Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS PATIENT WITH US
God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves. We assume if we fall, we aren’t born again. If we have the old desires, we must not be a new creation. If you’re anxious please remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”
In many ways your new birth is like your first. In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there’s one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born. This time you do. The power is God’s. The effort is God’s. The pain is God’s. But the choice is yours.
Read more A Gentle Thunder
Judges 12
The men of Ephraim mustered their troops, crossed to Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go out to fight the Ammonites without letting us go with you? We’re going to burn your house down on you!”
2-3 Jephthah said, “I and my people had our hands full negotiating with the Ammonites. And I did call to you for help but you ignored me. When I saw that you weren’t coming, I took my life in my hands and confronted the Ammonites myself. And God gave them to me! So why did you show up here today? Are you spoiling for a fight with me?”
4 So Jephthah got his Gilead troops together and fought Ephraim. And the men of Gilead hit them hard because they were saying, “Gileadites are nothing but half breeds and rejects from Ephraim and Manasseh.”
5-6 Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan at the crossing to Ephraim. If an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” and he would say, “No.” And they would say, “Say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he would always say, “Sibboleth”—he couldn’t say it right. Then they would grab him and kill him there at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two Ephraimite divisions were killed on that occasion.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city, Mizpah of Gilead.
Ibzan
8-9 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty daughters-in-law from the outside for his sons.
10 He judged Israel seven years. Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11-12 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Abdon
13-15 After him, Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim in the Amalekite hill country.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Read: Psalm 57
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam[a] of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory![b]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Footnotes:
Psalm 57:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 57:8 Or my whole being
INSIGHT
In the book of Psalms, superscriptions often precede the actual text. These notes shed light on the individual or group designated to lead the composition, the author, or the situation that inspired the lyrics. The superscription for Psalm 57 tells us David wrote this psalm “when he had fled from Saul into the cave.” Scripture records two times when David found refuge from Saul in a cave (1 Samuel 22 and 24). While there is uncertainty as to which of these two incidents is in view here, the truth of the psalm is crystal clear—the fearful, the anxious, the fleeing can find ultimate safety in the Lord (Psalm 57:1).
When was the last time a difficult situation caused you to call out to “God Most High”? (v. 2). - Arthur Jackson
Terrible and Beautiful Things
By Monica Brands
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. Psalm 57:8
Fear can leave us frozen. We know all the reasons to be afraid—everything that’s hurt us in the past, everything that could easily do so again. So sometimes we’re stuck—unable to go back; too afraid to move forward. I just can’t do it. I’m not smart enough, strong enough, or brave enough to handle being hurt like that again.
I’m captivated by how author Frederick Buechner describes God’s grace: like a gentle voice that says, “Here is the world. Terrible and beautiful things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”
Terrible things will happen. In our world, hurting people hurt other people, often terribly. Like the psalmist David, we carry our own stories of when evil surrounded us, when, like “ravenous beasts,” others wounded us (Psalm 57:4). And so we grieve; we cry out (vv. 1–2).
But because God is with us, beautiful things can happen too. As we run to Him with our hurts and fears, we find ourselves carried by a love far greater than anyone’s power to harm us (vv. 1–3), a love so deep it fills the skies (v. 10). Even when disaster rages around us, His love is a solid refuge where our hearts find healing (vv. 1, 7). Until one day we’ll find ourselves awakening to renewed courage, ready to greet the day with a song of His faithfulness (vv. 8–10).
Healer and Redeemer, thank You for holding us and healing us with Your endless love. Help us find in Your love the courage to follow You and share Your love with those around us.
God’s love and beauty make us brave.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest….” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Always Taking Notes - #8287
When I was in college, there were certain times of the year when there was a huge crowd of guys jammed into my little room. One was when my mother or my girlfriend had sent homemade cookies. Somehow, everyone knows when those arrive, and then your popularity suddenly skyrockets for some reason. But the busiest time in my room was before mid-terms and final exams. One simple reason: I had the notes. I always scoped it out this way. You've got to be in class anyway, and you have to learn all this stuff eventually. Right? Why not make the most of class time, get good notes, learn all you can while the teacher's presenting it. That system worked pretty well for me, but it's not that I was particularly smart. Maybe I was just smart enough to realize that it pays to listen and record it when someone's teaching you something!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Taking Notes."
If you wanted to put a new title on the book of Proverbs in the Bible, you could call it something like, "Living Smart." It's wall-to-wall with God's practical directives on what wisdom looks like in everyday living. And one important key to wisdom, and sign of wisdom, is in our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 9:8-9, "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
Did you notice that revealing trait in one truly wise person? Yeah, I call it teachability. Show a wise man or woman something and they'll say, "Thank you. I'm a wiser person because of what you said." On the other hand, the person who is un-teachable is like headed for disaster.
So, would your spouse say that you're a teachable person? Do you learn from his or her advice; even from their criticism? Would your parents say you're teachable? Or your children? Wait a minute, you say, "Hey, I'm the Mama! I'm the Papa! I'm supposed to be teaching my child!" That's true. But there are times when a five-year-old, a ten-year-old, a seventeen-year-old has a simple insight that could teach you a lot.
If you're in Christian leadership, are you secure enough and are you humble enough to learn from each person you're with – even from your critics? And I wonder if your boss would call you teachable...your coworkers...your friends.
What got me through college was the realization that I needed to be learning when it was time to learn and recording it so I wouldn't forget it. That should be a lifestyle for those who are trying to live in the humility of Jesus Christ. Humility gets real practical when it comes down to whether or not you are humble enough to see every person around you as your teacher – no matter their age, their spiritual condition, their gender, their style, their position in life.
God has put the people in your life from whom you can learn something about Him, about yourself, or about good choices, about bad choices, about your blind spots. Whether or not you keep getting "wiser still" depends on the openness of your heart to this world of teachers around you, to new information, to new ways of seeing old information, to uncomfortable information.
Listen, I didn't have to really like my professors to learn from them. They knew and they had experienced things that I didn't know. Whether or not they were my kind of person didn't really matter. What mattered was whether or not I went in with my heart and my head and my notebook open to learn what they could teach me.
That's a great – and wise – way to live. Maybe we should walk around with a big sign around our neck, "TEACH ME." There's no limit to how wise you can become if you see every person as your teacher, someone you can learn from and if you're always taking notes!