Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS NOT FINISHED YET
Some years ago a Rottweiler attacked our golden retriever puppy at a kennel. The animal climbed out of its run and into Molly’s and nearly killed her. I wrote a letter to the dog’s owner, urging him to put the dog to sleep. But when I showed the letter to the kennel owner, she begged me to reconsider. “What the dog did was horrible, but I’m still training him. I’m not finished with him yet.”
God would say the same about the Rottweiler who attacked you. What he did was unacceptable, inexcusable, but I’m not finished yet. Your enemies still figure into God’s plan. Their pulse is proof. God hasn’t given up on them. They may be out of His will, but not out of His reach. You honor God when you see them, not as His failures, but as His projects!
From Facing Your Giants
Revelation 7
The Servants of God
Immediately I saw Four Angels standing at the four corners of earth, standing steady with a firm grip on the four winds so no wind would blow on earth or sea, not even rustle a tree.
2-3 Then I saw another Angel rising from where the sun rose, carrying the seal of the Living God. He thundered to the Four Angels assigned the task of hurting earth and sea, “Don’t hurt the earth! Don’t hurt the sea! Don’t so much as hurt a tree until I’ve sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!”
4-8 I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel: 12,000 sealed from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad, 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh, 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar, 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, 12,000 sealed from Benjamin.
9-12 I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:
Salvation to our God on his Throne!
Salvation to the Lamb!
All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing:
Oh, Yes!
The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
The honor and power and strength,
To our God forever and ever and ever!
Oh, Yes!
13-14 Just then one of the Elders addressed me: “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” Taken aback, I said, “O Sir, I have no idea—but you must know.”
14-17 Then he told me, “These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That’s why they’re standing before God’s Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Read: Psalm 37:1–6, 23–27
A David Psalm
1-2 Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they’ll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
Psalm 37:23-28The Message (MSG)
23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;
his path blazed by God, he’s happy.
If he stumbles, he’s not down for long;
God has a grip on his hand.
25-26 I once was young, now I’m a graybeard—
not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
or his kids out roaming the streets.
Every day he’s out giving and lending,
his children making him proud.
27-28 Turn your back on evil,
work for the good and don’t quit.
God loves this kind of thing,
never turns away from his friends.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 37 is an extended antidote to anxiety, even when there seem to be many reasons to fear. The psalm, sometimes classified as a wisdom psalm because of its insight into the realities of life, invites believers to have trust, peace, and contentment (vv. 3, 5, 7) even when it seems that evil has the upper hand (vv. 1, 7, 12, 14). We find peace through looking deeper than external appearances like wealth (v. 16). Evil may have power for a time, but it is self-defeating. It cannot last forever (vv. 10, 20, 22). It’s better to live with Him, who picks us up when we fall and holds us by the hand (vv. 23–24), than to surrender to evil (v. 16). A life with God means true peace, now and eternally (v. 18). Monica Brands
What We Bring Back
By David C. McCasland
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Psalm 37:25
John F. Burns spent forty years covering world events for The New York Times. In an article written after his retirement in 2015, Burns recalled the words of a close friend and fellow journalist who was dying of cancer. “Never forget,” his colleague said, “It’s not how far you’ve traveled; it’s what you’ve brought back.”
Psalm 37 could be considered David’s list of what he “brought back” from his journey of life, from shepherd to soldier and king. The psalm is a series of couplets contrasting the wicked with the righteous, and affirming those who trust the Lord.
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him.” Psalm 37:23
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither” (vv. 1–2).
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (vv. 23–24).
“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (v. 25).
From our experiences in life, what has God taught us? How have we experienced His faithfulness and love? In what ways has the Lord’s love shaped our lives?
It’s not how far we’ve traveled in life, but what we’ve brought back that counts.
Dear Lord, thank You for walking with me throughout my life. Help me to remember Your faithfulness.
As the years add up, God’s faithfulness keeps multiplying.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Am I Blessed Like This?
Blessed are… —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.
The Place of Help
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
How Mighty Rivers Get Mighty - #7967
It was at a point where we were crossing this long bridge across the Arkansas River. The bridge was long because the river was wide. My wife made an interesting comment about the river. She said, "Now, we've seen how it got that way." Wide, she meant. Actually, we've seen the Arkansas at its headwaters where it's a very unimpressive little stream. And as we've driven across the western United States, we've seen many creeks and streams that feed into the Arkansas, taking her from being a dinky little stream into a wide and mighty river.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Mighty Rivers Get Mighty".
Tributaries: that's what creates great rivers. From all directions, those tributaries contribute to a river, feeding it, enlarging it. That's not just the way rivers grow. It's the way people grow, too, if they're open to the contribution that people in their life can make. And to the contributions they can make, as well. In a sense, you're supposed to be a river, you're enlarged and you're improved by the people in your world, and you're supposed to be a tributary, building and enlarging the lives of the folks around you.
Paul models that in Romans 1:11-12, our word for today from the Word of God. He says to the believers in Rome, "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Now, he doesn't use the words, but Paul seems to get this tributary thing. His purpose in wanting to be with these people is so he can give them some help, some encouragement, something that will make them stronger. But he also says he looks forward to how they're going to feed his stream, too, enlarging his spiritual life.
This is a pretty exciting way to view the relationships in your life and the people in your life. You are with those people both to give and to receive. I wonder if your coworkers, your family members, your friends, the folks at church feel richer because you just keep depositing good things in their life. You're supposed to be one of God's designated tributaries to help them become the mighty river that He's designed them to be. You wouldn't be there with them if He hadn't decided they need someone like you, and that you need someone like them.
Because you're also a river. What you are today; isn't that because of some human tributaries who have marked your life in the past: parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, friends, someone who listens to you, even those who've confronted you about things you didn't want to hear about? Maybe it's time to call or write or email or text some of the tributaries who've enlarged the river of your life, just time to say thank you-to encourage them. Don't wait for their funeral to say all those nice things. Say it to them while they can still hear them.
And then, about those tributaries God has put in your life right now. Would you listen to them, would you open yourself up to them, even to those who are critical? Even to those who don't say it with the right words or the right tone, sometimes even with the right motive? Sometimes those people are God's mirrors to help us see things that are in our blind spot; things we haven't seen and we might not see otherwise, and things that might be limiting us or tripping us up or displeasing God. A river with no tributaries is going to remain small, and it's going to remain stagnant, and so will you.
Mighty rivers become mighty because they are fed and enlarged from many sources that feed into them. You and I are like that, too. So, would you be a tributary every day for other people, and let them help you become a mighty river.