Max Lucado Daily: We Can Fear Less
In Luke 24:38, Jesus asks, "Why are you frightened? Why are your hearts filled with doubt?" Jesus doesn't want you to live in a state of fear.
Nor do you. You've never made statements like these: Thank God for my pessimism. I've been such a better person since I lost hope. Or, My doctor says if I don't begin fretting, I'll lose my health. We've learned the high cost of fear. If we medicate fear with angry outbursts, drinking binges, sullen withdrawals, or viselike control, we exclude God from the solution and exacerbate the problem.
Hysteria isn't from God. Scripture says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear" (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear may fill our world, but it doesn't have to fill our hearts. It will always knock on the door. Just don't invite it in.
The promise of Christ is simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today!
From Fearless
Jeremiah 49
You’re a Broken-Down Has-Been
1-6 God’s Message on the Ammonites:
“Doesn’t Israel have any children,
no one to step into her inheritance?
So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad’s land,
his followers moving into its towns?
But not for long! The time’s coming”
—God’s Decree—
“When I’ll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon’s big city,
with battle cries.
She’ll end up a pile of rubble,
all her towns burned to the ground.
Then Israel will kick out the invaders.
I, God, say so, and it will be so.
Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins.
Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands!
Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears.
Go into hysterics, run around in circles!
Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile,
and all his priests and managers right with him.
Why do you brag of your once-famous strength?
You’re a broken-down has-been, a castoff
Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days
and vainly thinks, ‘No one can lay a hand on me.’
Well, think again. I’ll face you with terror from all sides.”
Word of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“You’ll be stampeded headlong,
with no one to round up the runaways.
Still, the time will come
when I will make things right with Ammon.” God’s Decree.
Strutting Across the Stage of History
7-11 The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom:
“Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman?
no one with a sense of reality?
Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten?
Run for your lives! Get out while you can!
Find a good place to hide,
you who live in Dedan!
I’m bringing doom to Esau.
It’s time to settle accounts.
When harvesters work your fields,
don’t they leave gleanings?
When burglars break into your house,
don’t they take only what they want?
But I’ll strip Esau clean.
I’ll search out every nook and cranny.
I’ll destroy everything connected with him,
children and relatives and neighbors.
There’ll be no one left who will be able to say,
‘I’ll take care of your orphans.
Your widows can depend on me.’”
12-13 Indeed. God says, “I tell you, if there are people who have to drink the cup of God’s wrath even though they don’t deserve it, why would you think you’d get off? You won’t get off. You’ll drink it. Oh yes, you’ll drink every drop. And as for Bozrah, your capital, I swear by all that I am”—God’s Decree—“that that city will end up a pile of charred ruins, a stinking garbage dump, an obscenity—and all her daughter-cities with her.”
14 I’ve just heard the latest from God.
He’s sent an envoy to the nations:
“Muster your troops and attack Edom.
Present arms! Go to war!”
15-16 “Ah, Edom, I’m dropping you to last place among nations,
the bottom of the heap, kicked around.
You think you’re so great—
strutting across the stage of history,
Living high in the impregnable rocks,
acting like king of the mountain.
You think you’re above it all, don’t you,
like an eagle in its aerie?
Well, you’re headed for a fall.
I’ll bring you crashing to the ground.” God’s Decree.
17-18 “Edom will end up trash. Stinking, despicable trash. A wonder of the world in reverse. She’ll join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors in the sewers of history.” God says so.
“No one will live there,
no mortal soul move in there.
19 “Watch this: Like a lion coming up
from the thick jungle of the Jordan
Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,
I will come upon Edom and pounce.
I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?
The shepherds of Edom are helpless before me.”
20-22 So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Edom, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for those who live in Teman:
“Believe it or not, the young, the vulnerable—
mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.
Believe it or not, the flock
in shock, helpless to help, will watch it happen.
The very earth will shudder because of their cries,
cries of anguish heard at the distant Red Sea.
Look! An eagle soars, swoops down,
spreads its wings over Bozrah.
Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight,
like a woman giving birth to a baby.”
The Blood Will Drain from the Face of Damascus
23-27 The Message on Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad will be in shock
when they hear the bad news.
Their hearts will melt in fear
as they pace back and forth in worry.
