Psalm 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PEOPLE ARE WATCHING

A vibrant, shining face is the mark of one who has stood in God’s presence.  After speaking to God, Moses had to cover his face with a veil.

But not only does God change the face of those who worship; he changes those who watch us worship.  Paul told the Corinthian church to worship in such a way that if an unbeliever entered, he would find the secrets of his heart revealed; and would fall down on his face and worship God.

Seekers may not understand all that happens in a house of worship.  They may not understand the meaning of a song or the significance of communion.  But they know joy when they see it.  And when they see your face changed, they may want to see God’s face.  People, including your family, are watching.  Believe me.  They are watching.

Read more Just Like Jesus

Psalm 13

A David Psalm
13 1-2 Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
    long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
    lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
    have looked down their noses at me.

3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;
    I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
    or laugh when I fall on my face.

5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
    I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
    I’m so full of answered prayers.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Colossians 1:9-12

Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

Insight
In Colossians 1:9–12, Paul strings together a beautiful chain of cause and effect ideas where one thing leads to another, which leads to another. The clue that this is what Paul is doing is in the words “so that.” Twice he uses this phrase to connect what he is saying to his previous statement (vv. 10, 11). His progression of thought goes like this: Knowing God’s will through the Spirit (v. 9) leads to making decisions and acting in ways that honor God; knowing Him more (v. 10) leads to endurance, patience, and thanksgiving (vv. 11–12). In this progression we can see how God plans for our growth—one thing builds on another. But it seems significant that this list ends with thanksgiving. The ultimate result of this progression is joyful thanks to God.

By: J.R. Hudberg
Send It in a Letter
Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. Colossians 1:9

Like most four-year-olds, Ruby loved to run, sing, dance, and play. But she started complaining about pain in her knees. Ruby’s parents took her in for tests. The results were shocking—a diagnosis of cancer, stage 4 neuroblastoma. Ruby was in trouble. She was quickly admitted to the hospital.

Ruby’s hospital stay lingered on, spilling over into the Christmas season, a hard time to be away from home. One of Ruby’s nurses came up with the idea to place a mailbox outside her room so family could send letters full of prayers and encouragement to her. Then the plea went out on Facebook, and that’s when the volume of mail coming in from friends and complete strangers surprised everyone, most of all Ruby. With each letter received (more than 100,000 total), Ruby grew a little more encouraged, and she finally got to go home.

Paul’s letter to the people at Colossae was exactly that—a letter (Colossians 1:2). Words penned on a page that carried hopes for continued fruitfulness and knowledge and strength and endurance and patience (vv. 10–11). Can you imagine what a dose of good medicine such words were to the faithful at Colossae? Just knowing that someone was praying nonstop for them strengthened them to stay steady in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Our words of encouragement can dramatically help others in need. By John Blase

Today's Reflection
How have others’ words encouraged me? What opportunities do I have to give someone else the “letter” of encouragement they need?


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming
Arise, let us go from here. —John 14:31

Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it. God will take the initiative against this kind of daydreaming by prodding us to action. His instructions to us will be along the lines of this: “Don’t sit or stand there, just go!”

If we are quietly waiting before God after He has said to us, “Come aside by yourselves…” then that is meditation before Him to seek His will (Mark 6:31). Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t.  Conformed to His Image, 357 R


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
The Missing Messenger - #8378
I used to tell our kids, "You don't have to go to a party. Carry the party inside you wherever you go!" Our five-year-old grandson never heard that, but I think he got the idea. He could find a way to enjoy himself in just about any situation, with friends or alone, with his toys, or better yet as far as he was concerned, with just like the everyday stuff he found. I remember he and I were in my study, a few rooms away from the living room where his three-year-old brother and his Mommy were. Little brother decided to check out what big brother and I were doing, and big brother had an idea. His brother could be a messenger. So our five-year-old started writing little messages to his mother, which he then rolled up and dispatched his little brother to deliver. Mommy got the idea, and so she would write back an answer to every message. The shuttle went back and forth three times, I think. Big brother then wrote another message, but this time the messenger didn't show up. He had clocked out. So the message never got delivered.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have "A Word With You" today about "The Missing Messenger."

Jesus has a message that He wants delivered to some people you know-some people you see all the time. The price of His message not getting through to them could be an awful eternity. He's counting on you to be the messenger.

He makes that clear in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, where the Bible says, "We are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are His ambassador to the place where you live, the place where you work, the place you go to school, the place you "recreate," the place you shop.

When the President appoints an ambassador to a particular country, he's counting on his ambassador to deliver his messages, right, that he wants communicated. Whether you realize it or not, you've been assigned by the highest authority in the universe, by Jesus himself, to deliver His message to the folks around you. And that message is life-or-death information. But as our grandson found out with his little brother, when the messenger dies, the message dies. And in the case of Jesus' message about His death for our sins, people you know may die if you don't deliver it.

That's the awful picture of messenger failure in Ezekiel 33:7. It says, "I have made you a watchman...give them warning from Me...When I say to the wicked" (Today that's anyone who has not had their sin forgiven by giving themselves to Jesus, and you know people like that.) "When I say to the wicked you will surely die,' and you do not speak to warn him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood." Blood on our hands because of the silence of our lips. Don't let that happen to you. Don't let that happen to the people God's counting on you to tell about His Son. Whatever fear of what might happen if you told them about Jesus, could it possibly be as fearful as what will happen if you don't tell them?

Jack Phillips was the radioman for the Titanic. Two hours before the Titanic's fatal collision with an iceberg, Phillips got this radio message from another ship, describing the coordinates of the exact ice field that later doomed the Titanic. But instead of delivering that information to the captain, he stuck it on a spindle to deliver it later. That mistake cost him his life and the lives of 1,500 passengers that night. All because the life-or-death message he had was never delivered.

Don't make that mistake with the message Jesus has given to you to be delivered. Don't let your silence, don't let your delay cost them heaven. His message is in your hands.