Max Lucado Daily: Give God Your Guilt
Is guilt having its way with you? If so, here is a promise from Isaiah 1:18: "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow." God can do what no one else can. He can extract every last mark from your soul.
Give God your guilt. Pray simply, "Father you are good. I need help. Forgive me. . ." Tell Jesus what you did. Do it as often as needed. One time, two times, ten times a day? By all means! Hold nothing back. No sin is too ancient or recent, too evil or insignificant.
Before amen-comes the power of a simple prayer. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com. Commit every day for 4 weeks, to pray 4 minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
From Before Amen
1 Samuel 12
“Don’t Chase After Ghost-Gods”
Samuel addressed all Israel: “I’ve listened to everything you’ve said to me, listened carefully to every word, and I’ve given you a king. See for yourself: Your king among you, leading you! But now look at me: I’m old and gray, and my sons are still here. I’ve led you faithfully from my youth until this very day. Look at me! Do you have any complaints to bring before God and his anointed? Have I ever stolen so much as an ox or a donkey? Have I ever taken advantage of you or exploited you? Have I ever taken a bribe or played fast and loose with the law? Bring your complaint and I’ll make it right.”
4 “Oh no,” they said, “never. You’ve never done any of that—never abused us, never lined your own pockets.”
5 “That settles it then,” said Samuel. “God is witness, and his anointed is witness that you find nothing against me—no faults, no complaints.”
6-8 And the people said, “He is witness.”
Samuel continued, “This is the God who made Moses and Aaron your leaders and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. Take your stand before him now as I review your case before God in the light of all the righteous ways in which God has worked with you and your ancestors. When Jacob’s sons entered Egypt, the Egyptians made life hard for them and they cried for help to God. God sent Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them here in this place.
9 “They soon forgot their God, so he sold them off to Sisera, commander of Hazor’s army, later to a hard life under the Philistines, and still later to the king of Moab. They had to fight for their lives.
10 “Then they cried for help to God. They confessed, ‘We’ve sinned! We’ve gone off and left God and worshiped the fertility gods and goddesses of Canaan. Oh, deliver us from the brutalities of our enemies and we’ll worship you alone.’
11 “So God sent Jerub-Baal (Gideon), Bedan (Barak), Jephthah, and Samuel. He saved you from that hard life surrounded by enemies, and you lived in peace.
12 “But when you saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, preparing to attack you, you said to me, ‘No more of this. We want a king to lead us.’ And God was already your king!
13-15 “So here’s the king you wanted, the king you asked for. God has let you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear God, worship and obey him, and don’t rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow God, no problem. God will be sure to save you. But if you don’t obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers.
16-17 “Pay attention! Watch this wonder that God is going to perform before you now! It’s summer, as you well know, and the rainy season is over. But I’m going to pray to God. He’ll send thunder and rain, a sign to convince you of the great wrong you have done to God by asking for a king.”
18 Samuel prayed to God, and God sent thunder and rain that same day. The people were greatly afraid and in awe of God and of Samuel.
19 Then all the people begged Samuel, “Pray to your God for us, your servants. Pray that we won’t die! On top of all our other sins, we’ve piled on one more—asking for a king!”
20-22 Samuel said to them, “Don’t be fearful. It’s true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don’t turn your back on God. Worship and serve him heart and soul! Don’t chase after ghost-gods. There’s nothing to them. They can’t help you. They’re nothing but ghost-gods! God, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people.
23-25 “And neither will I walk off and leave you. That would be a sin against God! I’m staying right here at my post praying for you and teaching you the good and right way to live. But I beg of you, fear God and worship him honestly and heartily. You’ve seen how greatly he has worked among you! Be warned: If you live badly, both you and your king will be thrown out.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Read: Mark 1:40–45
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
40 And a leper[a] came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus[b] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Footnotes:
Mark 1:40 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
Mark 1:43 Greek he; also verse 45
INSIGHT
After Jesus healed the leper, why did He warn him not to tell anyone? (Mark 1:44). The Scriptures don't reveal Jesus's motive, but what follows could provide a hint: "But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing." The first priority was to show himself to the priest. Why? In ancient Israel, leprosy was seen as a physical disease with spiritual implications. Therefore, when the first symptoms were experienced, the afflicted person would go to the priest—not the doctor—to be diagnosed (Leviticus 13). If cleansing took place, the priest would need to confirm that healing. Additionally, the priest was required to offer a specific and unusually detailed sacrifice after a leper was cleansed (Leviticus 14). In the entire Old Testament there are only two recorded healings of lepers-Miriam (Numbers 12:10–15) and Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1–14), and in neither case does the Scripture record that this specific, detailed sacrifice was made. Therefore, it's quite possible that the first time this specific sacrifice was offered was in response to the healing described in Mark. But first the leper must "show [himself] to the priest" to have his healing confirmed.- Bill Crowder
Power of Touch
By Lisa Samra
Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. Mark 1:41 nlt
Dr. Paul Brand, twentieth-century pioneer medical missionary to India, saw firsthand the stigma associated with leprosy. During an appointment, he touched a patient to reassure him treatment was possible. Tears began to stream down the man’s face. An attendant explained the tears to Dr. Brand, saying, “You touched him and no one has done that for years. They are tears of joy.”