The blood will drain from the face of Damascus
as she turns to flee.
Hysterical, she’ll fall to pieces,
disabled, like a woman in childbirth.
And now how lonely—bereft, abandoned!
The once famous city, the once happy city.
Her bright young men dead in the streets,
her brave warriors silent as death.
On that day”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—
“I’ll start a fire at the wall of Damascus
that will burn down all of Ben-hadad’s forts.”
Find a Safe Place to Hide
28-33 The Message on Kedar and the sheikdoms of Hazor who were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This is God’s Message:
“On your feet! Attack Kedar!
Plunder the Bedouin nomads from the east.
Grab their blankets and pots and pans.
Steal their camels.
Traumatize them, shouting, ‘Terror! Death! Doom!
Danger everywhere!’
Oh, run for your lives,
You nomads from Hazor.” God’s Decree.
“Find a safe place to hide.
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has plans to wipe you out,
to go after you with a vengeance:
‘After them,’ he says. ‘Go after these relaxed nomads
who live free and easy in the desert,
Who live in the open with no doors to lock,
who live off by themselves.’
Their camels are there for the taking,
their herds and flocks, easy picking.
I’ll scatter them to the four winds,
these defenseless nomads on the fringes of the desert.
I’ll bring terror from every direction.
They won’t know what hit them.” God’s Decree.
“Jackals will take over the camps of Hazor,
camps abandoned to wind and sand.
No one will live there,
no mortal soul move in there.”
The Winds Will Blow Away Elam
34-39 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah on Elam at the outset of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says:
“Watch this! I’ll break Elam’s bow,
her weapon of choice, across my knee.
Then I’ll let four winds loose on Elam,
winds from the four corners of earth.
I’ll blow them away in all directions,
landing homeless Elamites in every country on earth.
They’ll live in constant fear and terror
among enemies who want to kill them.
I’ll bring doom on them,
my anger-fueled doom.
I’ll set murderous hounds on their heels
until there’s nothing left of them.
And then I’ll set up my throne in Elam,
having thrown out the king and his henchmen.
But the time will come when I make
everything right for Elam again.” God’s Decree.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Read: Luke 8:1–8
1-3 He continued according to plan, traveled to town after town, village after village, preaching God’s kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager; and Susanna—along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.
The Story of the Seeds
4-8 As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn’t have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
INSIGHT:
Jesus honored a sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, wiped them dry with her hair, and then poured out an expensive flask of perfume on His feet (Luke 7:36–50). Assuring the woman that her sins were forgiven, Jesus tells disgusted religious leaders that she is an example of one who having been forgiven much loves all the more (v. 47). It is in this context that we read that some women who had been cured of evil spirits and various diseases traveled with Jesus to support Him and His disciples out of their own means. Maybe we can ask ourselves: What grace and mercy have we received that gives us reason to give attention, respect, comfort, and encouragement to others?
Look What Jesus Has Done
By Anne Cetas
See that you . . . excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7
The little boy was only eight when he announced to his parents’ friend Wally, “I love Jesus and want to serve God overseas someday.” During the next ten years or so, Wally prayed for him as he watched him grow up. When this young man later applied with a mission agency to go to Mali, Wally told him, “It’s about time! When I heard what you wanted to do, I invested some money and have been saving it for you, waiting for this exciting news.” Wally has a heart for others and for getting God’s good news to people.
Jesus and His disciples needed financial support as they traveled from one town and village to another, telling the good news of His kingdom (Luke 8:1–3). A group of women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases helped to support them “out of their own means” (v. 3). One was Mary Magdalene, who had been freed from the presence of seven demons. Another was Joanna, the wife of an official in Herod’s court. Nothing is known about Susanna and “many others” (v. 3), but we know that Jesus had met their spiritual needs. Now they were helping Him and His disciples through giving their financial resources.
Tell someone the story of what Jesus has done for you.
When we consider what Jesus has done for us, His heart for others becomes our own. Let’s ask God how He wants to use us.
How might you be a part of getting the good news of salvation to people in your neighborhood and around the world? Tell someone the story of what Jesus has done for you. Write a note of encouragement to someone. Share a gift with a missionary. Pray.
Jesus gave His all; He deserves our all.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Are You Listening to God?
They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19
We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L