Max Lucado Daily: GOD USES THE COMMON
Luke 17:33 says, “Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them.” Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common. If so, it’s a place you won’t want to miss. See Rahab’s rope, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart.
I don’t know if these items will be there. But I’m sure of one thing—the people who used them will be there. The risk takers– Rahab who sheltered the spy; David slinging a stone; and Samson swinging a bone. And Mary at Jesus’ feet…what she gave cost much, but somehow she knew what he would give would cost more!
Read more Grace for the Moment II
Luke 17:1-19
A Kernel of Faith
17 1-2 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!
3-4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 02, 2018
Read: Song of Solomon 2:14–17
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
15 Catch the foxes[a] for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazes[b] among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.[c]
Footnotes:
Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
Song of Solomon 2:16 Or he pastures his flock
Song of Solomon 2:17 Or mountains of Bether
INSIGHT
Although the author is not specifically named, Song of Songs is traditionally attributed to Solomon, who is mentioned in 1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12 and who is referred to as “King Solomon” in 3:9–11. Therefore, this book is also called “The Song of Solomon.” Solomon composed 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), but this song is deemed to be “the best”—hence the appropriate title “Solomon’s Song of Songs” (1:1). It is one of two biblical books (the other is Esther) where God isn’t mentioned explicitly. Some interpret Song of Songs as an allegory of Christ’s love for the church; others consider it to be a poem describing the romance and relationship of two passionate lovers. Rich in nature metaphors—“Your eyes are doves” (1:15); “My beloved is like a gazelle” (2:9); “The little foxes that ruin the vineyards” (v. 15)—the song celebrates sexual love and physical intimacy within the bonds of marriage (4:8–5:1). Together husband and wife wield out “the foxes” (2:15), removing anything that threatens their loving union or hurts the exclusivity of their marriage. - K. T. Sim
Catching Foxes
By Amy Boucher Pye
Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. Song of Solomon 2:15
While talking on the phone with a friend who lives by the seaside, I expressed delight at hearing seagulls squawking. “Vile creatures,” she responded, for to her they’re a daily menace. As a Londoner, I feel the same way about foxes. I find them not cute animals but roaming creatures that leave smelly messes in their wake.
Foxes appear in the love poetry of the Song of Solomon, an Old Testament book that reveals the love between a husband and wife and, some commentators believe, between God and His people. The bride warns about little foxes, asking her bridegroom to catch them (2:15). For foxes, hungry for the vineyard’s grapes, could tear the tender plants apart. As the bride looks forward to their married life together, she doesn’t want vermin disturbing their covenant of love.
How can “foxes” disturb our relationship with God? For me, when I say “yes” to too many requests, I can become overwhelmed and unpleasant. Or when I witness relational conflict, I can be tempted to despair or anger. As I ask the Lord to limit the effect of these “foxes”—those I’ve let in through an open gate or those that have snuck in—I gain in trust of and love for God as I sense His loving presence and direction.
How about you? How can you seek God’s help from anything keeping you from Him?
Lord God, You are powerful and You are good. Please protect my relationship with You, keeping out anything that would take my eyes off You.
God can guard our relationship with Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 02, 2018
Obedience or Independence?
If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. Shade of His Hand, 1226 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 02, 2018
Getting Right Back On Your Bike - #8300
Our family was staying in, well, as the camp song says, "a little cabin in the woods." As soon as we got unpacked, our seven or eight-year-old son went for an exploratory bike ride up the trail. When he returned he got going a little fast, and then he hit this patch of gravel right near the cabin. The bike spun out from under him and he hit that ground pretty hard. When he got up, there was a lot of blood around his mouth. He had broken a tooth and it punctured his lip. So, we raced him to a hospital emergency room where they fixed him up with a few stitches. Now, he took the second bike ride that day. That was the tough part; especially after what had happened on the first bike ride. But his Mother and I encouraged him to get right back on his bike. We knew if he didn't, it might take him a long time to get the confidence back to ever ride again. Well, sure enough, the boy bounced back. In spite of his fall, he decided to ride again and he kept riding for many years after that.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Getting Right Back On Your Bike."
Today is for someone who has fallen off their bike-spiritually. You've made some spiritual mistakes, you've taken some spiritual spills maybe, and maybe you've been carrying some wounds from going down.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Lamentations 3:19-23 might be for you. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah is thinking about some of his falls. He says, "I remember my affliction and my wandering; the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me." Well, he's struggling with some depressing feelings about his wandering, his hurt, his mistakes. Now listen, "Yet I call this to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." That would make a nice hymn, wouldn't it? Oh, wait! It already did.
Jeremiah's' feelings were focused on the falls and maybe yours are, too. You fell, you believed the lie, you did what you thought you would never do, and you're not sure you can ever ride again the way you used to. Satan's time-tested strategy is to get you down and then to keep you there-make you think that your riding days are over. Well, after what you did, he's saying to you, "You might as well stay down, man. In fact, you might as well do some of those other things, too. What's the use? It's over!" Wrong! God's mercies are new every morning including this one! His compassion for you has not failed! No failure has to last longer than a day! God is the God of forgiveness, of restoring, of new beginnings-daily new beginnings.
Jesus covered those falls of yours when He died on the cross. Because of that, you don't have to stay down! Proverbs 24:16 says, "Though a righteous man falls seven time, he rises again; but the wicked are brought down by calamity." God's calling you, well, in the words of Philippians 3, to"Forget what is behind and press on for the prize to which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Yes, our son took a serious fall that day and it hurt. But he was smart enough not to let it keep him from getting right back on that bike to ride again. You may have taken a serious fall and yes, it hurt, but you have a Savior. Will you let Him Savior you right now? It isn't over! Let Jesus pick you up, clean you up, and get you riding again!
