Max Lucado Daily: SAYING YES TO GOD’S PURPOSE
After Christ’s forty-day pause in the wilderness, the people of Capernaum tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:42-43). He resisted the undertow of the people by anchoring to the rock of his purpose; employing his uniqueness to make a big deal out of God everywhere he could.
And aren’t you glad he did? Suppose he had heeded the crowd and set up camp in Capernaum, reasoning, “I thought the whole world was my target and the cross my destiny. But the entire town tells me to stay in Capernaum. Could all these people be wrong?” Yes they could! In defiance of the crowd, Jesus said no to good things so he could say yes to the right thing– his unique call! I’m praying we do the same.
Read more Grace for the Moment II
1 Samuel 11
So Nahash went after them and prepared to go to war against Jabesh Gilead. The men of Jabesh petitioned Nahash: “Make a treaty with us and we’ll serve you.”
2 Nahash said, “I’ll make a treaty with you on one condition: that every right eye among you be gouged out! I’ll humiliate every last man and woman in Israel before I’m done!”
3 The town leaders of Jabesh said, “Give us time to send messengers around Israel—seven days should do it. If no one shows up to help us, we’ll accept your terms.”
4-5 The messengers came to Saul’s place at Gibeah and told the people what was going on. As the people broke out in loud wails, Saul showed up. He was coming back from the field with his oxen.
Saul asked, “What happened? Why is everyone crying?”
And they repeated the message that had come from Jabesh.
6-7 The Spirit of God came on Saul when he heard the report and he flew into a rage. He grabbed the yoke of oxen and butchered them on the spot. He sent the messengers throughout Israel distributing the bloody pieces with this message: “Anyone who refuses to join up with Saul and Samuel, let this be the fate of his oxen!”
7-8 The terror of God seized the people, and they came out, one and all, not a laggard among them. Saul took command of the people at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel, another 30,000 from Judah.
9-11 Saul instructed the messengers, “Tell this to the folk in Jabesh Gilead: ‘Help is on the way. Expect it by noon tomorrow.’”
The messengers set straight off and delivered their message. Elated, the people of Jabesh Gilead sent word to Nahash: “Tomorrow we’ll give ourselves up. You can deal with us on your terms.” Long before dawn the next day, Saul had strategically placed his army in three groups. At first light they broke into the enemy camp and slaughtered Ammonites until noon. Those who were left ran for their lives, scattering every which way.
12 The people came to Samuel then and said, “Where are those men who said, ‘Saul is not fit to rule over us’? Hand them over. We’ll kill them!”
13-14 But Saul said, “Nobody is going to be executed this day. This is the day God saved Israel! Come, let’s go to Gilgal and there reconsecrate the kingship.”
15 They all trooped out to Gilgal. Before God, they crowned Saul king at Gilgal. And there they worshiped, sacrificing peace offerings. Saul and all Israel celebrated magnificently.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 16, 2018
Read: Psalm 95:1–7
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
INSIGHT
In Psalm 95, the psalmist is transfixed by the wonder of the Creator and Redeemer he loves. God is the “Rock of our salvation”; nothing can remove the sure foundation His love has laid out for us (v. 1). Even though the psalmist knows there’s only one God, because of the polytheistic culture in which he lives he exclaims that his God is far above any other objects of worship (v. 3). The wonder of the Creator drives the psalmist to invite all believers to bow down in adoration and to realize that like sheep we are under a loving Shepherd’s care.
How can you praise the Lord for His marvelous creation and infinite love? - Dennis Fisher
Thanks for Who God Is
By Dave Branon
Let us come before him with thanksgiving . . . for the Lord is the great God. Psalm 95:2–3
Among the thousands of sentiments printed on greeting cards, perhaps one of the most touching is this simple statement: “Thanks for being you.” If you receive that card, you know that someone cares for you not because you did something spectacular for that person but because you’re appreciated for your essence.