Early in His ministry, Jesus was approached by a man with leprosy, an ancient label for all types of infectious skin diseases. Because of his disease the man was required by the Old Testament law to live outside his community. If the sick man accidentally found himself in close proximity to healthy people, he had to call out, “Unclean! Unclean!” so they could avoid him (Leviticus 13:45–46). As a result, the man may have gone months or years without human contact.
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. Jesus had the power and authority to heal people with just a word (Mark 2:11–12). But as Jesus encountered a man whose physical illness left him feeling isolated and rejected, His touch assured the man that he was not alone but accepted.
As God gives us opportunities, we can extend grace and show compassion with a gentle touch that conveys dignity and value. The simple, healing power of human touch goes a long way to remind hurting people of our care and concern.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the personal way You reached out to care for hurting people. Help me to follow Your example and extend compassion in my actions.
Caring for others may include a compassionate touch.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 17, 2018
The Eternal Goal
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing…I will bless you… —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself…
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
“At any cost…by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.”
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday Nov. 11, 2018
Roots That Hold - #8306
The wind was blowing so hard that day, I was afraid someone was going to end up in Oz; and this isn’t even Kansas, Dorothy. I was in my office during one of those blustery hours, but you could not miss the roar outside. At times the winds were approaching hurricane force. I mean, they were knocking out electric power to many customers, they’re tearing branches off trees, and in one case while we were still living in the northeast, it was causing the deaths of four schoolgirls in New York City. They were actually in their church-school van when a 60mph gust whipped down the street, uprooted a 68-foot high maple tree, which fell on the van, killing those girls instantly. But the next day the mayor suggested that this was a tragedy that did not have to happen. Several months earlier, a nearby sidewalk had been paved without a permit, and that possibly weakening the roots of that tree. So, it may not have been the storm that caused the tragedy; it might have been the weakened roots.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “Roots That Hold.”
If your roots don’t go deep enough, the storm can uproot you just like that tree in New York. In fact, it could be that the recent storms in your life have blown you around violently and maybe you’ve even fallen to despair, or temptation, unbelief, or back to an old you that you thought you were done with.
I don’t know what your storm has been, but I do know that it may not be the storm that brought you down. It might be shallow roots; weakened roots—roots that have been neglected or just don’t go deep enough for life’s major onslaughts. Life’s storms expose shallow roots. Maybe that’s what’s been happening to you.
Maybe your faith has been rooted in your feelings, and when your feelings took a nose-dive, so did your faith. Or could it be that you’ve been trying to make it with a second-hand faith; maybe your parent’s Jesus, your church’s Jesus, your spiritual leader’s Jesus. But somewhere, you may have missed getting a one-on-one relationship with Jesus that’s yours, your very own; one that’s not dependent on your Christian environment. When the winds are strong, a second-hand faith, it’s not going to survive.
Or maybe you’re a fair-weather follower of Jesus. You hang onto Him when things are going your way, but when they aren’t, you wander off from your Savior. One other kind of roots that won’t hold you—living for the approval and the attention of a certain person or a group of people. If that’s where your worth is, I’ll tell you, it’s only a matter of time before you’re going down. Now to our word for today from the Word of God. Strong roots, Isaiah 33:6, “The Lord will be the sure foundation for your times.” A life that’s deeply anchored to a growing personal relationship with this Lord is holding onto the one thing that no storm can uproot.
The very first Psalm describes a person who is “like a tree planted by streams of water.” Did you get that? Planted. Solid. Not going anywhere. How can you be that person? It says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners.” In other words, stop flirting with sin. Every time you do, you weaken your roots. That sin comes between you and your anchor, your Lord.
The Psalm goes on, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” So, you make your daily time with Jesus the most important, most non-negotiable thing in your day. You avoid the weakening pull of sin and compromise. You make a priority of the strengthening that comes from daily time in God’s Word, and that’s where deep roots come from. Every day that you have quality time with your Lord, your roots go a little deeper into Him and you become a little more storm-proof.
So don’t wait for the storm to suddenly start developing your roots in your relationship with God. It’s too late then. The landscape is filled with those who have fallen; not because the storm was so strong, but because their roots were so weak. Don’t let that happen to you.