Max Lucado Daily: A REQUEST JESUS LOVES
Most of us had a hard time learning to tie our shoes! Tightening shoes by wrapping strings together? Nothing easy about that. Who came up with the idea of shoes anyway? My friend Roy used to sit on a park bench watching kids gather and play at the bus stop. One day a little fellow struggled to board the bus—frantically trying to disentangle a knotted shoestring. He grew more anxious by the moment. And all of a sudden it was too late. The bus door closed. With tear-filled eyes he looked at Roy on the bench and asked, “Do you untie knots?”
Jesus loves that request! Life gets tangled. People mess up. We never outgrow the urge to look up and say, “Help!” And when we do, look who shows up! Jesus…our next door Savior. Go ahead, ask him. “Do you untie knots?” “Yes!” He will say.
Read more Next Door Savior
2 Samue 5
Before long all the tribes of Israel approached David in Hebron and said, “Look at us—your own flesh and blood! In time past when Saul was our king, you were the one who really ran the country. Even then God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel and you’ll be the prince.’”
3 All the leaders of Israel met with King David at Hebron, and the king made a treaty with them in the presence of God. And so they anointed David king over Israel.
4-5 David was thirty years old when he became king, and ruled for forty years. In Hebron he ruled Judah for seven and a half years. In Jerusalem he ruled all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
6 David and his men immediately set out for Jerusalem to take on the Jebusites, who lived in that country. But they said, “You might as well go home! Even the blind and the lame could keep you out. You can’t get in here!” They had convinced themselves that David couldn’t break through.
7-8 But David went right ahead and captured the fortress of Zion, known ever since as the City of David. That day David said, “To get the best of these Jebusites, one must target the water system, not to mention this so-called lame and blind bunch that David hates.” (In fact, he was so sick and tired of it, people coined the expression, “No lame and blind allowed in the palace.”)
9-10 David made the fortress city his home and named it “City of David.” He developed the city from the outside terraces inward. David proceeded with a longer stride, a larger embrace since the God-of-the-Angel-Armies was with him.
11-12 It was at this time that Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, along with timbers of cedar. He also sent carpenters and masons to build a house for David. David took this as a sign that God had confirmed him as king of Israel, giving his kingship world prominence for the sake of Israel, his people.
13-16 David took on more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he left Hebron. And more sons and daughters were born to him. These are the names of those born to him in Jerusalem:
Shammua,
Shobab,
Nathan,
Solomon,
Ibhar,
Elishua,
Nepheg,
Japhia,
Elishama,
Eliada,
Eliphelet.
17-18 When the Philistines got word that David had been made king over all Israel, they came on the hunt for him. David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. When the Philistines arrived, they deployed their forces in Raphaim Valley.
19 Then David prayed to God: “Shall I go up and fight the Philistines? Will you help me beat them?”
20-21 “Go up,” God replied. “Count on me. I’ll help you beat them.”
David then went straight to Baal Perazim, and smashed them to pieces. Afterward David said, “God exploded on my enemies like a gush of water.” That’s why David named the place Baal Perazim (The-Master-Who-Explodes). The retreating Philistines dumped their idols, and David and his soldiers took them away.
22-23 Later there was a repeat performance. The Philistines came up again and deployed their troops in the Rephaim Valley. David again prayed to God.
23-24 This time God said, “Don’t attack them head-on. Instead, circle around behind them and ambush them from the grove of sacred trees. When you hear the sound of shuffling in the trees, get ready to move out. It’s a signal that God is going ahead of you to smash the Philistine camp.”
25 David did exactly what God told him. He routed the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 31, 2018
Read: Malachi 3:1–5
The Master You’ve Been Looking For
3 “Look! I’m sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Leader you’ve been looking for will enter his Temple—yes, the Messenger of the Covenant, the one you’ve been waiting for. Look! He’s on his way!” A Message from the mouth of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
2-4 But who will be able to stand up to that coming? Who can survive his appearance?
He’ll be like white-hot fire from the smelter’s furnace. He’ll be like the strongest lye soap at the laundry. He’ll take his place as a refiner of silver, as a cleanser of dirty clothes. He’ll scrub the Levite priests clean, refine them like gold and silver, until they’re fit for God, fit to present offerings of righteousness. Then, and only then, will Judah and Jerusalem be fit and pleasing to God, as they used to be in the years long ago.
5 “Yes, I’m on my way to visit you with Judgment. I’ll present compelling evidence against sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit workers, those who take advantage of widows and orphans, those who are inhospitable to the homeless—anyone and everyone who doesn’t honor me.” A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
INSIGHT
Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, was written by a man whose name means “my messenger.” Malachi, believed to be a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, ministered to the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Although the temple had been rebuilt (Ezra 6:14–15), the temple service and sacrifices were defiled for several reasons: lack of reverence for God, offering of blemished sacrifices (Malachi 1:6–9, 12–14), and willful neglect of the tithe (3:8–9). Worse, the priests were defiled by mixed marriages and marital unfaithfulness (2:1–16). Because the priesthood—which served as “the messenger of the Lord”—failed in their priestly function (2:7–9), Malachi speaks of a future “messenger” who would prepare the way for “the messenger of the covenant” (3:1). Four hundred years later, Jesus identified John the Baptist as that messenger (Matthew 11:9–10; 17:12–13)- K. T. Sim
The Messenger
By Amy Boucher Pye
I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Malachi 3:1
“I have a message for you!” A woman working at the conference I was attending handed me a piece of paper, and I wondered if I should be nervous or excited. But when I read, “You have a nephew!” I knew I could rejoice.
Messages can bring good news, bad news, or words that challenge. In the Old Testament, God used His prophets to communicate messages of hope or judgment. But when we look closely, we see that even His words of judgment were intended to lead to repentance, healing, and restoration.
Both types of messages appear in Malachi 3 when the Lord promised to send a messenger who would prepare the way for Him. John the Baptist announced the coming of the true Messenger, Jesus (see Matthew 3:11)—“the messenger of the covenant” (Malachi 3:1) who will fulfill God’s promises. But He will act “like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap” (v. 2), for He will purify those who believe in His word. The Lord sent His word to cleanse His people because of His loving concern for their well-being.
God’s message is one of love, hope, and freedom. He sent His Son to be a messenger who speaks our language—sometimes with messages of correction, but always those of hope. We can trust His message.
Lord Jesus Christ, help me not only to understand Your message but to live it.
Ask the Lord to help you share His good news with others in the new year.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 31, 2018
Yesterday
You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 31, 2018
Leaving No One Behind - #8341
Ted's an ex-Marine. I guess once a Marine, always a Marine. Right? You know - halls of Montezuma, shores of Tripoli, and semper fi. Since his days in the Corps, Ted's gone on to become very successful in business, but he keeps getting invited back to talk to Marine recruits as an inspirational speaker. And in the process, he tells them about a rescuer who came for him in the Marines and saved him - Jesus Christ. And I love what he tells them - "One thing about Marines - we always go back for our own, and that's why I'm here today. I'm going back for my own."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving No One Behind."
Those Marines really listen to Ted, because he's one of their own. That's sort of a law of life, isn't it? We tend to listen to our own kind; maybe when we would listen to no one else. Especially when it comes to the rescuer that my friend tells the Marines about. More and more, people aren't going to listen to some "Christian professional" tell them about Jesus. No, even though their lives depend on understanding Jesus. They're not likely to go to one of those meetings that we have. It's probably going to have to be one of their own...like you.
Jesus understood that approach to rescuing spiritually dying people. He used that approach Himself in our word for today from the Word of God. Here's the deal: Jesus has gone into Samaria to reach the Samaritans, and since the Jews and Samaritans basically couldn't stand each other, how is this Jewish rabbi going to reach them? He's going to send one of their own to go back and get her own - even though she is probably known for her immorality, her relationships with many men, her string of marriages and divorces.
First, she meets Jesus at a well where she discovers who He really is. Then, in John 4, beginning with verse 28, the Bible says, "Leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' They came out of the town and made their way toward Him...Many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the woman's testimony..." Well, they listened to her when she talked about Jesus because she was one of their own.
That's what makes you so eternally important to your coworkers, your fellow students, your neighbors, your teammates - you're one of them. They'll be more likely to listen to you talking about a personal relationship with Jesus than to any preacher or evangelist or radio guy. Well, you may say, "but I'm not trained...I've got a lot of problems...I don't know enough." Excuse me, but have you thought about the one Jesus sent as His ambassador to the Samaritans?
See, what qualifies you is two things: you've met Jesus, and you're one of them. He's placed you where you are not just to get grades or get paid or get comfy. He's put you there to take some of those people to heaven with you! So, how are you doing?
The best one to reach a lost farmer is another farmer...the best one to reach a lost mom is another mom. a lost teacher, a teacher, a lost soccer player, a soccer player. How about a lost businessman? It will take a businessman, and so on. But so many people die without ever knowing what Jesus could have done for them. They die without a chance at heaven - because the Christian close to them never told what they knew. That's a death sentence by silence.
You don't have to tell them about Christianity, about church, about your religion or a list of Christian beliefs. Just do what the Samaritan woman did - stick to Jesus. She just said, "Come, see a Man!" But don't take them to a well - take them to the Cross and show them how much Jesus loves them. Their best hope of heaven isn't some outreach program or some great speaker. Their best hope is you, because you are already there.
Of all the New Year's resolutions you could make, could there be a better one than to say, "I will finally tell the lost people in my world about my Jesus." You're in their world. You're their spiritual "Marine." Go back for your own, and don't leave any of them behind.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Sunday, December 30, 2018
2 Samuel 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Imagine a Perfect World
Try this. Imagine a perfect world. Whatever that means to you. Imagine it. Does that mean peace? Then envision absolute tranquility. Does a perfect world imply joy? Then create your highest happiness. Will a perfect world have love? Ponder a place where love has no bounds. Whatever heaven means to you, imagine it. Get it firmly fixed in your mind. Delight in it. Dream about it. Long for it.
And then smile as the Father reminds you from the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” No one… no one has come close. Think of all the songs about heaven; all the artists’ portrayals; all the lessons preached; poems written; and chapters drafted. When it comes to describing heaven, we are all happy failures!
From The Lucado Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 4
The Murder of Ish-Bosheth
Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, heard that Abner had died in Hebron. His heart sank. The whole country was shaken.
2-3 Ish-Bosheth had two men who were captains of raiding bands—one was named Baanah, the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, a Benjaminite. (The people of Beeroth had been assigned to Benjamin ever since they escaped to Gittaim. They still live there as resident aliens.)
4 It so happened that Saul’s son, Jonathan, had a son who was maimed in both feet. When he was five years old, the report on Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and ran, but in her hurry to get away she fell, and the boy was maimed. His name was Mephibosheth.
5-7 One day Baanah and Recab, the two sons of Rimmon, headed out for the house of Ish-Bosheth. They arrived at the hottest time of the day, just as he was taking his afternoon nap. They entered the house on a ruse, pretending official business. The maid guarding the bedroom had fallen asleep, so Recab and Baanah slipped by her and entered the room where Ish-Bosheth was asleep on his bed. They killed him and then cut off his head, carrying it off as a trophy. They traveled all night long, taking the route through the Arabah Valley.
8 They presented the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, telling the king, “Here’s the head of Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, your enemy. He was out to kill you, but God has given vengeance to my master, the king—vengeance this very day on Saul and his children!”
9-11 David answered the brothers Recab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as God lives—the One who got me out of every trouble I’ve ever been in—when the messenger told me, ‘Good news! Saul is dead!’ supposing I’d be delighted, I arrested him and killed him on the spot in Ziklag. That’s what he got for his so-called good news! And now you show up—evil men who killed an innocent man in cold blood, a man asleep in his own house! Don’t think I won’t find you guilty of murder and rid the country of you!”
12 David then issued orders to his soldiers. They killed the two—chopped off their hands and feet, and hung the corpses at the pool in Hebron. But Ish-Bosheth’s head they took and buried in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Read: Revelation 21:1–7
Everything New
21 I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.
2 I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband.
3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
6-8 Then he said, “It’s happened. I’m A to Z. I’m the Beginning, I’m the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I’ll be God to them, they’ll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it’s Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!”
