Max Lucado Daily: SURRENDERING OUR COMMON LIFE
God grants us an uncommon life to the degree that we surrender our common one. Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life” (Matthew 16:25).
Imagine that you are a photographer for an ad agency and your boss assigns you your biggest photo shoot ever—an adult magazine. Say yes and polish your reputation; yet you’ll use your God-given gifts to tarnish Christ’s reputation. What do you choose? You have a choice!
Jesus did too. He “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Christ abandoned his reputation, and God hunts for those who will do likewise.
Read more Cure for the Common Life
Joshua 15
Judah
The lot for the people of Judah, their clans, extended south to the border of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin in the extreme south.
2-4 The southern border ran from the tip of the Salt Sea south of The Tongue; it ran southward from Scorpions Pass, went around Zin and just south of Kadesh Barnea; then it ran past Hezron, ascended to Addar, and curved around to Karka; from there it passed along to Azmon, came out at the Brook of Egypt, ending at the Sea. This is the southern boundary.
5-11 The eastern boundary: the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern boundary started at the shallows of the Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth Hoglah and around to the north of Beth Arabah and to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. The border then ascended to Debir from Trouble Valley and turned north toward Gilgal, which lies opposite Red Pass, just south of the gorge. The border then followed the Waters of En Shemesh and ended at En Rogel. The border followed the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite ridge (that is, Jerusalem). It ascended to the top of the mountain opposite Hinnom Valley on the west, at the northern end of Rephaim Valley; the border then took a turn at the top of the mountain to the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah, and followed the valley out to Mount Ephron, turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim), took another turn west of Baalah to Mount Seir, curved around to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), descended to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. The border then went north to the ridge of Ekron, turned toward Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and came out at Jabneel. The border ended at the Sea.
12 The western border: the coastline of the Great Sea.
This is the boundary around the people of Judah for their clans.
13 Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a section among the people of Judah, according to God’s command. He gave him Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. Arba was the ancestor of Anak.
14-15 Caleb drove out three Anakim from Hebron: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, all descendants of Anak. He marched up from there against the people of Debir. Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.
16-17 Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I’ll give my daughter Acsah to him as his wife.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as his wife.
18-19 When she arrived she got him
to ask for farmland from her father.
As she dismounted from her donkey
Caleb asked her, “What would you like?”
She said, “Give me a marriage gift.
You’ve given me desert land;
Now give me pools of water!”
And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.
20-32 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah, clan by clan.
The southern towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev were near the boundary of Edom:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,
Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor),
Amam, Shema, Moladah,
Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,
Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah,
Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—
a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
33-47 In the Shephelah (the western foothills) there were:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,
Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—
fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,
Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,
Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish,
Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—
sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah—
nine towns and their villages.
Ekron with its towns and villages;
From Ekron, west to the sea, all that bordered Ashdod with its villages;
Ashdod with its towns and villages;
Gaza with its towns and villages all the way to the Brook of Egypt.
The Great Sea is the western border.
48-60 In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir),
Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—
eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan,
Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,
Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—
nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—
ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,
Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon—
six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—
two towns and their villages.
61-62 In the wilderness:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,
Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi—
six towns and their villages.
63 The people of Judah couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites stayed put, living alongside the people of Judah. They are still living there in Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Read: Job 41:12–34
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of[a] rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty[b] are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Footnotes:
Job 41:15 Or His pride is in his
Job 41:25 Or gods
INSIGHT
To learn more about the Creator, check out christianuniversity.org/CA203.
God of the Depths
By Tim Gustafson
There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. Psalm 104:25–26
“When you go to the deep sea, every time you take a sample, you’ll find a new species,” says marine biologist Ward Appeltans. In one recent year, scientists identified 1,451 new types of undersea life. We simply don’t know the half of what’s down there.