I wonder if this kind of sentiment might indicate for us one of the best ways to say “thank you” to God. Sure, there are times when God intervenes in our lives in a tangible way, and we say something like, “Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to get that job.” But most often, we can simply say, “Thank You, God, for being who You are.”
That’s what’s behind verses like 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Thank You, God, for who You are—good and loving. And Psalm 7:17: “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness.” Thank You, God, for who You are—the holy One. And “Let us come before him with thanksgiving . . . for the Lord is the great God” (Psalm 95:2–3). Thank You, God, for who You are—the Almighty God of the universe.
Who God is. That’s reason enough for us to stop what we’re doing and praise and thank Him. Thank You, God, for just being You!
Thank You, dear God, for being who You are—the Almighty God who loves us and welcomes our love in return. Thank You for everything that makes You magnificent. We stand in awe of You as we praise You with word and song.
There are countless reasons to thank God, including for who He is!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 16, 2018
Still Human!
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 16, 2018
Pushing the Goal, Missing the Process - #8310
Chimney Mountain! I had to get to the top! Why? Because it was there! Of course, I had to drag my young family into this obsession with me. One vacation day, I made that "Daddy's Great Adventure for the Day." Well, it wasn't a steep hike; it was a trail through the woods that gradually took you to the top of the mountain. As we walked along, my wife and the kids kept noticing little things...like chipmunks and squirrels and flowers and interesting rocks. Of course, whenever we noticed one of those little things, we had to stop; which was not my favorite thing to do. I had a goal, folks, and chipmunks and interesting rocks didn't help me get to it. Nope! At one point, they stopped us just to listen to the wind blowing through the tall pine trees. Isn't that wonderful? But not if you want to see the top of Chimney Mountain before sunset. Finally, my frustration made it to my mouth, "Honey, the reason for this hike is to get to the top. Don't you understand?" To which she said something like this: "Oh, I thought we came to enjoy the hike." Great! I was interested in the result; she was interested in the process!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have "A Word With You" today about "Pushing the Goal, Missing the Process."
Later, my wife and I were reflecting on our different perspectives about our Chimney Mountain expedition. (Oh, by the way, we did finally get to the top.) My wife said, "I wonder if this was a little like God and us. We're more interested in getting the result we want, and He's more interested in the process."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Samuel 22:31. "As for God, His way is perfect." I think when the Bible talks about God's way, it isn't just talking about where we end up. It's talking about the road He takes us on; the way we get there, the methods He uses. OK, I'll have to agree with my wife - the process. And His process is always perfect, but it's certainly not predictable.
In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says, and God is speaking here, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.'" God's ways, God's means of getting us to the answer are unpredictable: they are "beyond finding out" in the words of Romans 11.
Which brings us to whatever mountain you're working on right now. If you're like me, you're focused on the result you need: the money, the life partner, the healing, the place to live, the job, the change, the answer! You're in a hurry to get to the top of the mountain. But God, the God whose ways are perfect, is asking you to slow down and enjoy the hike, let the process be beautiful, not just the destination. The easy part for God is giving you your answer; showing you the top of the mountain. The hard part for God is you - getting you to be the man or woman He redeemed you to be. And He's using this climb to develop faith in you, or deeper personal holiness, or humility, or greater dependency on Him, to move you from trusting in yourself to totally trusting in Him. He wants you to become a better you on the way to the answer or the goal that you want so much.
I'm by nature a goal-oriented person. Just ask my fellow hikers. But in recent years, God's been teaching me an exciting new way to pray, "Lord, I ask You for this answer that we need, but please do it in Your time and in the way that will bring You the most glory and us the most growth." Surrender to your Lord is more than just, "God, give us what You think is best." It's a total surrender to whatever timetable He wants, whatever process He wants to use, and whatever He wants to make you go through on your climb up the mountain.
We want to scale the mountain. God wants to change the mountain climber, and He's using the trail to show you what you need to be. You are His goal. So, enjoy the process.
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