INSIGHT
Today’s passage gives us a glimpse of heaven, describing it as a physical place (vv. 1–2). Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2–3), and this promise is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, the holy city (Revelation 21:2). While it’s a great comfort that heaven is a perfect place (v. 4), the most important thing is that it’s the dwelling place of God (v. 3). In this final vision of the beginning of eternity (21:1–22:9), John hears Christ declaring, “It is done” (21:6). The New Living Translation renders it, “It is finished!” echoing Christ’s victorious cry from the cross (John 19:30). Sin’s curse will one day be completely removed and reversed (Revelation 21:4–5; see Genesis 3:16–19). - K. T. Sim
All Things New
By James Banks
If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Junkyards intrigue me. I enjoy working on cars, so I frequently make trips to the one near our home. It’s a lonely place, where the wind whispers through discarded hulks that were once someone’s prized possession. Some were wrecked, some wore out, and others simply outlived their usefulness. As I walk between the rows, a car will sometimes catch my eye, and I’ll find myself wondering about the adventures it had during its “lifetime.” Like a portal to the past, each has a story to tell—of human hankering after the latest model and the inescapable passage of time.
But I take particular pleasure in finding new life for an old part. Whenever I can take something discarded and give it new life in a restored vehicle, it feels like a small victory against time and decline.
It sometimes makes me think of Jesus’s words at the end of the Bible: “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5). These words refer to God’s renewal of creation, which includes believers. Already, all who’ve received Jesus are a “new creation” in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).
And one day we will enter into His promise of unending days with Him (John 14:3). Age and disease will no longer take their toll, and we will continue the adventure of an eternal lifetime. What stories each of us will have to tell—stories of our Savior’s redeeming love and undying faithfulness.
Loving Lord, I praise You that I am a new creation in You, and that in Your kindness and mercy You have given me the promise of eternal life.
The end of a year and beginning of another is an opportunity for a fresh start. What might God be making new in your life?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 30, 2018
“And Every Virtue We Possess”
…All my springs are in you. —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “…put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
Try this. Imagine a perfect world. Whatever that means to you. Imagine it. Does that mean peace? Then envision absolute tranquility. Does a perfect world imply joy? Then create your highest happiness. Will a perfect world have love? Ponder a place where love has no bounds. Whatever heaven means to you, imagine it. Get it firmly fixed in your mind. Delight in it. Dream about it. Long for it.
And then smile as the Father reminds you from the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” No one… no one has come close. Think of all the songs about heaven; all the artists’ portrayals; all the lessons preached; poems written; and chapters drafted. When it comes to describing heaven, we are all happy failures!
From The Lucado Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 4
The Murder of Ish-Bosheth
Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, heard that Abner had died in Hebron. His heart sank. The whole country was shaken.
2-3 Ish-Bosheth had two men who were captains of raiding bands—one was named Baanah, the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, a Benjaminite. (The people of Beeroth had been assigned to Benjamin ever since they escaped to Gittaim. They still live there as resident aliens.)
4 It so happened that Saul’s son, Jonathan, had a son who was maimed in both feet. When he was five years old, the report on Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and ran, but in her hurry to get away she fell, and the boy was maimed. His name was Mephibosheth.
5-7 One day Baanah and Recab, the two sons of Rimmon, headed out for the house of Ish-Bosheth. They arrived at the hottest time of the day, just as he was taking his afternoon nap. They entered the house on a ruse, pretending official business. The maid guarding the bedroom had fallen asleep, so Recab and Baanah slipped by her and entered the room where Ish-Bosheth was asleep on his bed. They killed him and then cut off his head, carrying it off as a trophy. They traveled all night long, taking the route through the Arabah Valley.
8 They presented the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, telling the king, “Here’s the head of Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, your enemy. He was out to kill you, but God has given vengeance to my master, the king—vengeance this very day on Saul and his children!”
9-11 David answered the brothers Recab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as God lives—the One who got me out of every trouble I’ve ever been in—when the messenger told me, ‘Good news! Saul is dead!’ supposing I’d be delighted, I arrested him and killed him on the spot in Ziklag. That’s what he got for his so-called good news! And now you show up—evil men who killed an innocent man in cold blood, a man asleep in his own house! Don’t think I won’t find you guilty of murder and rid the country of you!”
12 David then issued orders to his soldiers. They killed the two—chopped off their hands and feet, and hung the corpses at the pool in Hebron. But Ish-Bosheth’s head they took and buried in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Read: Revelation 21:1–7
Everything New
21 I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.
2 I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband.
3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
6-8 Then he said, “It’s happened. I’m A to Z. I’m the Beginning, I’m the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I’ll be God to them, they’ll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it’s Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!”
INSIGHT
Today’s passage gives us a glimpse of heaven, describing it as a physical place (vv. 1–2). Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:2–3), and this promise is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, the holy city (Revelation 21:2). While it’s a great comfort that heaven is a perfect place (v. 4), the most important thing is that it’s the dwelling place of God (v. 3). In this final vision of the beginning of eternity (21:1–22:9), John hears Christ declaring, “It is done” (21:6). The New Living Translation renders it, “It is finished!” echoing Christ’s victorious cry from the cross (John 19:30). Sin’s curse will one day be completely removed and reversed (Revelation 21:4–5; see Genesis 3:16–19). - K. T. Sim
All Things New
By James Banks
If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Junkyards intrigue me. I enjoy working on cars, so I frequently make trips to the one near our home. It’s a lonely place, where the wind whispers through discarded hulks that were once someone’s prized possession. Some were wrecked, some wore out, and others simply outlived their usefulness. As I walk between the rows, a car will sometimes catch my eye, and I’ll find myself wondering about the adventures it had during its “lifetime.” Like a portal to the past, each has a story to tell—of human hankering after the latest model and the inescapable passage of time.
But I take particular pleasure in finding new life for an old part. Whenever I can take something discarded and give it new life in a restored vehicle, it feels like a small victory against time and decline.
It sometimes makes me think of Jesus’s words at the end of the Bible: “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5). These words refer to God’s renewal of creation, which includes believers. Already, all who’ve received Jesus are a “new creation” in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).
And one day we will enter into His promise of unending days with Him (John 14:3). Age and disease will no longer take their toll, and we will continue the adventure of an eternal lifetime. What stories each of us will have to tell—stories of our Savior’s redeeming love and undying faithfulness.
Loving Lord, I praise You that I am a new creation in You, and that in Your kindness and mercy You have given me the promise of eternal life.
The end of a year and beginning of another is an opportunity for a fresh start. What might God be making new in your life?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 30, 2018
“And Every Virtue We Possess”
…All my springs are in you. —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “…put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
Saturday, December 29, 2018
2 Samuel 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God’s Never Failing Love
God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. You need not win his love. You already have it. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision.
He knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict: he loves you still! No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love– never failing, never ending.
From Lucado Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 3
The war between the house of Saul and the house of David dragged on and on. The longer it went on the stronger David became, with the house of Saul getting weaker.
2-5 During the Hebron years, sons were born to David:
Amnon, born of Ahinoam of Jezreel—the firstborn;
Kileab, born of Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow—his second;
Absalom, born of Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur—the third;
Adonijah, born of Haggith—the fourth;
Shephatiah, born of Abital—the fifth;
Ithream, born of Eglah—the sixth.
These six sons of David were born in Hebron.
6-7 Abner took advantage of the continuing war between the house of Saul and the house of David to gain power for himself. Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. One day Ish-Bosheth confronted Abner: “What business do you have sleeping with my father’s concubine?”
8-10 Abner lost his temper with Ish-Bosheth, “Treat me like a dog, will you! Is this the thanks I get for sticking by the house of your father, Saul, and all his family and friends? I personally saved you from certain capture by David, and you make an issue out of my going to bed with a woman! What God promised David, I’ll help accomplish—transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and make David ruler over the whole country, both Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba. If not, may God do his worst to me.”
11 Ish-Bosheth, cowed by Abner’s outburst, couldn’t say another word.
12 Abner went ahead and sent personal messengers to David: “Make a deal with me and I’ll help bring the whole country of Israel over to you.”
13 “Great,” said David. “It’s a deal. But only on one condition: You’re not welcome here unless you bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, with you when you come to meet me.”
14 David then sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul: “Give me back Michal, whom I won as my wife at the cost of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15-16 Ish-Bosheth ordered that she be taken from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. But Paltiel followed her, weeping all the way, to Bahurim. There Abner told him, “Go home.” And he went home.
17-18 Abner got the elders of Israel together and said, “Only yesterday, it seems, you were looking for a way to make David your king. So do it—now! For God has given the go-ahead on David: ‘By my servant David’s hand, I’ll save my people Israel from the oppression of the Philistines and all their other enemies.’”
19 Abner took the Benjaminites aside and spoke to them. Then he went to Hebron for a private talk with David, telling him everything that Israel in general and Benjamin in particular were planning to do.
20 When Abner and the twenty men who were with him met with David in Hebron, David laid out a feast for them.
21 Abner then said, “I’m ready. Let me go now to rally everyone in Israel for my master, the king. They’ll make a treaty with you, authorizing you to rule them however you see fit.” Abner was sent off with David’s blessing.
22-23 Soon after that, David’s men, led by Joab, came back from a field assignment. Abner was no longer in Hebron with David, having just been dismissed with David’s blessing. As Joab and his raiding party arrived, they were told that Abner the son of Ner had been there with David and had been sent off with David’s blessing.
24-25 Joab went straight to the king: “What’s this you’ve done? Abner shows up, and you let him walk away scot-free? You know Abner son of Ner better than that. This was no friendly visit. He was here to spy on you, figure out your comings and goings, find out what you’re up to.”
26-27 Joab left David and went into action. He sent messengers after Abner; they caught up with him at the well at Sirah and brought him back. David knew nothing of all this. When Abner got back to Hebron, Joab steered him aside at the gate for a personal word with him. There he stabbed him in the belly, killed him in cold blood for the murder of his brother Asahel.
28-30 Later on, when David heard what happened, he said, “Before God I and my kingdom are totally innocent of this murder of Abner son of Ner. Joab and his entire family will always be under the curse of this bloodguilt. May they forever be victims of crippling diseases, violence, and famine.” (Joab and his brother, Abishai, murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon.)
31-32 David ordered Joab and all the men under him, “Rip your cloaks into rags! Wear mourning clothes! Lead Abner’s funeral procession with loud lament!” King David followed the coffin. They buried Abner in Hebron. The king’s voice was loud in lament as he wept at the side of Abner’s grave. All the people wept, too.
33-34 Then the king sang this tribute to Abner:
Can this be? Abner dead like a nameless bum?
You were a free man, free to go and do as you wished—
Yet you fell as a victim in a street brawl.
And all the people wept—a crescendo of crying!
35-37 They all came then to David, trying to get him to eat something before dark. But David solemnly swore, “I’ll not so much as taste a piece of bread, or anything else for that matter, before sunset, so help me God!” Everyone at the funeral took notice—and liked what they saw. In fact everything the king did was applauded by the people. It was clear to everyone that day, including all Israel, that the king had nothing to do with the death of Abner son of Ner.
38-39 The king spoke to his servants: “You realize, don’t you, that today a prince and hero fell victim of foul play in Israel? And I, though anointed king, was helpless to do anything about it. These sons of Zeruiah are too much for me. God, requite the criminal for his crime!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Read: Isaiah 25:1–5
God, you are my God.
I celebrate you. I praise you.
You’ve done your share of miracle-wonders,
well-thought-out plans, solid and sure.
Here you’ve reduced the city to rubble,
the strong city to a pile of stones.
The enemy Big City is a non-city,
never to be a city again.
Superpowers will see it and honor you,
brutal oppressors bow in worshipful reverence.
They’ll see that you take care of the poor,
that you take care of poor people in trouble,
Provide a warm, dry place in bad weather,
provide a cool place when it’s hot.
Brutal oppressors are like a winter blizzard
and vicious foreigners like high noon in the desert.
But you, shelter from the storm and shade from the sun,
shut the mouths of the big-mouthed bullies.
INSIGHT
Throughout Isaiah we see dark and dire prophecies interspersed with oases of hope. We may think these dramatically different sections contrast with each other—and they do—but they’re also complementary. Note how Isaiah 25 responds to previous pronouncements of judgment, which the prophet praises God for.
Chapter 24 declares that the entire earth will be devastated (vv. 1–3). Then it concludes by saying, “The Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory” (v. 23). This sets the stage for Isaiah 25. “In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things,” says the prophet (v. 1). These things include God’s judgment: “You have made the city a heap of rubble” (v. 2). Because of the judgment, “strong peoples” will honor the Lord, and “cities of ruthless nations will revere you” (v. 3). Even God’s judgment draws His creation to Him. - Tim Gustafson
When God Says No
By Leslie Koh
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
When I was conscripted into the military at age eighteen, as all young Singaporean men are, I prayed desperately for an easy posting. A clerk or driver, perhaps. Not being particularly strong, I hoped to be spared the rigors of combat training. But one evening as I read my Bible, one verse leaped off the page: “My grace is sufficient for you . . .” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
My heart dropped—but it shouldn’t have. God had answered my prayers. Even if I received a difficult assignment, He would provide for me.
