Max Lucado Daily: CHRIST LIVES IN HIS CHILDREN
Proliferating throughout Scripture is an enticing and inviting preposition —the preposition in. Jesus lives in his children. From Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
God in us! Have we sounded the depth of this promise? With God in you, you have a million resources you didn’t have before. Can’t stop worrying? Christ can. And he lives within you. Can’t forget the past, forgive the jerk, or forsake your bad habits? Christ can! And he lives in you! Oh to be so full of him that we could say with the apostle Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!” (Galatians 2:20).
Read more In the Manger
Job 36
Those Who Learn from Their Suffering
1-4 Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going:
“Stay with me a little longer. I’ll convince you.
There’s still more to be said on God’s side.
I learned all this firsthand from the Source;
everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself.
Trust me, I’m giving you undiluted truth;
believe me, I know these things inside and out.
5-15 “It’s true that God is all-powerful,
but he doesn’t bully innocent people.
For the wicked, though, it’s a different story—
he doesn’t give them the time of day,
but champions the rights of their victims.
He never takes his eyes off the righteous;
he honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly.
When things go badly,
when affliction and suffering descend,
God tells them where they’ve gone wrong,
shows them how their pride has caused their trouble.
He forces them to heed his warning,
tells them they must repent of their bad life.
If they obey and serve him,
they’ll have a good, long life on easy street.
But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime
and never know the first thing about life.
Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance,
always blaming others for their troubles.
Living it up in sexual excesses,
virility wasted, they die young.
But those who learn from their suffering,
God delivers from their suffering.
Obsessed with Putting the Blame on God
16-21 “Oh, Job, don’t you see how God’s wooing you
from the jaws of danger?
How he’s drawing you into wide-open places—
inviting you to feast at a table laden with blessings?
And here you are laden with the guilt of the wicked,
obsessed with putting the blame on God!
Don’t let your great riches mislead you;
don’t think you can bribe your way out of this.
Did you plan to buy your way out of this?
Not on your life!
And don’t think that night,
when people sleep off their troubles,
will bring you any relief.
Above all, don’t make things worse with more evil—
that’s what’s behind your suffering as it is!
22-25 “Do you have any idea how powerful God is?
Have you ever heard of a teacher like him?
Has anyone ever had to tell him what to do,
or correct him, saying, ‘You did that all wrong!’?
Remember, then, to praise his workmanship,
which is so often celebrated in song.
Everybody sees it;
nobody is too far away to see it.
No One Can Escape from God
26 “Take a long, hard look. See how great he is—infinite,
greater than anything you could ever imagine or figure out!
27-33 “He pulls water up out of the sea,
distills it, and fills up his rain-cloud cisterns.
Then the skies open up
and pour out soaking showers on everyone.
Does anyone have the slightest idea how this happens?
How he arranges the clouds, how he speaks in thunder?
Just look at that lightning, his sky-filling light show
illumining the dark depths of the sea!
These are the symbols of his sovereignty,
his generosity, his loving care.
He hurls arrows of light,
taking sure and accurate aim.
The High God roars in the thunder,
angry against evil.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 07, 2017
Read: 1 Timothy 4:12–16
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
INSIGHT
The importance of our relationship with God is also a prominent theme in the Old Testament. As Moses passed the leadership of the Israelites over to Joshua, he reminded his protégé that he must keep a right relationship with God. Joshua was to study God’s Word, “to meditate on it day and night,” and “be careful to do everything written in it.” Only then would Joshua successfully lead his people into the Promised Land (Josh. 1:7–8). Four hundred years later, David gave similar advice to his son Solomon: “Learn to know [God] intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. . . . The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work” (1 Chron. 28:9–10 nlt). Heeding his father’s wise advice, Solomon humbly sought the Lord and succeeded in building the temple (1 Kings 3:3–15; 6:14, 38).
What steps can you take this week to strengthen your personal relationship with God?
