Max Lucado Daily: A FREE CHOICE
We don’t like to talk about hell, do we? In intellectual circles the topic of hell is regarded as primitive and foolish. It’s not logical. A loving God wouldn’t send people to hell. So we dismiss it.
The doctrine of hell, however, is not one developed by Paul, Peter, or John. It is taught primarily by Jesus himself. And to dismiss it is to dismiss the presence of a loving God and the privilege of a free choice. He leaves the choice to us. He invites us to love him. He urges us to love him. He came that we might love him. To take that choice from each of us, for him to force us to love him, would be less than love. God explains the benefits, outlines the promises, and articulates very clearly the consequences. And then, in the end, he leaves the choice to us!
Read more Grace for the Moment II
Psalm 59
A David Psalm, When Saul Set a Watch on David’s House in Order to Kill Him
59 1-2 My God! Rescue me from my enemies,
defend me from these mutineers.
Rescue me from their dirty tricks,
save me from their hit men.
3-4 Desperadoes have ganged up on me,
they’re hiding in ambush for me.
I did nothing to deserve this, God,
crossed no one, wronged no one.
All the same, they’re after me,
determined to get me.
4-5 Wake up and see for yourself! You’re God,
God-of-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God!
Get on the job and take care of these pagans,
don’t be soft on these hard cases.
6-7 They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
Then suddenly they’re all at the gate,
Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.
They think they’ll never get caught.
8-10 But you, God, break out laughing;
you treat the godless nations like jokes.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
I can always count on you.
God in dependable love shows up on time,
shows me my enemies in ruin.
11-13 Don’t make quick work of them, God,
lest my people forget.
Bring them down in slow motion,
take them apart piece by piece.
Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance
catch up with them,
Catch them out and bring them down
—every muttered curse
—every barefaced lie.
Finish them off in fine style!
Finish them off for good!
Then all the world will see
that God rules well in Jacob,
everywhere that God’s in charge.
14-15 They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
They scavenge for bones,
And bite the hand that feeds them.
16-17 And me? I’m singing your prowess,
shouting at cockcrow your largesse,
For you’ve been a safe place for me,
a good place to hide.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
I can always count on you—
God, my dependable love.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Read: 2 Kings 8:1–6
Years before, Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought to life, “Leave here and go, you and your family, and live someplace else. God has ordered a famine in the land; it will last for seven years.” The woman did what the Holy Man told her and left. She and her family lived as aliens in the country of Philistia for seven years. Then, when the seven years were up, the woman and her family came back. She went directly to the king and asked for her home and farm.
4-5 The king was talking with Gehazi, servant to the Holy Man, saying, “Tell me some stories of the great things Elisha did.” It so happened that as he was telling the king the story of the dead person brought back to life, the woman whose son was brought to life showed up asking for her home and farm.
Gehazi said, “My master the king, this is the woman! And this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!”
6 The king wanted to know all about it, and so she told him the story. The king assigned an officer to take care of her, saying, “Make sure she gets everything back that’s hers, plus all profits from the farm from the time she left until now.”
INSIGHT
Today’s text demonstrates God’s sovereignty in directing human affairs. Another example of God’s divine direction is seen in the account of Joseph (Genesis 37–41). At the end of his story, Joseph comforted his brothers who had grievously harmed him (45:5) and said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good” (50:20 nlt).
The apostle Paul says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
How do these examples help you trust God as the Lord of your moments? - K. T. Sim
Lord of the Moment
By James Banks
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9
Not long ago I was working on a construction project at my son’s home three hours away. The job took days longer than expected, and each morning I prayed we would finish by sunset. But every evening there was more to be done.
I wondered why. Could there be a reason for the delay? An answer came the next morning. I was picking up a tool when my phone rang and a stranger’s voice spoke urgently: “Your daughter was injured in an accident. You need to come immediately.”
She lived near my son, so it took just fourteen minutes to reach her. If I had been home, I would have been three hours away. I followed the ambulance to the hospital and comforted her before surgery. As I sat holding her hand I realized if my project hadn’t been delayed, I wouldn’t have been there.