So I ended up as an armored infantryman, doing things I didn’t always enjoy. Looking back now, I’m grateful God didn’t give me what I wanted. The training and experience toughened me physically and mentally and gave me confidence to enter adulthood.
In Isaiah 25:1–5, after prophesying Israel’s punishment and subsequent deliverance from her enemies, the prophet praises God for His plans. All these “wonderful things,” Isaiah notes, had been “planned long ago” (v. 1), yet they included some arduous times.
It can be hard to hear God saying no, and even harder to understand when we’re praying for something good—like someone’s deliverance from a crisis. That’s when we need to hold on to the truth of God’s good plans. We may not understand why, but we can keep trusting in His love, goodness, and faithfulness.
Lord, give me the faith to keep trusting You even when You say no.
When God says no, He has a plan. Keep trusting Him!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Why Your Load Seems So Heavy - #8338
Maybe it's a guy thing. Maybe it's just a Ron thing. But I hate to waste time or waste effort. You know? Here's what that it looks like when I've just returned from the grocery store to restock our empty refrigerator and shelves. I basically look like a mule – yeah, with bags all over my body, carried on almost every appendage. I don't want to make any more trips to the car than absolutely necessary, oh no, no! So I'm willing to try whatever calisthenics, to tolerate whatever overload will enable me to get everything in the house in one trip. This approach has been known to have its problems. Sometimes I drop a bag or two or one of them rips open; thus, making more work. And I've got this shoulder. Yeah, wrecked it pretty well. You think it might be traceable to carrying too much too many times?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your Load Seems So Heavy."
There's a price to pay for carrying too much at once. You might be paying some of that price right now; the stress, the anxiety, the fatigue, the frustration of those who carry more than they're supposed to. I'm one of those. I know.
I also know how my Savior says I'm supposed to live. His instructions are very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 6, beginning with verse 25. He says, "Do not worry about your life...look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them...Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...Why do you worry?...Do not worry...your Heavenly Father knows what you need...Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
First of all, you don't have to be a Biblical scholar to pick up Jesus' message here. He basically says it four times, "Do not worry." If you looked at us stressed out, freaked out, worn out warriors, you might conclude this is one of the most disobeyed commands Jesus ever gave. We do worry – a lot. And in so doing, we carry a heavier load than we're designed and equipped to carry. God has promised to give us what we need to carry today: daily bread, strength equal to your day, mercies new every morning, a cross to bear one day at a time, the renewing of our spirit day by day. But there's no promise about carrying your tomorrow while it's still today.
John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace" said, "Sometimes I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of sticks – far too large to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle at once. He mercifully unties the bundle and gives us one stick that we are to carry today and then another that we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. We might easily manage it, if we would take only the burden appointed for each new day. But we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today and by adding tomorrow's burden to our load before we are required to bear it." That's great stuff!
John Newton nailed it. See, we add baggage from yesterday and the potential burdens of tomorrow to what we're carrying today, and we start dropping things, and stumbling, and even hurting ourselves. So much of what we worry about tomorrow never happens. And you won't have God's promised resources to handle tomorrow until tomorrow. So no wonder you're overwhelmed and discouraged! Dwelling on yesterday or tomorrow takes your focus off today so you don't even do today very well!
So approach your load God's way – take your busy life one day at a time, or maybe one stick at a time. That's how you do a massive load. And about tomorrow? Take advantage of God's awesome invitation, "Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. You need not win his love. You already have it. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision.
He knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict: he loves you still! No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love– never failing, never ending.
From Lucado Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 3
The war between the house of Saul and the house of David dragged on and on. The longer it went on the stronger David became, with the house of Saul getting weaker.
2-5 During the Hebron years, sons were born to David:
Amnon, born of Ahinoam of Jezreel—the firstborn;
Kileab, born of Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow—his second;
Absalom, born of Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur—the third;
Adonijah, born of Haggith—the fourth;
Shephatiah, born of Abital—the fifth;
Ithream, born of Eglah—the sixth.
These six sons of David were born in Hebron.
6-7 Abner took advantage of the continuing war between the house of Saul and the house of David to gain power for himself. Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. One day Ish-Bosheth confronted Abner: “What business do you have sleeping with my father’s concubine?”
8-10 Abner lost his temper with Ish-Bosheth, “Treat me like a dog, will you! Is this the thanks I get for sticking by the house of your father, Saul, and all his family and friends? I personally saved you from certain capture by David, and you make an issue out of my going to bed with a woman! What God promised David, I’ll help accomplish—transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and make David ruler over the whole country, both Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba. If not, may God do his worst to me.”
11 Ish-Bosheth, cowed by Abner’s outburst, couldn’t say another word.
12 Abner went ahead and sent personal messengers to David: “Make a deal with me and I’ll help bring the whole country of Israel over to you.”
13 “Great,” said David. “It’s a deal. But only on one condition: You’re not welcome here unless you bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, with you when you come to meet me.”
14 David then sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul: “Give me back Michal, whom I won as my wife at the cost of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15-16 Ish-Bosheth ordered that she be taken from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. But Paltiel followed her, weeping all the way, to Bahurim. There Abner told him, “Go home.” And he went home.
17-18 Abner got the elders of Israel together and said, “Only yesterday, it seems, you were looking for a way to make David your king. So do it—now! For God has given the go-ahead on David: ‘By my servant David’s hand, I’ll save my people Israel from the oppression of the Philistines and all their other enemies.’”
19 Abner took the Benjaminites aside and spoke to them. Then he went to Hebron for a private talk with David, telling him everything that Israel in general and Benjamin in particular were planning to do.
20 When Abner and the twenty men who were with him met with David in Hebron, David laid out a feast for them.
21 Abner then said, “I’m ready. Let me go now to rally everyone in Israel for my master, the king. They’ll make a treaty with you, authorizing you to rule them however you see fit.” Abner was sent off with David’s blessing.
22-23 Soon after that, David’s men, led by Joab, came back from a field assignment. Abner was no longer in Hebron with David, having just been dismissed with David’s blessing. As Joab and his raiding party arrived, they were told that Abner the son of Ner had been there with David and had been sent off with David’s blessing.
24-25 Joab went straight to the king: “What’s this you’ve done? Abner shows up, and you let him walk away scot-free? You know Abner son of Ner better than that. This was no friendly visit. He was here to spy on you, figure out your comings and goings, find out what you’re up to.”
26-27 Joab left David and went into action. He sent messengers after Abner; they caught up with him at the well at Sirah and brought him back. David knew nothing of all this. When Abner got back to Hebron, Joab steered him aside at the gate for a personal word with him. There he stabbed him in the belly, killed him in cold blood for the murder of his brother Asahel.
28-30 Later on, when David heard what happened, he said, “Before God I and my kingdom are totally innocent of this murder of Abner son of Ner. Joab and his entire family will always be under the curse of this bloodguilt. May they forever be victims of crippling diseases, violence, and famine.” (Joab and his brother, Abishai, murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon.)
31-32 David ordered Joab and all the men under him, “Rip your cloaks into rags! Wear mourning clothes! Lead Abner’s funeral procession with loud lament!” King David followed the coffin. They buried Abner in Hebron. The king’s voice was loud in lament as he wept at the side of Abner’s grave. All the people wept, too.
33-34 Then the king sang this tribute to Abner:
Can this be? Abner dead like a nameless bum?
You were a free man, free to go and do as you wished—
Yet you fell as a victim in a street brawl.
And all the people wept—a crescendo of crying!
35-37 They all came then to David, trying to get him to eat something before dark. But David solemnly swore, “I’ll not so much as taste a piece of bread, or anything else for that matter, before sunset, so help me God!” Everyone at the funeral took notice—and liked what they saw. In fact everything the king did was applauded by the people. It was clear to everyone that day, including all Israel, that the king had nothing to do with the death of Abner son of Ner.
38-39 The king spoke to his servants: “You realize, don’t you, that today a prince and hero fell victim of foul play in Israel? And I, though anointed king, was helpless to do anything about it. These sons of Zeruiah are too much for me. God, requite the criminal for his crime!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Read: Isaiah 25:1–5
God, you are my God.
I celebrate you. I praise you.
You’ve done your share of miracle-wonders,
well-thought-out plans, solid and sure.
Here you’ve reduced the city to rubble,
the strong city to a pile of stones.
The enemy Big City is a non-city,
never to be a city again.
Superpowers will see it and honor you,
brutal oppressors bow in worshipful reverence.
They’ll see that you take care of the poor,
that you take care of poor people in trouble,
Provide a warm, dry place in bad weather,
provide a cool place when it’s hot.
Brutal oppressors are like a winter blizzard
and vicious foreigners like high noon in the desert.
But you, shelter from the storm and shade from the sun,
shut the mouths of the big-mouthed bullies.
INSIGHT
Throughout Isaiah we see dark and dire prophecies interspersed with oases of hope. We may think these dramatically different sections contrast with each other—and they do—but they’re also complementary. Note how Isaiah 25 responds to previous pronouncements of judgment, which the prophet praises God for.
Chapter 24 declares that the entire earth will be devastated (vv. 1–3). Then it concludes by saying, “The Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory” (v. 23). This sets the stage for Isaiah 25. “In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things,” says the prophet (v. 1). These things include God’s judgment: “You have made the city a heap of rubble” (v. 2). Because of the judgment, “strong peoples” will honor the Lord, and “cities of ruthless nations will revere you” (v. 3). Even God’s judgment draws His creation to Him. - Tim Gustafson
When God Says No
By Leslie Koh
In perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
When I was conscripted into the military at age eighteen, as all young Singaporean men are, I prayed desperately for an easy posting. A clerk or driver, perhaps. Not being particularly strong, I hoped to be spared the rigors of combat training. But one evening as I read my Bible, one verse leaped off the page: “My grace is sufficient for you . . .” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
My heart dropped—but it shouldn’t have. God had answered my prayers. Even if I received a difficult assignment, He would provide for me.
So I ended up as an armored infantryman, doing things I didn’t always enjoy. Looking back now, I’m grateful God didn’t give me what I wanted. The training and experience toughened me physically and mentally and gave me confidence to enter adulthood.
In Isaiah 25:1–5, after prophesying Israel’s punishment and subsequent deliverance from her enemies, the prophet praises God for His plans. All these “wonderful things,” Isaiah notes, had been “planned long ago” (v. 1), yet they included some arduous times.
It can be hard to hear God saying no, and even harder to understand when we’re praying for something good—like someone’s deliverance from a crisis. That’s when we need to hold on to the truth of God’s good plans. We may not understand why, but we can keep trusting in His love, goodness, and faithfulness.
Lord, give me the faith to keep trusting You even when You say no.
When God says no, He has a plan. Keep trusting Him!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Why Your Load Seems So Heavy - #8338
Maybe it's a guy thing. Maybe it's just a Ron thing. But I hate to waste time or waste effort. You know? Here's what that it looks like when I've just returned from the grocery store to restock our empty refrigerator and shelves. I basically look like a mule – yeah, with bags all over my body, carried on almost every appendage. I don't want to make any more trips to the car than absolutely necessary, oh no, no! So I'm willing to try whatever calisthenics, to tolerate whatever overload will enable me to get everything in the house in one trip. This approach has been known to have its problems. Sometimes I drop a bag or two or one of them rips open; thus, making more work. And I've got this shoulder. Yeah, wrecked it pretty well. You think it might be traceable to carrying too much too many times?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your Load Seems So Heavy."
There's a price to pay for carrying too much at once. You might be paying some of that price right now; the stress, the anxiety, the fatigue, the frustration of those who carry more than they're supposed to. I'm one of those. I know.
I also know how my Savior says I'm supposed to live. His instructions are very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 6, beginning with verse 25. He says, "Do not worry about your life...look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them...Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...Why do you worry?...Do not worry...your Heavenly Father knows what you need...Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
First of all, you don't have to be a Biblical scholar to pick up Jesus' message here. He basically says it four times, "Do not worry." If you looked at us stressed out, freaked out, worn out warriors, you might conclude this is one of the most disobeyed commands Jesus ever gave. We do worry – a lot. And in so doing, we carry a heavier load than we're designed and equipped to carry. God has promised to give us what we need to carry today: daily bread, strength equal to your day, mercies new every morning, a cross to bear one day at a time, the renewing of our spirit day by day. But there's no promise about carrying your tomorrow while it's still today.
