention, and you’ve ignored me. I sent prophet after prophet to you, all of them my servants, to tell you from early morning to late at night to change your life, make a clean break with your evil past and do what is right, to not take up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry of a god that comes down the pike, but settle down and be faithful in this country I gave your ancestors.
15-16 “‘And what do I get from you? Deaf ears. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab carried out to the letter what their ancestor commanded them, but this people ignores me.’
17 “So here’s what is going to happen. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘I will bring calamity down on the heads of the people of Judah and Jerusalem—the very calamity I warned you was coming—because you turned a deaf ear when I spoke, turned your backs when I called.’”
18-19 Then, turning to the Recabite community, Jeremiah said, “And this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says to you: Because you have done what Jonadab your ancestor told you, obeyed his commands and followed through on his instructions, receive this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab at my service! Always!’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Read: Colossians 1:15–20
Christ Holds It All Together
We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
INSIGHT:
Some experts in New Testament studies suspect that the poetic structure and inspiring thoughts of Colossians 1:15–20 reflect the lyrics of a first-century song of worship. Paul must have often sung about Jesus, the Peacemaker who changed his life by returning good for evil when He bore the sins of the world. Do you have anyone you would consider an enemy? If so, you probably know why Jesus’s example stands in such contrast to our normal human inclinations. The God who created and sustains the cosmos is the same God who chose to reconcile Himself to His enemies. Rather than turning on those who had done such evil to Him, our resurrected Creator reached out to say, I still love you. Come to me. Trust me, and I will forgive you and adopt you into my eternal family.
The Talking Tree
By Dennis Fisher
"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24
One of the earliest Christian poems in English literature is “The Dream of the Rood.” The word rood comes from the Old English word rod or pole and refers to the cross on which Christ was crucified. In this ancient poem the crucifixion story is retold from the perspective of the cross. When the tree learns that it is to be used to kill the Son of God, it rejects the idea of being used in this way. But Christ enlists the help of the tree to provide redemption for all who will believe.
In the garden of Eden, a tree was the source of the forbidden fruit that our spiritual parents tasted, causing sin to enter the human race. And when the Son of God shed His blood as the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity’s sin, He was nailed to a tree on our behalf. Christ “bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).
The cross is the turning point for all who trust Christ for salvation.
The cross is the turning point for all who trust Christ for salvation. And ever since the crucifixion, it has become a remarkable symbol that represents the sacrificial death of the Son of God for our deliverance from sin and death. The cross is the inexpressibly wonderful evidence of God’s love for us.
Lord, may my heart give You praise whenever I see a cross, for You gave Yourself for me in love.
Christ gave His life on the tree for our salvation.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Do You See Your Calling?
…separated to the gospel of God… —Romans 1:1
Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell— it is redemption. The need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that redemption is the only reality. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, not the cause of it. If we place our faith in human goodness we will go under when testing comes.
Paul did not say that he separated himself, but “when it pleased God, who separated me…” (Galatians 1:15). Paul was not overly interested in his own character. And as long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. “Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes.” To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Intel and Intelligent Choices - #7842
Twice in a little over a decade, Saddam Hussein's Iraq was the focus of a war involving American and other coalition forces, as you know. Operation Iraqi Freedom, the second Gulf War, turned out to be much quicker than anyone could have imagined. You might remember, Saddam Hussein was toppled from power and ultimately captured. But that didn't stop critics from calling into question the intelligence that led to the decision to send troops to Iraq. The absence of the expected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction brought a widespread outcry for an investigation into how American intelligence missed what appeared to be the real situation. The battle kind of goes on and even today it's brought up. Well, you know this is nothing new. It's always been important for a country to have reliable intelligence information before they venture into battle. A lot of important decisions are made based upon the reports from intelligence.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Intel and Intelligent Choices."
Of course, good intelligence isn't just important when war is a possibility. It's important in many decisions you and I have to make. But all too often, don't you think we charge ahead with not enough Intel? We usually end up paying for it.
There's an enlightening example of how to make "no regrets" decisions in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Numbers 13:1, as God's people near the border of the land that God has promised to them. The Bible says, "The Lord said to Moses, ‘Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.'" That's interesting in light of the fact that God has told them He is going to give them that land. The outcome is certain, as long as they obey Him. But still, He says, "I want you to scout it out before you go in."
In fact, Moses gives his scouts a checklist of at least seven specific things he wants them to check out before he leads the people in: the number of people there, the strength of the Canaanites, the quality of the land, the kind of fortifications there, the condition of the soil, the trees, the fruit in the land. The victory was guaranteed, but that was no excuse for not scouting out what was ahead.
I wrote three words in my Bible next to these verses – do your homework! And that's usually God's way. Research before you run ahead. Explore before you proceed. Many times what seems like the mystery of what God's will is, is significantly clarified by just getting all the facts. Following the Spirit's leadership doesn't just mean being impulsive. The facts won't answer every question about what to do. No. But, remember, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). But God will often use the facts to point you in the direction He's leading. But, of course, He'll always leave the need for faith in the equation.
In Proverbs 15:22, God gives this practical advice about decision-making, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." And then, Jesus gave another important piece of intelligence you need to scout out. "First sit down and estimate the cost" (Luke 14:28). Draw out the lines and see what this will cost you – money, reputation, a relationship, other priorities, and your closeness to God.
If you're rushing to judgment, you'll likely make a decision you will ultimately regret, because you didn't take time for your due diligence in scouting the land before you went charging in. That kind of impatience, that kind of impulsiveness can lead you to a terrible mistake – the wrong job, the wrong school, the wrong man or woman.
Good intelligence leads to good decisions. Failure to scout out the facts leads to bad decisions that often allow no do-overs.