In Job 38–40, God reviewed His creation for Job’s benefit. In three poetic chapters, God highlighted the wonders of weather, the vastness of the cosmos, and the variety of creatures in their habitats. These are things we can observe. Then God spoke of the mysterious Leviathan—for an entire chapter. Leviathan is a creature like no other, with harpoon-deflecting armor (Job 41:7, 13), graceful power (v. 12), and “fearsome teeth” (v. 14). “Flames stream from its mouth . . . smoke pours from its nostrils” (vv. 19–20). “Nothing on earth is its equal” (v. 33).
Okay, so God talks about a huge creature we haven’t seen. Is that the point of Job 41?
No! Job 41 broadens our understanding of God’s surprising character. The psalmist expanded on this when he wrote, “There is the sea, vast and spacious, . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there” (Psalm 104:25–26). After the terrifying description in Job, we learn that God created a playpen for this most fearsome of all creatures. Leviathan frolics.
We have the present to explore the ocean. We’ll have eternity to explore the wonders of our magnificent, mysterious, playful God.
Our exploration of creation teaches us about the Creator.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “…to stir you up by reminding you…” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Human Volcanoes - #8217
All eyes were on the mountain-the volcano nearby. Our friends' daughter, a missionary, was living in a city that sits in the middle of several volcanoes. And one of them was showing some of those Mt. St. Helen's-type symptoms: the bulging and the boiling that suggests a possible eruption in the near future. Scientists were predicting that could very well happen. So living anywhere near that boiling mountain was, to say the least, like nerve-wracking.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Human Volcanoes."
It's tough living with a volcano that could go off any minute. Maybe that's how the people around you feel. When the stress and the pressure and the aggravation build up, many of us become a human volcano, blowing up and doing some serious damage, especially to the people we love. Like a volcano, the eruption is over fairly quickly, but the damage it does can last a lifetime.
For someone listening today, your temper is, well maybe to put it in "Star Wars" vocabulary, part of your "dark side." And our dark side, frankly, is out of control all too often. It might be the devastating things that we say and do when we're angry, or it could be our selfishness that just continually wounds and crushes people, or our sexual desires that take us where we really never should go, or this kind of sour negative attitude and bitterness that poisons our life and the lives of people around us. It's all deadly molten lava that keeps spewing out of our life, often hurting most the people we love the most.
The battle we fight with our explosive dark side isn't a new battle. It's at least 2,000 years old, as evidenced by what one Bible writer said in Romans 7, beginning with verse 15, which is our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do." That's a struggle we all understand too well, isn't it? The way we treat our mate, our children, our co-workers, our friends-we don't want to be that way, but we can't seem to stop being that way. He goes on to say, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." How many times have we resolved to do better - and failed? And then he says, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this is what I keep on doing."
Ready for some good news? Well, there is some here. Because the Bible now shows us how to move from despair to deliverance. The writer says, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me...?" Okay, that's the word, that's what we need. We need a rescue! Someone who can lift us out of this sin-mess we're trapped in. "Thanks be to God," the writer continues, "through Jesus Christ our Lord!" That's where hope is! Jesus Christ came here to deal once and for all with this sin monster that's so powerful inside us. That sin cuts us off from God, now and forever. But Jesus went to a cross where He died to absorb all the power and all the death penalty of your sin and mine. Then He declared total victory three days later when He walked out of His grave under His own power!
And He wants to bring that victory into your life to forgive every sinful, hurtful things you have ever done and give you a new beginning. He stands ready to actually move into your heart and to control what you've never been able to control and to beat what has always beaten you. He's the Rescuer, reaching for you. Now it's up to you to reach back and grab His hand and tell Him, "Jesus, You're my only hope. I don't want to be like this anymore. I'm placing all my trust in you to be my Savior from my sin." With Him in your life, you don't have to be what you've always been. You can be what the Bible calls "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Look, if you want to begin this relationship and begin this liberating experience with Jesus Christ, let me invite you to go to our website. It's called actually ANewStory.com because it's where your new story could begin.
When Jesus was on earth, He was with His disciples in this violent storm that threatened to destroy them, until He stepped to the helm and He said three words: "Peace, be still!" The storm was gone. Today He wants to do that for the storm that's been raging inside you.