John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace" said, "Sometimes I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of sticks – far too large to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle at once. He mercifully unties the bundle and gives us one stick that we are to carry today and then another that we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. We might easily manage it, if we would take only the burden appointed for each new day. But we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today and by adding tomorrow's burden to our load before we are required to bear it." That's great stuff!
John Newton nailed it. See, we add baggage from yesterday and the potential burdens of tomorrow to what we're carrying today, and we start dropping things, and stumbling, and even hurting ourselves. So much of what we worry about tomorrow never happens. And you won't have God's promised resources to handle tomorrow until tomorrow. So no wonder you're overwhelmed and discouraged! Dwelling on yesterday or tomorrow takes your focus off today so you don't even do today very well!
So approach your load God's way – take your busy life one day at a time, or maybe one stick at a time. That's how you do a massive load. And about tomorrow? Take advantage of God's awesome invitation, "Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
Friday, December 28, 2018
John 1:1-28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: CHANGE THE WAY YOU SING
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness. . .” As we behold him, we become like him.
It’s a principle I experienced first-hand when an opera singer visited our church. You wouldn’t have known by his appearance. But you could by his voice. He tried to contain himself, but how can a tuba hide in a room of piccolos? I was startled…inspired…emboldened by his volume! I lifted mine. Did I sing better? No, but did I try harder? No doubt. His power brought out the best in me. Could your world use a little music? If so, invite heaven’s baritone, Jesus Christ, to cut loose. Who knows? A few songs with him might change the way you sing!
Read more Next Door Savior
John 1:1-28
The Life-Light
1 1-2 The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous bounty,
gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made him plain as day.
Thunder in the Desert
19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“The Prophet?”
“No.”
22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”
23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”
24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”
28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 28, 2018
Read: Psalm 103:1–12
A David Psalm
O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
INSIGHT
Recognizing our propensity to be forgetful and unfaithful (Deuteronomy 6:10–12; Hosea 13:6), David wrote Psalm 103 as a thanksgiving song, calling us to praise God for who He is and what He has done. He reminds us not to forgot “all his benefits” (vv. 1–2). The psalmist describes the character of our redeeming Father. He is compassionate, slow to anger, loving, forgiving, and gracious (vv. 3–13). He “does not punish us for all our sins . . . [or] deal harshly with us, as we deserve” (v. 10 nlt). God has forgiven our sins completely (vv. 11–12). David recounts God’s character in the aftermath of Israel’s idolatrous sin (vv. 7–8; Exodus 32): Our God is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7). - K. T. Sim
Good Riddance Day
By Marvin Williams
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
Since 2006 a group of people have celebrated an unusual event around the New Year. It’s called Good Riddance Day. Based on a Latin American tradition, individuals write down unpleasant, embarrassing memories and bad issues from the past year and throw them into an industrial-strength shredder. Or some take a sledgehammer to their good riddance item.
The writer of Psalm 103 goes beyond suggesting that people say good riddance to unpleasant memories. He reminded us that God bids good riddance to our sins. In his attempt to express God’s vast love for His people, the psalmist used word pictures. He compared the vastness of God’s love to the distance between the heavens and the earth (v. 11). Then the psalmist talked about His forgiveness in spatial terms. As far as the place where the sun rises is from the place where the sun sets, so the Lord has removed His people’s sins from them (v. 12). The psalmist wanted God’s people to know that His love and forgiveness were infinite and complete. God freed His people from the power of their transgressions by fully pardoning them.
Good news! We don’t have to wait until the New Year to experience Good Riddance Day. Through our faith in Jesus, when we confess and turn from our sins, He bids good riddance to them and casts them into the depths of the sea. Today can be a Good Riddance Day!
Thank You, Father, for freedom from sin.
What sins do you need to say goodbye to? How does it make you feel knowing that God infinitely and completely forgets your sins?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 28, 2018
Continuous Conversion
…unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 28, 2018
God Up Close - #8340
When our daughter and son-in-law became parents the first time, they also became an aunt and uncle. Their niece was a little younger than their first son, but you can imagine that both sets of parents enjoyed swapping stories about their first child. For example, he would set out a toy or a puzzle on the floor. He'd select one of us adults as his designated playmate. It sounds like this - now, he called me "Dada" because he couldn't say "Granddad" - he would go, "Dada pay." That's "play" for those requiring translation. And he patted the floor exactly where he wanted me to sit and "pay." Apparently, their niece was issuing similar invitations to the adults in her world, like her Daddy, for example. He was moving around the living room doing whatever, and she would look up at him with big eyes and asks a simple question, "Papa down?" She really wanted her father to come to her level. And he did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God Up Close."
If you've looked up at the night sky and thought about all those galaxies out there, or looked out over the majesty of the ocean or the mountains, you can get to feeling kind of small. The God who made all that can seem pretty far away. And that's too bad because, in so many ways, don't you really need God to be close right now for the challenges you're facing, for the love you need, the peace, the answers that only He has?
Like that little girl, we need Him to come close, down to our level. And He has. And you might be on the edge of a personal love relationship with your Creator that will unlock the rest of your life. Because of what God tells us He's done in our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:14. It says, speaking of the Son of God, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." "Papa down." God came here, not as an angel or a spirit, but as a man, and His name was Jesus. He's lived poverty, He's lived rejection, He's lived betrayal and hurt. He's even died a brutal death.
Why? So He could make the promise that comes a couple of verses earlier, "To all who received Him (that's Jesus), to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God." We're talking an intimate Father-son or Father-daughter relationship; not with a Father who's like your father on earth, but who's the kind of Father you always wanted to have.
There was no way you or I could ever belong to the God of the universe, unless there was some way to remove the sin that separates every one of us from Him. And that's what was happening when Jesus was dying on the cross. He was literally absorbing all the punishment for all the wrong things you have ever done. And when you open up your life to Him, you become God's girl...God's boy.
Maybe, after what you've been through, you find it hard to trust anybody, including God. You're willing to believe Jesus' beliefs and maybe go to His meetings, but you've never really trusted yourself totally to Him. He's the first person you finally can trust totally, because He's come down so far to love you. He died for you. He will never do you wrong.
And He's coming close right now. He's coming to you where you are. He's inviting you to be His, and I pray you won't go one more day without Him. Just tell Him, "Lord, I want to belong to you. I turn from running my own life, and I'm grabbing you with both hands as my only hope - as my rescuer from my sin. I'm Yours, Jesus."
You know, our website would be a great place for you to go sometimes as soon as you can today, just to find the information from the Bible, God's Word, that will ensure you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com. I just hope you'll go there today.
Maybe you believe in Jesus, but you don't belong to Him. That could change this very day. He's close right now, so grab Him while He's close.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness. . .” As we behold him, we become like him.
It’s a principle I experienced first-hand when an opera singer visited our church. You wouldn’t have known by his appearance. But you could by his voice. He tried to contain himself, but how can a tuba hide in a room of piccolos? I was startled…inspired…emboldened by his volume! I lifted mine. Did I sing better? No, but did I try harder? No doubt. His power brought out the best in me. Could your world use a little music? If so, invite heaven’s baritone, Jesus Christ, to cut loose. Who knows? A few songs with him might change the way you sing!
Read more Next Door Savior
John 1:1-28
The Life-Light
1 1-2 The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous bounty,
gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made him plain as day.
Thunder in the Desert
19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“The Prophet?”
“No.”
22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”
23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”
24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”
28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 28, 2018
Read: Psalm 103:1–12
A David Psalm
O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
INSIGHT
Recognizing our propensity to be forgetful and unfaithful (Deuteronomy 6:10–12; Hosea 13:6), David wrote Psalm 103 as a thanksgiving song, calling us to praise God for who He is and what He has done. He reminds us not to forgot “all his benefits” (vv. 1–2). The psalmist describes the character of our redeeming Father. He is compassionate, slow to anger, loving, forgiving, and gracious (vv. 3–13). He “does not punish us for all our sins . . . [or] deal harshly with us, as we deserve” (v. 10 nlt). God has forgiven our sins completely (vv. 11–12). David recounts God’s character in the aftermath of Israel’s idolatrous sin (vv. 7–8; Exodus 32): Our God is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7). - K. T. Sim
Good Riddance Day
By Marvin Williams
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
Since 2006 a group of people have celebrated an unusual event around the New Year. It’s called Good Riddance Day. Based on a Latin American tradition, individuals write down unpleasant, embarrassing memories and bad issues from the past year and throw them into an industrial-strength shredder. Or some take a sledgehammer to their good riddance item.
The writer of Psalm 103 goes beyond suggesting that people say good riddance to unpleasant memories. He reminded us that God bids good riddance to our sins. In his attempt to express God’s vast love for His people, the psalmist used word pictures. He compared the vastness of God’s love to the distance between the heavens and the earth (v. 11). Then the psalmist talked about His forgiveness in spatial terms. As far as the place where the sun rises is from the place where the sun sets, so the Lord has removed His people’s sins from them (v. 12). The psalmist wanted God’s people to know that His love and forgiveness were infinite and complete. God freed His people from the power of their transgressions by fully pardoning them.
Good news! We don’t have to wait until the New Year to experience Good Riddance Day. Through our faith in Jesus, when we confess and turn from our sins, He bids good riddance to them and casts them into the depths of the sea. Today can be a Good Riddance Day!
Thank You, Father, for freedom from sin.
What sins do you need to say goodbye to? How does it make you feel knowing that God infinitely and completely forgets your sins?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 28, 2018
Continuous Conversion
…unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 28, 2018
God Up Close - #8340
When our daughter and son-in-law became parents the first time, they also became an aunt and uncle. Their niece was a little younger than their first son, but you can imagine that both sets of parents enjoyed swapping stories about their first child. For example, he would set out a toy or a puzzle on the floor. He'd select one of us adults as his designated playmate. It sounds like this - now, he called me "Dada" because he couldn't say "Granddad" - he would go, "Dada pay." That's "play" for those requiring translation. And he patted the floor exactly where he wanted me to sit and "pay." Apparently, their niece was issuing similar invitations to the adults in her world, like her Daddy, for example. He was moving around the living room doing whatever, and she would look up at him with big eyes and asks a simple question, "Papa down?" She really wanted her father to come to her level. And he did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God Up Close."
If you've looked up at the night sky and thought about all those galaxies out there, or looked out over the majesty of the ocean or the mountains, you can get to feeling kind of small. The God who made all that can seem pretty far away. And that's too bad because, in so many ways, don't you really need God to be close right now for the challenges you're facing, for the love you need, the peace, the answers that only He has?
Like that little girl, we need Him to come close, down to our level. And He has. And you might be on the edge of a personal love relationship with your Creator that will unlock the rest of your life. Because of what God tells us He's done in our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:14. It says, speaking of the Son of God, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." "Papa down." God came here, not as an angel or a spirit, but as a man, and His name was Jesus. He's lived poverty, He's lived rejection, He's lived betrayal and hurt. He's even died a brutal death.
Why? So He could make the promise that comes a couple of verses earlier, "To all who received Him (that's Jesus), to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God." We're talking an intimate Father-son or Father-daughter relationship; not with a Father who's like your father on earth, but who's the kind of Father you always wanted to have.
There was no way you or I could ever belong to the God of the universe, unless there was some way to remove the sin that separates every one of us from Him. And that's what was happening when Jesus was dying on the cross. He was literally absorbing all the punishment for all the wrong things you have ever done. And when you open up your life to Him, you become God's girl...God's boy.
Maybe, after what you've been through, you find it hard to trust anybody, including God. You're willing to believe Jesus' beliefs and maybe go to His meetings, but you've never really trusted yourself totally to Him. He's the first person you finally can trust totally, because He's come down so far to love you. He died for you. He will never do you wrong.
And He's coming close right now. He's coming to you where you are. He's inviting you to be His, and I pray you won't go one more day without Him. Just tell Him, "Lord, I want to belong to you. I turn from running my own life, and I'm grabbing you with both hands as my only hope - as my rescuer from my sin. I'm Yours, Jesus."
You know, our website would be a great place for you to go sometimes as soon as you can today, just to find the information from the Bible, God's Word, that will ensure you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com. I just hope you'll go there today.
Maybe you believe in Jesus, but you don't belong to Him. That could change this very day. He's close right now, so grab Him while He's close.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Luke 24:36-53, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE REWARD OF CHRISTIANITY IS CHRIST
Do you visit the Grand Canyon for the T-shirt or the snow globe? No. The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon! It’s the wide-eyed realization you’re part of something ancient, splendid, powerful and greater than you!