For further study consider the free online course Spiritual Life Basics at christianuniversity.org/SLBASICS. - Sim Kay Tee
First Things First
By C. P. Hia
Watch your life and doctrine closely. 1 Timothy 4:16
When you travel by air, before the flight takes off an airline employee presents a safety briefing, which explains what to do if there is a loss of cabin pressure. Passengers are told that oxygen masks will drop from the compartment above and they are to put one on themselves before helping others. Why? Because before you can help anyone else, you need to be physically alert yourself.
When Paul wrote to Timothy, he stressed the importance of maintaining his own spiritual health before helping and serving others. He reminded Timothy of his many responsibilities as a pastor: There were false teachings to contend with (1 Tim. 4:1–5) and wrong doctrines to correct (vv. 6–8). But to discharge his duties well, what was most important was to “watch [his] life and doctrine closely [and] persevere in them” (v. 16). He needed to take care of his own relationship with the Lord first before he could attend to others.
Set an example ... in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
What Paul told Timothy applies to us too. Each day we encounter people who do not know the Lord. When we tank up on our spiritual oxygen first through time in God’s Word, prayer, and the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we keep our relationship right with God. Then we will be spiritually alert to help others.
Lord, open Your Word to me now. Let me breathe in its freshness before I go out to be Your light to the world.
A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 07, 2017
Repentance
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10
Conviction of sin is best described in the words:
My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.
Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.
The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 07, 2017
Panic Mistakes - #8064
My childhood church has shown their love for our family in some very special ways, including sending a work crew to actually help make some repairs on our house some years ago - totally unsolicited. Joe was one of those "angels" that God sent. The first challenge for Joe came long before he even got to our house. In fact, it was on the drive out from Chicago. He was sleeping behind the driver's seat in the truck while someone else was driving, and suddenly he was hit with one of his recurring asthma attacks. Now, usually, he's able to get through that real quickly, but this one got a little scary for a while because he had trouble using his inhaler which he carries all the time. Here's what Joe told me. He said, "When you panic, you can't breathe, and I panicked. And you have to breathe to use the inhaler! The only way I can get what will stabilize me is to relax!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Panic Mistakes."
Panic really can shut you down, close you off, and keep you from the very thing you need in order to make it. In fact, when you panic, you can make some mega-mistakes. Like the people described in our word for today from the Word of God from Isaiah 50 beginning in verse 10.
"Let him who walks in the dark and has no light." Okay, now that's the kind of situation where you get scared and you get desperate for a way out. "Let him who walks in the dark and has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." When it's dark and you're starting to panic, grab your Father's hand, trust in Him, and relax. You'll be able to breathe again. Okay, that sounds great, but a lot of times when it's dark, that's not how we handle it.
God goes on. "But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches" - okay, this is us when we can't wait for God's answer; we've got to do something. He says, "go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in torment." Wow!
God says, "If you panic and you start figuring out your own answer instead of waiting for My answer, it's just going to lead to misery." I'm pretty sure you have, as I do, plenty of living proof in your life of that happening. God seems to be taking too long. You're sure something has got to be done here. Your fear, your anxiety, your impatience takes over, and you start trying to make it happen yourself. The result? A bigger mess - an answer that really just creates greater problems.
And like my friend who can't draw on the relief of his inhaler while he's panicked, you miss the power and the love of God that you need so desperately in moments like these. It's like God says, "If you can't trust Me and wait for My answer, you're on your own."
Maybe there are things right now that are causing you a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, uncertainty, maybe you're in a lot of pain. Maybe there's a need or a situation that's growing increasingly desperate and you really don't know what to do. That's the time for a person to - let me go back to our verse - "trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." Your Heavenly Father is totally in control. God's got this! He's totally committed to you. He's actively working out His perfect plan for you. He's doing everything right on time - no matter how it feels or no matter how it looks.
Just because it's dark, don't start lighting your own fires and getting your own torches. You'll mess up what God wants to do. This is the time to relax spiritually, not to panic. Relax in His sovereign management of your life. As you surrender yourself and you surrender that situation, each new day God pours His peace and His power and His grace all over you. If you panic, you'll miss His spiritual oxygen, and that's what gives you life when it's hard to breathe.