Our moments belong to God. This was the experience of a woman whose son God had resurrected through the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:18–37). She left the country because of famine and returned years later to beg the king for her land. At precisely that moment the king was conversing with the prophet’s servant Gehazi. “Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored” her son, the woman walked in (8:5). Her request was granted.
We don’t know what even the next second brings, but God is graciously able to use any situation for good. May God give us grace to walk with Him expectantly into His appointments for us today.
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of my life. Help me to be Your faithful servant.
Our lives are better off in God’s hands than in our own.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 29, 2018
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
He will glorify Me… —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,…He will glorify Me…” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Pieces and Masterpieces - #8319
They just don't make garbage like they used to. Do you remember the good old days when you could throw away everything when you were done with it? Actually, those were not the good old days, because we were also trashing our environment. I don't know how it is in your neighborhood, but we lived in a neighborhood for a long time where we had the privilege of sorting and putting out what used to be just garbage; you know now they're called recyclables. It's amazing how they can take that garbage and then recycle it into something useful again.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Pieces and Masterpieces."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Genesis 50:20. Joseph is speaking to his brothers who threw him in a pit, they thought he might die there, and then finally they ended up selling him as slave traders. They thought one way or the other that was the end of him. Now he is the Assistant Pharaoh of Egypt, saving his family's lives with the food program he's developed. And he says, "You intended to harm me. But God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
Joseph had a lot of garbage in his life. There were broken family relationships, he was falsely accused, he spent time in prison for something he did not do, and then he went through the disappointment of false hope. Eventually, the great plan of God did lead him to become Assistant Pharaoh of Egypt, which gave him authority over all of Egypt, even though he was a Jew. Then he was able to save thousands of lives, including the lives of his own family, who were the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel ultimately. Up close, this all looked like tragedy. When you look at the big picture, it was this wonderful tapestry of God.
God is the original and ultimate recycler. He can take the trash of your life and recycle it into treasure. You have to bring Jesus what's broken, and then He makes those pieces into masterpieces. How does He do that? He'll do it with His power, if you will do your part in the recycling process.
First, you have to ask the right question. "Why is this happening" will probably not get an answer. Why don't you work on asking this question, "How could God use this?" Secondly, tell it all to Jesus. Bring Him all the pieces, bring Him all of the darkest feelings you have about what's broken right now. And thirdly, cancel all the pity parties. Yes, self-pity is going to become a prison for you, and the Devil already won one victory. Don't turn it into another one with self-pity. If he traps you in pity, you've just let him win two. Fourthly, look for other people who are hurting. Through the hurts of your life, God gives you a brand new sensitivity to the hurts of others. He uses the broken pieces of our life to show us how to touch the lives of other people who are going through the same thing.
Think about the garbage in your life right now. What's broken? A broken family? A broken budget? A broken marriage? A broken child? Maybe a broken body? Maybe there's a broken dream or even a broken heart. Bring Jesus those broken pieces.
The ultimate breaker of our hearts, the ultimate breaker of lives is an awful force inside us and all those around us. The Bible calls it sin. Jesus said, "The Lord has sent me to bind up the broken hearted." He comes to put what's broken together again. You know what it took? If you've ever had communion, or the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist, you know these words, "This is my body which is broken for you."
Jesus literally was broken to pay for every sin you and I have ever done so that He could begin to put together what only a Savior who took care of our sin could put together. The Bible actually says, "By His stripes (by His wounds) we are healed."
This could be your day to let the healer in, to let the great lover of your soul in; to let the Savior who died for your sin, the One who conquered death on His resurrection day, to let Him into your life with all that love and all that power and all that healing. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Go to our website. You'll find the biblical information there that will help you get started - ANewStory.com.
If you've never brought the pieces of a broken life, if you've never brought your sin to Jesus to be forgiven, you've never brought Him your heart to be fixed, today. Give it to Him today and let the healing begin.