The cache of Christianity is Christ! Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a better self-image. The Fort Knox of faith is Christ. It is fellowship with Him. It’s walking with Him and pondering Him. It’s the heart-stopping realization that in Him you’re part of something endless, unstoppable, unfathomable! And that He, who can dig the Grand Canyon with His pinkie, thinks you’re worth His death on Roman timber. Christ is the reward of Christianity.
Read more Next Door Savior
Luke 24:36-53
While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.
41-43 He asked, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.
You’re the Witnesses
44 Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”
45-49 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”
50-51 He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.
52-53 And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Read: Colossians 1:15–23
Christ Holds It All Together
15-18 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.
21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
INSIGHT
The New Testament concept of “image” (Colossians 1:15) involves three things: “exact likeness” (2 Corinthians 4:4 nlt), “exact representation” (Hebrews 1:3), and complete revelation (John 1:18). Man is created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), but Jesus “is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The writer of Hebrews says the Son “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (1:3) or “expresses the very character of God” (nlt). Jesus in His very essence and nature is God (Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5–6). The apostle John (John 1:18) says Jesus “has made [God] known” (niv) or “has explained Him” to us (nasb). - K. T. Sim
The Highest Place
By Keila Ochoa
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17
My husband invited a friend to church. After the service his friend said, “I liked the songs and the atmosphere, but I don’t get it. Why do you give Jesus such a high place of honor?” My husband then explained to him that Christianity is a relationship with Christ. Without Him, Christianity would be meaningless. It’s because of what Jesus has done in our lives that we meet together and praise Him.
Who is Jesus and what has He done? The apostle Paul answered this question in Colossians 1. No one has seen God, but Jesus came to reflect and reveal Him (v. 15). Jesus, as the Son of God, came to die for us and free us from sin. Sin has separated us from God’s holiness, so peace could only be made through someone perfect. That was Jesus (vv. 14, 20). In other words, Jesus has given us what no one else could—access to God and eternal life (John 17:3).
Why does He deserve such a place of honor? He conquered death. He won our hearts by His love and sacrifice. He gives us new strength every day. He is everything to us!
We give Him the glory because He deserves it. We lift Him up because that is His rightful place. Let’s give Him the highest place in our hearts.
Jesus, You are my Savior and my Lord, and I want to give You the highest place of honor in my life.
Read God at the Center at discoveryseries.org/hp152.
Jesus is the center of our worship.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Where the Battle is Won or Lost
"If you will return, O Israel," says the Lord… —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Children Who Expect Too Much - #8339
My friend, Bill, was talking to me about his son's expectations. He called them microwave expectations. Bill was in his early 50s, and his son Ken had been married for about a year, and his son wanted everything fast-like a microwave. Bill said, "I can't believe it. They want all this stuff immediately! They've been married one year and they want a home, they want furniture, and they want a new car. They want in a year what it took us 20 years to get!" That's not unusual; the child expects more than the father had.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Children Who Expect Too Much."
Our Heavenly Father deals with this all the time - children of His who feel entitled to have certain things and to have them now. Jesus addressed this issue of expectations right up front when people said they wanted to follow Him.
It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 9:57-58. It says, "As they were walking along the road, a man said to Him, 'I will follow You wherever You go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.'" I distinctly remember one night when this statement of Jesus came storming into my heart. I was speaking in Denver. My hosts had put me up in this beautiful hotel room with a view looking out over the city and the Rocky Mountains. And for some reason it suddenly hit me. I said, "Lord, I am living so much better than you did when you were here."
It's true. I mean, I have a place to live, a vehicle to drive, decent clothes to wear - so much more than the Son of God had when He was here. We start to develop attitude problems when we start comparing what we have with what others have, but that's the wrong measure. How are you doing compared to what your Lord had - the King of kings?
Jesus told us "the servant is not better than his master" (John 13:16). But a lot of times we expect a lot better life than our Master had. Jesus taught us what our expectations should be, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The problem comes when we expect more than this day's provision; when we demand more than that.
Maybe you're wrestling with discontentment right now because you've been expecting too much. You've looked around at a greedy world and you've started wanting what other worldlings have. But remember, it's all they've got! God has promised you rich rewards in heaven, but there's no promise of heaven on earth. Basically, Jesus said, "Expect a few years of sacrifice for an eternity of great wealth."
But you won't seek first His Kingdom if you're expecting or trying to get a lot of earth's kingdom. When our Heavenly Father gave His one and only Son, He didn't even have an earth address! Are you living better than your Lord did? Well, I am, and I'll bet you are. Then I guess we should be deeply and profoundly grateful for it. Thank Him for it! Ask Him to make you content with it. 1 Timothy says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." One man said, "Contentment is not getting everything you ever wanted, it's realizing how much you already have."
Consider that your Lord has given you unexpected bonuses to the real joy - which is having Him. Live your life like a two-legged thank you card to Jesus. And look forward to the wealth that He told you that you can expect - literally an eternity of enjoying His endless riches with Him forever.
Do you visit the Grand Canyon for the T-shirt or the snow globe? No. The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon! It’s the wide-eyed realization you’re part of something ancient, splendid, powerful and greater than you!
The cache of Christianity is Christ! Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a better self-image. The Fort Knox of faith is Christ. It is fellowship with Him. It’s walking with Him and pondering Him. It’s the heart-stopping realization that in Him you’re part of something endless, unstoppable, unfathomable! And that He, who can dig the Grand Canyon with His pinkie, thinks you’re worth His death on Roman timber. Christ is the reward of Christianity.
Read more Next Door Savior
Luke 24:36-53
While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.
41-43 He asked, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.
You’re the Witnesses
44 Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”
45-49 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”
50-51 He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven.
52-53 And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God. Yes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Read: Colossians 1:15–23
Christ Holds It All Together
15-18 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.
21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
INSIGHT
The New Testament concept of “image” (Colossians 1:15) involves three things: “exact likeness” (2 Corinthians 4:4 nlt), “exact representation” (Hebrews 1:3), and complete revelation (John 1:18). Man is created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), but Jesus “is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The writer of Hebrews says the Son “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (1:3) or “expresses the very character of God” (nlt). Jesus in His very essence and nature is God (Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5–6). The apostle John (John 1:18) says Jesus “has made [God] known” (niv) or “has explained Him” to us (nasb). - K. T. Sim
The Highest Place
By Keila Ochoa
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17
My husband invited a friend to church. After the service his friend said, “I liked the songs and the atmosphere, but I don’t get it. Why do you give Jesus such a high place of honor?” My husband then explained to him that Christianity is a relationship with Christ. Without Him, Christianity would be meaningless. It’s because of what Jesus has done in our lives that we meet together and praise Him.
Who is Jesus and what has He done? The apostle Paul answered this question in Colossians 1. No one has seen God, but Jesus came to reflect and reveal Him (v. 15). Jesus, as the Son of God, came to die for us and free us from sin. Sin has separated us from God’s holiness, so peace could only be made through someone perfect. That was Jesus (vv. 14, 20). In other words, Jesus has given us what no one else could—access to God and eternal life (John 17:3).
Why does He deserve such a place of honor? He conquered death. He won our hearts by His love and sacrifice. He gives us new strength every day. He is everything to us!
We give Him the glory because He deserves it. We lift Him up because that is His rightful place. Let’s give Him the highest place in our hearts.
Jesus, You are my Savior and my Lord, and I want to give You the highest place of honor in my life.
Read God at the Center at discoveryseries.org/hp152.
Jesus is the center of our worship.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Where the Battle is Won or Lost
"If you will return, O Israel," says the Lord… —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Children Who Expect Too Much - #8339
My friend, Bill, was talking to me about his son's expectations. He called them microwave expectations. Bill was in his early 50s, and his son Ken had been married for about a year, and his son wanted everything fast-like a microwave. Bill said, "I can't believe it. They want all this stuff immediately! They've been married one year and they want a home, they want furniture, and they want a new car. They want in a year what it took us 20 years to get!" That's not unusual; the child expects more than the father had.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Children Who Expect Too Much."
Our Heavenly Father deals with this all the time - children of His who feel entitled to have certain things and to have them now. Jesus addressed this issue of expectations right up front when people said they wanted to follow Him.
It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 9:57-58. It says, "As they were walking along the road, a man said to Him, 'I will follow You wherever You go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.'" I distinctly remember one night when this statement of Jesus came storming into my heart. I was speaking in Denver. My hosts had put me up in this beautiful hotel room with a view looking out over the city and the Rocky Mountains. And for some reason it suddenly hit me. I said, "Lord, I am living so much better than you did when you were here."
It's true. I mean, I have a place to live, a vehicle to drive, decent clothes to wear - so much more than the Son of God had when He was here. We start to develop attitude problems when we start comparing what we have with what others have, but that's the wrong measure. How are you doing compared to what your Lord had - the King of kings?
Jesus told us "the servant is not better than his master" (John 13:16). But a lot of times we expect a lot better life than our Master had. Jesus taught us what our expectations should be, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The problem comes when we expect more than this day's provision; when we demand more than that.
Maybe you're wrestling with discontentment right now because you've been expecting too much. You've looked around at a greedy world and you've started wanting what other worldlings have. But remember, it's all they've got! God has promised you rich rewards in heaven, but there's no promise of heaven on earth. Basically, Jesus said, "Expect a few years of sacrifice for an eternity of great wealth."
But you won't seek first His Kingdom if you're expecting or trying to get a lot of earth's kingdom. When our Heavenly Father gave His one and only Son, He didn't even have an earth address! Are you living better than your Lord did? Well, I am, and I'll bet you are. Then I guess we should be deeply and profoundly grateful for it. Thank Him for it! Ask Him to make you content with it. 1 Timothy says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." One man said, "Contentment is not getting everything you ever wanted, it's realizing how much you already have."
Consider that your Lord has given you unexpected bonuses to the real joy - which is having Him. Live your life like a two-legged thank you card to Jesus. And look forward to the wealth that He told you that you can expect - literally an eternity of enjoying His endless riches with Him forever.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
2 Samuel 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Secret of Forgiveness
You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you? If so, go one more time to the room. Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. Can you see him? Can you hear the water splash? Can you hear him shuffle on the floor to the next person? Keep that image.
John 13:12 says, "When he had finished washing their feet. . ." Please note, he finished washing their feet. That means he left no one out. Why is that important? Because that means he washed the feet of Judas. Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer. That's not to say it was easy for Jesus, and that's not to say it's easy for you. It IS to say, God will never call you to do what he hasn't already done!
From Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 2
After all this, David prayed. He asked God, “Shall I move to one of the cities of Judah?”
God said, “Yes, move.”
“And to which city?”
“To Hebron.”
2-3 So David moved to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David’s men, along with their families, also went with him and made their home in and around Hebron.
4-7 The citizens of Judah came to Hebron, and then and there made David king over the clans of Judah.
A report was brought to David that the men of Jabesh Gilead had given Saul a decent burial. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead: “God bless you for this—for honoring your master, Saul, with a funeral. God honor you and be true to you—and I’ll do the same, matching your generous act of goodness. Strengthen your resolve and do what must be done. Your master, Saul, is dead. The citizens of Judah have made me their king.”
8-11 In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin—king, as it turns out, over all Israel. Ish-Bosheth Saul’s son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David. David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.
12-13 One day Abner son of Ner set out from Mahanaim with the soldiers of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, headed for Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah, with David’s soldiers, also set out. They met at the Pool of Gibeon, Abner’s group on one side, Joab’s on the other.
14 Abner challenged Joab, “Put up your best fighters. Let’s see them do their stuff.”
Joab said, “Good! Let them go at it!”
15-16 So they lined up for the fight, twelve Benjaminites from the side of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve soldiers from David’s side. The men from each side grabbed their opponents’ heads and stabbed them with their daggers. They all fell dead—the whole bunch together. So, they called the place Slaughter Park. It’s right there at Gibeon.
17-19 The fighting went from bad to worse throughout the day. Abner and the men of Israel were beaten to a pulp by David’s men. The three sons of Zeruiah were present: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, as fast as a wild antelope on the open plain, chased Abner, staying hard on his heels.
20 Abner turned and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It surely is,” he said.
21 Abner said, “Let up on me. Pick on someone you have a chance of beating and be content with those spoils!” But Asahel wouldn’t let up.
22 Abner tried again, “Turn back. Don’t force me to kill you. How would I face your brother Joab?”
23-25 When he refused to quit, Abner struck him in the belly with the blunt end of his spear so hard that it came out his back. Asahel fell to the ground and died at once. Everyone who arrived at the spot where Asahel fell and died stood and gaped—Asahel dead! But Joab and Abishai kept up the chase after Abner. As the sun began to set, they came to the hill of Ammah that faced Giah on the road to the backcountry of Gibeon. The Benjaminites had taken their stand with Abner there, deployed strategically on a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, “Are we going to keep killing each other till doomsday? Don’t you know that nothing but bitterness will come from this? How long before you call off your men from chasing their brothers?”
27-28 “As God lives,” said Joab, “if you hadn’t spoken up, we’d have kept up the chase until morning!” Then he blew the ram’s horn trumpet and the whole army of Judah stopped in its tracks. They quit chasing Israel and called off the fighting.
29 Abner and his soldiers marched all that night up the Arabah Valley. They crossed the Jordan and, after a long morning’s march, arrived at Mahanaim.
30-32 After Joab returned from chasing Abner, he took a head count of the army. Nineteen of David’s men (besides Asahel) were missing. David’s men had cut down 360 of Abner’s men, all Benjaminites—all dead. They brought Asahel and buried him in the family tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men then marched all night, arriving in Hebron as the dawn broke.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Read: Acts 3:17–26
“And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.
19-23 “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, ‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.’
24-26 “All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God’s covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: ‘By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways.”
INSIGHT
The book of Acts describes how the Spirit of God enabled followers of Jesus to spread the word of what they had seen with their eyes (Acts 1:8). Their witness was given credibility by miracles (3:1–10), care for one another (6:1–7), a love for their enemies, and a willingness to suffer and die for their life-changing story (7:59–8:4).
From the temple of Jerusalem to a prison in Rome, they told how the long-awaited King and Savior of Israel had been crucified (3:17–18). Together they showed how the Jewish Scriptures could be read with a new understanding (8:26–35), and even how other religious beliefs (17:16–31) could be seen in light of a resurrected Savior and Lord. - Mart DeHaan
Just Another Day?
By Tim Gustafson
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. Acts 3:13
In Christmas Every Day, William Dean Howells tells of a little girl who gets her wish. For one long, horrible year it is indeed Christmas every day. By day three, the yuletide joy has already begun to wear thin. Before long everyone hates candy. Turkeys become scarce and sell for outrageous prices. Presents are no longer received with gratitude as they pile up everywhere. People angrily snap at each other.
Thankfully, Howell’s story is just a satirical tale. But what an incredible blessing that the subject of the Christmas celebration never wearies us despite the fact that we see Him throughout the Bible.
After Jesus had ascended to His Father, the apostle Peter proclaimed to a crowd at the temple in Jerusalem that Jesus was the one Moses foretold when he said, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me” (Acts 3:22; Deuteronomy 18:18). God’s promise to Abraham, “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed,” was really a reference to Jesus (Acts 3:25; Genesis 22:18). Peter noted, “All the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days”—the arrival of the Messiah (Acts 3:24).
We can keep the spirit of Christmas alive long after the celebrations have ended. By seeing Christ in the whole story of the Bible we can appreciate how Christmas is so much more than just another day.
Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, and for giving us His Story on the pages of the Bible.
This year, as you pack up the Christmas decorations, don’t put away the spirit of Christmas.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
“Walk in the Light”
If we walk in the light as He is in the light…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. —1 John 1:7
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7 , which says, “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light…”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you. Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you? If so, go one more time to the room. Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. Can you see him? Can you hear the water splash? Can you hear him shuffle on the floor to the next person? Keep that image.
John 13:12 says, "When he had finished washing their feet. . ." Please note, he finished washing their feet. That means he left no one out. Why is that important? Because that means he washed the feet of Judas. Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer. That's not to say it was easy for Jesus, and that's not to say it's easy for you. It IS to say, God will never call you to do what he hasn't already done!
From Inspirational Reader
2 Samuel 2
After all this, David prayed. He asked God, “Shall I move to one of the cities of Judah?”
God said, “Yes, move.”
“And to which city?”
“To Hebron.”
2-3 So David moved to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David’s men, along with their families, also went with him and made their home in and around Hebron.
4-7 The citizens of Judah came to Hebron, and then and there made David king over the clans of Judah.
A report was brought to David that the men of Jabesh Gilead had given Saul a decent burial. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead: “God bless you for this—for honoring your master, Saul, with a funeral. God honor you and be true to you—and I’ll do the same, matching your generous act of goodness. Strengthen your resolve and do what must be done. Your master, Saul, is dead. The citizens of Judah have made me their king.”
8-11 In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin—king, as it turns out, over all Israel. Ish-Bosheth Saul’s son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David. David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.
12-13 One day Abner son of Ner set out from Mahanaim with the soldiers of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, headed for Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah, with David’s soldiers, also set out. They met at the Pool of Gibeon, Abner’s group on one side, Joab’s on the other.
14 Abner challenged Joab, “Put up your best fighters. Let’s see them do their stuff.”
Joab said, “Good! Let them go at it!”
15-16 So they lined up for the fight, twelve Benjaminites from the side of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve soldiers from David’s side. The men from each side grabbed their opponents’ heads and stabbed them with their daggers. They all fell dead—the whole bunch together. So, they called the place Slaughter Park. It’s right there at Gibeon.
17-19 The fighting went from bad to worse throughout the day. Abner and the men of Israel were beaten to a pulp by David’s men. The three sons of Zeruiah were present: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, as fast as a wild antelope on the open plain, chased Abner, staying hard on his heels.
20 Abner turned and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It surely is,” he said.
21 Abner said, “Let up on me. Pick on someone you have a chance of beating and be content with those spoils!” But Asahel wouldn’t let up.
22 Abner tried again, “Turn back. Don’t force me to kill you. How would I face your brother Joab?”
23-25 When he refused to quit, Abner struck him in the belly with the blunt end of his spear so hard that it came out his back. Asahel fell to the ground and died at once. Everyone who arrived at the spot where Asahel fell and died stood and gaped—Asahel dead! But Joab and Abishai kept up the chase after Abner. As the sun began to set, they came to the hill of Ammah that faced Giah on the road to the backcountry of Gibeon. The Benjaminites had taken their stand with Abner there, deployed strategically on a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, “Are we going to keep killing each other till doomsday? Don’t you know that nothing but bitterness will come from this? How long before you call off your men from chasing their brothers?”
27-28 “As God lives,” said Joab, “if you hadn’t spoken up, we’d have kept up the chase until morning!” Then he blew the ram’s horn trumpet and the whole army of Judah stopped in its tracks. They quit chasing Israel and called off the fighting.
29 Abner and his soldiers marched all that night up the Arabah Valley. They crossed the Jordan and, after a long morning’s march, arrived at Mahanaim.
30-32 After Joab returned from chasing Abner, he took a head count of the army. Nineteen of David’s men (besides Asahel) were missing. David’s men had cut down 360 of Abner’s men, all Benjaminites—all dead. They brought Asahel and buried him in the family tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men then marched all night, arriving in Hebron as the dawn broke.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Read: Acts 3:17–26
“And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.
19-23 “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, ‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.’
24-26 “All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God’s covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: ‘By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways.”
INSIGHT
The book of Acts describes how the Spirit of God enabled followers of Jesus to spread the word of what they had seen with their eyes (Acts 1:8). Their witness was given credibility by miracles (3:1–10), care for one another (6:1–7), a love for their enemies, and a willingness to suffer and die for their life-changing story (7:59–8:4).
From the temple of Jerusalem to a prison in Rome, they told how the long-awaited King and Savior of Israel had been crucified (3:17–18). Together they showed how the Jewish Scriptures could be read with a new understanding (8:26–35), and even how other religious beliefs (17:16–31) could be seen in light of a resurrected Savior and Lord. - Mart DeHaan
Just Another Day?
By Tim Gustafson
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. Acts 3:13
In Christmas Every Day, William Dean Howells tells of a little girl who gets her wish. For one long, horrible year it is indeed Christmas every day. By day three, the yuletide joy has already begun to wear thin. Before long everyone hates candy. Turkeys become scarce and sell for outrageous prices. Presents are no longer received with gratitude as they pile up everywhere. People angrily snap at each other.
Thankfully, Howell’s story is just a satirical tale. But what an incredible blessing that the subject of the Christmas celebration never wearies us despite the fact that we see Him throughout the Bible.
After Jesus had ascended to His Father, the apostle Peter proclaimed to a crowd at the temple in Jerusalem that Jesus was the one Moses foretold when he said, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me” (Acts 3:22; Deuteronomy 18:18). God’s promise to Abraham, “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed,” was really a reference to Jesus (Acts 3:25; Genesis 22:18). Peter noted, “All the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days”—the arrival of the Messiah (Acts 3:24).
We can keep the spirit of Christmas alive long after the celebrations have ended. By seeing Christ in the whole story of the Bible we can appreciate how Christmas is so much more than just another day.
Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, and for giving us His Story on the pages of the Bible.
This year, as you pack up the Christmas decorations, don’t put away the spirit of Christmas.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
“Walk in the Light”
If we walk in the light as He is in the light…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. —1 John 1:7
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7 , which says, “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light…”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
2 Samuel 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: EVERY HEART CAN BE A MANGER
When Christ was born, so was our hope! This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises: He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished.
Christ only awaits our word to walk through the door. Invite him in. Escort him to the seat of honor, and pull out his chair. Clear the table; clear the calendar. Call the kids and neighbors. Christmas is here. Christ is here. One request from you, and God will do again what he did then–he’ll scatter the night with everlasting light. He’ll be born in you. Let “Silent Night” be sung! Every heart can be a manger. Every day can be a Christmas. The Christmas miracle—a yearlong celebration!
2 Samuel 1
Shortly after Saul died, David returned to Ziklag from his rout of the Amalekites. Three days later a man showed up unannounced from Saul’s army camp.
2-3 Disheveled and obviously in mourning, he fell to his knees in respect before David. David asked, “What brings you here?”
He answered, “I’ve just escaped from the camp of Israel.”
4 “So what happened?” said David. “What’s the news?”
He said, “The Israelites have fled the battlefield, leaving a lot of their dead comrades behind. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 David pressed the young soldier for details: “How do you know for sure that Saul and Jonathan are dead?”
6-8 “I just happened by Mount Gilboa and came on Saul, badly wounded and leaning on his spear, with enemy chariots and horsemen bearing down hard on him. He looked behind him, saw me, and called me to him. ‘Yes sir,’ I said, ‘at your service.’ He asked me who I was, and I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’”
9 “Come here,” he said, “and put me out of my misery. I’m nearly dead already, but my life hangs on.”
10 “So I did what he asked—I killed him. I knew he wouldn’t last much longer anyway. I removed his royal headband and bracelet, and have brought them to my master. Here they are.”
11-12 In lament, David ripped his clothes to ribbons. All the men with him did the same. They wept and fasted the rest of the day, grieving the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, and also the army of God and the nation Israel, victims in a failed battle.
13 Then David spoke to the young soldier who had brought the report: “Who are you, anyway?”
“I’m from an immigrant family—an Amalekite.”
14-15 “Do you mean to say,” said David, “that you weren’t afraid to up and kill God’s anointed king?” Right then he ordered one of his soldiers, “Strike him dead!” The soldier struck him, and he died.
16 “You asked for it,” David told him. “You sealed your death sentence when you said you killed God’s anointed king.”
17-18 Then David sang this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and gave orders that everyone in Judah learn it by heart. Yes, it’s even inscribed in The Book of Jashar.
19-21 Oh, oh, Gazelles of Israel, struck down on your hills,
the mighty warriors—fallen, fallen!
Don’t announce it in the city of Gath,
don’t post the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
Don’t give those coarse Philistine girls
one more excuse for a drunken party!
No more dew or rain for you, hills of Gilboa,
and not a drop from springs and wells,
For there the warriors’ shields were dragged through the mud,
Saul’s shield left there to rot.
22 Jonathan’s bow was bold—
the bigger they were the harder they fell.
Saul’s sword was fearless—
once out of the scabbard, nothing could stop it.
23 Saul and Jonathan—beloved, beautiful!
Together in life, together in death.
Swifter than plummeting eagles,
stronger than proud lions.
24-25 Women of Israel, weep for Saul.
He dressed you in finest cottons and silks,
spared no expense in making you elegant.
The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen
in the middle of the fight!
Jonathan—struck down on your hills!
26 O my dear brother Jonathan,
I’m crushed by your death.
Your friendship was a miracle-wonder,
love far exceeding anything I’ve known—
or ever hope to know.
27 The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen.
And the arms of war broken to bits.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Read: Isaiah 42:1–4
God’s Servant Will Set Everything Right
42 1-4 “Take a good look at my servant.
I’m backing him to the hilt.
He’s the one I chose,
and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.
I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.
He’ll set everything right among the nations.
He won’t call attention to what he does
with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.
Far-flung ocean islands
wait expectantly for his teaching.”
INSIGHT
Known as one of the Servant Songs (songs/poems that celebrate the service, suffering, and ultimate reign of the “Servant of the Lord”; see also Isaiah 49:1–13; 50:4–11; and 52:13–53:12), Isaiah 42 paints a beautiful picture of God’s care, concern, and coming justice for the nations. While there is some debate over the identity of the servant (in some songs the servant is expressed in the plural, suggesting the nation of Israel is the servant), there is little doubt about how today’s passage was viewed. Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1–4 in its entirety (Matthew 12:18–21). Matthew says that Jesus’s ministry of healing the sick was in fulfillment of this passage: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah” (v. 17). Matthew clearly sees Jesus as the Servant of the Lord in whom the nations “put their hope.” - J.R. Hudberg
Winter Snow
By Lisa Samra
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break. Isaiah 42:2–3
In winter, I often wake to the beautiful surprise of a world blanketed in the peace and quiet of an early morning snow. Not loudly like a spring thunderstorm that announces its presence in the night, snow comes softly.
In “Winter Snow Song,” Audrey Assad sings that Jesus could have come to earth in power like a hurricane, but instead He came quietly and slowly like the winter snow falling softly in the night outside my window.
Jesus’s arrival took many by quiet surprise. Instead of being born in a palace, He was born in an unlikely place, a humble dwelling outside Bethlehem. And He slept in the only bed available, a manger (Luke 2:7). Instead of being attended by royalty and government officials, Jesus was welcomed by lowly shepherds (vv. 15–16). Instead of having wealth, Jesus’s parents could only afford the inexpensive sacrifice of two birds when they presented Him at the temple (v. 24).
The unassuming way Jesus entered the world was foreshadowed by the prophet Isaiah, who prophesied the coming Savior would “not shout or cry out” (Isaiah 42:2) nor would He come in power that might break a damaged reed or extinguish a struggling flame (v. 3). Instead He came gently in order to draw us to Himself with His offer of peace with God—a peace still available to anyone who believes the unexpected story of a Savior born in a manger.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your majesty and coming to earth in order to offer peace.
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given! —O Little Town of Bethlehem
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
His Birth and Our New Birth
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Decorated From the Inside - #8337
One Christmas, a friend gave us one of the most unique ornaments I'd ever seen. As soon as you see it, you think how beautifully and exquisitely this glass decoration is painted. But what's amazing is that none of that artwork is on the outside of the ornament. It's been painted entirely on the inside! For centuries, I guess the Chinese have perfected this "inside painting." Through a small opening in that ornament, the artist repeatedly inserts a miniature brush to paint the artwork. Of course, the process is painstaking and time consuming. It takes two days just to paint one ornament, but the result is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind miniature masterpiece.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Decorated From the Inside."
It takes quite an artist to make something beautiful from the inside out, and God is the master of that! Every one of us needs His beautifying touch, because every one of us carries our share of ugly inside us. Right? And it keeps spilling out in our words, our attitude, how we treat other people, and it causes trouble. It causes hurt.
It's like there's this Grand Canyon between the person I want to be and need to be and the person I really am. The battles are different for each of us, but we all battle our dark side; things that people close to me hate, things I hate, things God hates. The ugliness of self-centeredness, of our destructive anger and the scars we leave with it, and then the deceit, the passions, the addictions we can't seem to master; all those things I say and do that hurt people I love and often people who don't deserve it. We want to change. We can't.
And we're frustrated by so many attempts we've made to be the right kind of person, to finally find some inner peace, to find a purpose that just gives every day some meaning. We look to religion to help us be what we need to be, but there's a problem. Religion basically tries to redecorate us from the outside and it keeps coming off! Jesus said of some very religious people in His day, "On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." (Matthew 23:28)
But for those of us who are tired of being one thing on the outside and something very different on the inside, for those of us who want to beat our darkness and become the person we need to be and we want to be, well for us the Bible has some liberating good news. It is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, and it's our word for today from the Word of God and it's great Christmas news. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
The Bible tells us that Jesus does what no religion could ever do. Kind of like those Chinese artists, He beautifies us on the inside so we're genuinely changed and we're permanently changed.
All of the ugly stuff and the dark stuff in our heart is summed up in one Bible word-sin; which is rebellion against God and His laws. I've tried to be the god of my own life, and it's not working. That's why Jesus came. Our only hope of sin's power being beaten was for God Himself to conquer it, which He did when Jesus paid the debt for our sins on the cross. Then when He conquered death on Easter Morning, He proved there's nothing He can't conquer.
This makeover miracle in your soul begins from the moment that you are, as that verse said, "in Christ." Not just around Christ, but I mean really belonging to Him. He did all the dying for all your sin. What's left is for you to put your total trust in Him as your Savior-your deliverer from your sin.
If you're ready to begin that relationship with Him, right here on this Christmas day, He came into the world this time of year. Wouldn't this be a great time to let Him come into your heart? Just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Our website is called ANewStory.com. I tell you about it because a couple minutes there, a few minutes there, will help you understand and be able to be sure you finally belong to Jesus.
Just ask anyone whose let Christ in. When you get Jesus, you start becoming a person you never dreamed you could be. He'll make you new on the inside as soon as you open the door. And this will be the best Christmas ever.
When Christ was born, so was our hope! This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises: He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished.
Christ only awaits our word to walk through the door. Invite him in. Escort him to the seat of honor, and pull out his chair. Clear the table; clear the calendar. Call the kids and neighbors. Christmas is here. Christ is here. One request from you, and God will do again what he did then–he’ll scatter the night with everlasting light. He’ll be born in you. Let “Silent Night” be sung! Every heart can be a manger. Every day can be a Christmas. The Christmas miracle—a yearlong celebration!
2 Samuel 1
Shortly after Saul died, David returned to Ziklag from his rout of the Amalekites. Three days later a man showed up unannounced from Saul’s army camp.
2-3 Disheveled and obviously in mourning, he fell to his knees in respect before David. David asked, “What brings you here?”
He answered, “I’ve just escaped from the camp of Israel.”
4 “So what happened?” said David. “What’s the news?”
He said, “The Israelites have fled the battlefield, leaving a lot of their dead comrades behind. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 David pressed the young soldier for details: “How do you know for sure that Saul and Jonathan are dead?”
6-8 “I just happened by Mount Gilboa and came on Saul, badly wounded and leaning on his spear, with enemy chariots and horsemen bearing down hard on him. He looked behind him, saw me, and called me to him. ‘Yes sir,’ I said, ‘at your service.’ He asked me who I was, and I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’”
9 “Come here,” he said, “and put me out of my misery. I’m nearly dead already, but my life hangs on.”
10 “So I did what he asked—I killed him. I knew he wouldn’t last much longer anyway. I removed his royal headband and bracelet, and have brought them to my master. Here they are.”
11-12 In lament, David ripped his clothes to ribbons. All the men with him did the same. They wept and fasted the rest of the day, grieving the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, and also the army of God and the nation Israel, victims in a failed battle.
13 Then David spoke to the young soldier who had brought the report: “Who are you, anyway?”
“I’m from an immigrant family—an Amalekite.”
14-15 “Do you mean to say,” said David, “that you weren’t afraid to up and kill God’s anointed king?” Right then he ordered one of his soldiers, “Strike him dead!” The soldier struck him, and he died.
16 “You asked for it,” David told him. “You sealed your death sentence when you said you killed God’s anointed king.”
17-18 Then David sang this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and gave orders that everyone in Judah learn it by heart. Yes, it’s even inscribed in The Book of Jashar.
19-21 Oh, oh, Gazelles of Israel, struck down on your hills,
the mighty warriors—fallen, fallen!
Don’t announce it in the city of Gath,
don’t post the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
Don’t give those coarse Philistine girls
one more excuse for a drunken party!
No more dew or rain for you, hills of Gilboa,
and not a drop from springs and wells,
For there the warriors’ shields were dragged through the mud,
Saul’s shield left there to rot.
22 Jonathan’s bow was bold—
the bigger they were the harder they fell.
Saul’s sword was fearless—
once out of the scabbard, nothing could stop it.
23 Saul and Jonathan—beloved, beautiful!
Together in life, together in death.
Swifter than plummeting eagles,
stronger than proud lions.
24-25 Women of Israel, weep for Saul.
He dressed you in finest cottons and silks,
spared no expense in making you elegant.
The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen
in the middle of the fight!
Jonathan—struck down on your hills!
26 O my dear brother Jonathan,
I’m crushed by your death.
Your friendship was a miracle-wonder,
love far exceeding anything I’ve known—
or ever hope to know.
27 The mighty warriors—fallen, fallen.
And the arms of war broken to bits.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Read: Isaiah 42:1–4
God’s Servant Will Set Everything Right
42 1-4 “Take a good look at my servant.
I’m backing him to the hilt.
He’s the one I chose,
and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.
I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.
He’ll set everything right among the nations.
He won’t call attention to what he does
with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.
Far-flung ocean islands
wait expectantly for his teaching.”
INSIGHT
Known as one of the Servant Songs (songs/poems that celebrate the service, suffering, and ultimate reign of the “Servant of the Lord”; see also Isaiah 49:1–13; 50:4–11; and 52:13–53:12), Isaiah 42 paints a beautiful picture of God’s care, concern, and coming justice for the nations. While there is some debate over the identity of the servant (in some songs the servant is expressed in the plural, suggesting the nation of Israel is the servant), there is little doubt about how today’s passage was viewed. Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1–4 in its entirety (Matthew 12:18–21). Matthew says that Jesus’s ministry of healing the sick was in fulfillment of this passage: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah” (v. 17). Matthew clearly sees Jesus as the Servant of the Lord in whom the nations “put their hope.” - J.R. Hudberg
Winter Snow
By Lisa Samra
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break. Isaiah 42:2–3
In winter, I often wake to the beautiful surprise of a world blanketed in the peace and quiet of an early morning snow. Not loudly like a spring thunderstorm that announces its presence in the night, snow comes softly.
In “Winter Snow Song,” Audrey Assad sings that Jesus could have come to earth in power like a hurricane, but instead He came quietly and slowly like the winter snow falling softly in the night outside my window.
Jesus’s arrival took many by quiet surprise. Instead of being born in a palace, He was born in an unlikely place, a humble dwelling outside Bethlehem. And He slept in the only bed available, a manger (Luke 2:7). Instead of being attended by royalty and government officials, Jesus was welcomed by lowly shepherds (vv. 15–16). Instead of having wealth, Jesus’s parents could only afford the inexpensive sacrifice of two birds when they presented Him at the temple (v. 24).
The unassuming way Jesus entered the world was foreshadowed by the prophet Isaiah, who prophesied the coming Savior would “not shout or cry out” (Isaiah 42:2) nor would He come in power that might break a damaged reed or extinguish a struggling flame (v. 3). Instead He came gently in order to draw us to Himself with His offer of peace with God—a peace still available to anyone who believes the unexpected story of a Savior born in a manger.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your majesty and coming to earth in order to offer peace.
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given! —O Little Town of Bethlehem
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
His Birth and Our New Birth
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Decorated From the Inside - #8337
One Christmas, a friend gave us one of the most unique ornaments I'd ever seen. As soon as you see it, you think how beautifully and exquisitely this glass decoration is painted. But what's amazing is that none of that artwork is on the outside of the ornament. It's been painted entirely on the inside! For centuries, I guess the Chinese have perfected this "inside painting." Through a small opening in that ornament, the artist repeatedly inserts a miniature brush to paint the artwork. Of course, the process is painstaking and time consuming. It takes two days just to paint one ornament, but the result is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind miniature masterpiece.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Decorated From the Inside."
It takes quite an artist to make something beautiful from the inside out, and God is the master of that! Every one of us needs His beautifying touch, because every one of us carries our share of ugly inside us. Right? And it keeps spilling out in our words, our attitude, how we treat other people, and it causes trouble. It causes hurt.
It's like there's this Grand Canyon between the person I want to be and need to be and the person I really am. The battles are different for each of us, but we all battle our dark side; things that people close to me hate, things I hate, things God hates. The ugliness of self-centeredness, of our destructive anger and the scars we leave with it, and then the deceit, the passions, the addictions we can't seem to master; all those things I say and do that hurt people I love and often people who don't deserve it. We want to change. We can't.
And we're frustrated by so many attempts we've made to be the right kind of person, to finally find some inner peace, to find a purpose that just gives every day some meaning. We look to religion to help us be what we need to be, but there's a problem. Religion basically tries to redecorate us from the outside and it keeps coming off! Jesus said of some very religious people in His day, "On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." (Matthew 23:28)
But for those of us who are tired of being one thing on the outside and something very different on the inside, for those of us who want to beat our darkness and become the person we need to be and we want to be, well for us the Bible has some liberating good news. It is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, and it's our word for today from the Word of God and it's great Christmas news. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
The Bible tells us that Jesus does what no religion could ever do. Kind of like those Chinese artists, He beautifies us on the inside so we're genuinely changed and we're permanently changed.
All of the ugly stuff and the dark stuff in our heart is summed up in one Bible word-sin; which is rebellion against God and His laws. I've tried to be the god of my own life, and it's not working. That's why Jesus came. Our only hope of sin's power being beaten was for God Himself to conquer it, which He did when Jesus paid the debt for our sins on the cross. Then when He conquered death on Easter Morning, He proved there's nothing He can't conquer.
This makeover miracle in your soul begins from the moment that you are, as that verse said, "in Christ." Not just around Christ, but I mean really belonging to Him. He did all the dying for all your sin. What's left is for you to put your total trust in Him as your Savior-your deliverer from your sin.
If you're ready to begin that relationship with Him, right here on this Christmas day, He came into the world this time of year. Wouldn't this be a great time to let Him come into your heart? Just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Our website is called ANewStory.com. I tell you about it because a couple minutes there, a few minutes there, will help you understand and be able to be sure you finally belong to Jesus.
Just ask anyone whose let Christ in. When you get Jesus, you start becoming a person you never dreamed you could be. He'll make you new on the inside as soon as you open the door. And this will be the best Christmas ever.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Luke 24:1-35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS IS FOR YOU
Maybe your life resembles a Bethlehem stable. Crude in some spots, smelly in others. Not much glamour. You do your best to make the best of it, but try as you might, the roof still leaks, and the winter wind still sneaks through the holes you just can’t seem to fix. You’ve shivered through your share of cold nights. And you wonder if God has a place for a person like you.
Find your answers in the Bethlehem stable. The story of Christmas is the story of God’s relentless love for us. The moment Mary touched God’s face is the moment God made His case! There is no place he will not go. No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far. There’s no person he cannot reach. There is no limit to his love!
Luke 24:1-35 The Message (MSG)
Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery
24 1-3 At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus.
4-8 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?” Then they remembered Jesus’ words.
9-11 They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn’t believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
12 But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that’s all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.
The Road to Emmaus
13-16 That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.
17-18 He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”
19-24 He said, “What has happened?”
They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”
25-27 Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.
28-31 They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.
32 Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”
A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone
33-34 They didn’t waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!”
35 Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 24, 2018
Read: Luke 2:8–20
An Event for Everyone
8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
INSIGHT
Shepherds were considered to be irreligious because their shepherding work prevented them from performing their religious obligations at the temple. Because they were in contact with dead animals, birds, and insects, they were rendered ceremonially “unclean” all the time (Leviticus 5:2–5; 11:4–43). It’s noteworthy that the birth of the Messiah—the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who is called our Good Shepherd (10:11)—was first announced to despised shepherds! - K. T. Sim
Ponder It
By David C. McCasland
Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
During Oswald Chambers’ years at the Bible Training College in London (1911–15), he often startled the students with things he said during his lectures. One young woman explained that because discussion was reserved for the following mealtime together, Chambers would frequently be bombarded with questions and objections. She recalled that Oswald would often simply smile and say, “Just leave it for now; it will come to you later.” He encouraged them to ponder the issues and allow God to reveal His truth to them.
To ponder something is to concentrate and think deeply about it. After the events leading to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, followed by the appearance of angels and the shepherds who came to see the Messiah, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). New Testament scholar W. E. Vine said that ponder means “to throw together, confer, to put one thing with another in considering circumstances” (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).
When we struggle to understand the meaning of what’s happening in our lives, we have Mary’s wonderful example of what it means to seek God and His wisdom.
When we, like her, accept God’s leading in our lives, we have many new things about His loving guidance to treasure and ponder in our hearts.
Father, guide us by Your Holy Spirit as we consider Your great love and embrace Your plan for our lives.
Allow yourself a few minutes of quiet during this busy season to sit and listen for what God might be saying to you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 24, 2018
The Hidden Life
…your life is hidden with Christ in God. —Colossians 3:3
The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).
When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walk[ing] in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).
When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you…” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “…your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 24, 2018
It was World War I. It was Christmas Eve. The German and British soldiers were dug in just hundreds of yards apart. But it turned out to be much more than just another tense and violent night on the battlefield. There had been so many of those. It actually began when one German soldier began singing "Silent Night" from his trench. Pretty soon he was joined in German by many more of his fellow soldiers. Amazingly, the voices of hundreds of British soldiers began to join in the carol from their trenches, sung in two languages - same carol. Now that has to have been a moment those soldiers never forgot. Just think, opposing armies singing "Sleep in heavenly peace" in the middle of a battlefield.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and on this day before Christmas, I want to have A Word With You about "Battlefield Peace."
It's good to remember this season that we celebrate Jesus' birth. No one has the power to bring peace in the midst of a battle like Jesus does. And that hope seems more important than ever in our world right now; a world that is feeling more and more like a battlefield.
Not to mention the unsettling battles in our own personal lives. You know, those battles which sometimes are actually amplified by the joy of the Christmas season, that strained relationship, that broken relationship, your loneliness, your uncertainties about the future, or just that gnawing emptiness on the inside that makes us feel like an attractively wrapped present with not much inside. For some of us, not even Christmas can tame the battlefield in our heart.
Of course, peace is a part of the promise of Christmas. The angels who announced Jesus' birth said He would make possible "peace on earth to men on whom His favor rests" (Luke 2:14). It wasn't so much political peace they were talking about, it was personal peace, inner peace-the kind that has eluded some of us for a long time. It's a peace you might be very ready for. And wouldn't it be incredible if you could finally begin to experience that peace here on the eve of Christmas!
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:13-14, which is our word for today from the Word of God, that peace is actually a Person. God says we were "without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ, for He himself is our peace."
See, I think that peace is actually the bringing together of you and me with the God we're away from. All of our running our own life, all the wrong things we've done that have left us away from the God whose love we were made for. So there's never really any inner peace until we let Jesus bring us home to God. It took Jesus dying on the cross to pay for all our sin, but because He did, He made it possible for your war with God to end; for you to finally experience that awesome feeling of knowing that you are at peace with your God.
If you've never actually placed your life in the hands of this Jesus, here on the eve of the day we celebrate His birth, this would be a wonderful time to open the door of your heart to Him. Tell Him right now, "I want to belong to you, Jesus. I resign running my own life. I turn from the wrong, and sinful, and self-centered choices I've been making. I believe you died for those sins. I believe you walked out of your grave under your own power and that you're alive today so you can save me today. Now as we celebrate your coming into this world, Jesus, I celebrate your coming into my life this very day."
Wow! Boy, let that happen today. Go to our website if you have questions or if you want more guidance, if you want to see exactly what the Bible says about this relationship. Go to ANewStory.com.
From this day on, you can have that "heavenly peace" on that battlefield in your heart. Have a very special Christmas!
Maybe your life resembles a Bethlehem stable. Crude in some spots, smelly in others. Not much glamour. You do your best to make the best of it, but try as you might, the roof still leaks, and the winter wind still sneaks through the holes you just can’t seem to fix. You’ve shivered through your share of cold nights. And you wonder if God has a place for a person like you.
Find your answers in the Bethlehem stable. The story of Christmas is the story of God’s relentless love for us. The moment Mary touched God’s face is the moment God made His case! There is no place he will not go. No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far. There’s no person he cannot reach. There is no limit to his love!
Luke 24:1-35 The Message (MSG)
Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery
24 1-3 At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus.
4-8 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?” Then they remembered Jesus’ words.
9-11 They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn’t believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
12 But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that’s all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.
The Road to Emmaus
13-16 That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.
17-18 He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”
19-24 He said, “What has happened?”
They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”
25-27 Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.
28-31 They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.
32 Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”
A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone
33-34 They didn’t waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!”
35 Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 24, 2018
Read: Luke 2:8–20
An Event for Everyone
8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!
INSIGHT
Shepherds were considered to be irreligious because their shepherding work prevented them from performing their religious obligations at the temple. Because they were in contact with dead animals, birds, and insects, they were rendered ceremonially “unclean” all the time (Leviticus 5:2–5; 11:4–43). It’s noteworthy that the birth of the Messiah—the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who is called our Good Shepherd (10:11)—was first announced to despised shepherds! - K. T. Sim
Ponder It
By David C. McCasland
Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
During Oswald Chambers’ years at the Bible Training College in London (1911–15), he often startled the students with things he said during his lectures. One young woman explained that because discussion was reserved for the following mealtime together, Chambers would frequently be bombarded with questions and objections. She recalled that Oswald would often simply smile and say, “Just leave it for now; it will come to you later.” He encouraged them to ponder the issues and allow God to reveal His truth to them.
To ponder something is to concentrate and think deeply about it. After the events leading to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, followed by the appearance of angels and the shepherds who came to see the Messiah, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). New Testament scholar W. E. Vine said that ponder means “to throw together, confer, to put one thing with another in considering circumstances” (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).
When we struggle to understand the meaning of what’s happening in our lives, we have Mary’s wonderful example of what it means to seek God and His wisdom.
When we, like her, accept God’s leading in our lives, we have many new things about His loving guidance to treasure and ponder in our hearts.
Father, guide us by Your Holy Spirit as we consider Your great love and embrace Your plan for our lives.
Allow yourself a few minutes of quiet during this busy season to sit and listen for what God might be saying to you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 24, 2018
The Hidden Life
…your life is hidden with Christ in God. —Colossians 3:3
The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).
When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walk[ing] in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).
When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you…” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “…your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 24, 2018
It was World War I. It was Christmas Eve. The German and British soldiers were dug in just hundreds of yards apart. But it turned out to be much more than just another tense and violent night on the battlefield. There had been so many of those. It actually began when one German soldier began singing "Silent Night" from his trench. Pretty soon he was joined in German by many more of his fellow soldiers. Amazingly, the voices of hundreds of British soldiers began to join in the carol from their trenches, sung in two languages - same carol. Now that has to have been a moment those soldiers never forgot. Just think, opposing armies singing "Sleep in heavenly peace" in the middle of a battlefield.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and on this day before Christmas, I want to have A Word With You about "Battlefield Peace."
It's good to remember this season that we celebrate Jesus' birth. No one has the power to bring peace in the midst of a battle like Jesus does. And that hope seems more important than ever in our world right now; a world that is feeling more and more like a battlefield.
Not to mention the unsettling battles in our own personal lives. You know, those battles which sometimes are actually amplified by the joy of the Christmas season, that strained relationship, that broken relationship, your loneliness, your uncertainties about the future, or just that gnawing emptiness on the inside that makes us feel like an attractively wrapped present with not much inside. For some of us, not even Christmas can tame the battlefield in our heart.
Of course, peace is a part of the promise of Christmas. The angels who announced Jesus' birth said He would make possible "peace on earth to men on whom His favor rests" (Luke 2:14). It wasn't so much political peace they were talking about, it was personal peace, inner peace-the kind that has eluded some of us for a long time. It's a peace you might be very ready for. And wouldn't it be incredible if you could finally begin to experience that peace here on the eve of Christmas!
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:13-14, which is our word for today from the Word of God, that peace is actually a Person. God says we were "without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ, for He himself is our peace."
See, I think that peace is actually the bringing together of you and me with the God we're away from. All of our running our own life, all the wrong things we've done that have left us away from the God whose love we were made for. So there's never really any inner peace until we let Jesus bring us home to God. It took Jesus dying on the cross to pay for all our sin, but because He did, He made it possible for your war with God to end; for you to finally experience that awesome feeling of knowing that you are at peace with your God.
If you've never actually placed your life in the hands of this Jesus, here on the eve of the day we celebrate His birth, this would be a wonderful time to open the door of your heart to Him. Tell Him right now, "I want to belong to you, Jesus. I resign running my own life. I turn from the wrong, and sinful, and self-centered choices I've been making. I believe you died for those sins. I believe you walked out of your grave under your own power and that you're alive today so you can save me today. Now as we celebrate your coming into this world, Jesus, I celebrate your coming into my life this very day."
Wow! Boy, let that happen today. Go to our website if you have questions or if you want more guidance, if you want to see exactly what the Bible says about this relationship. Go to ANewStory.com.
From this day on, you can have that "heavenly peace" on that battlefield in your heart. Have a very special Christmas!
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