Max Lucado Daily: THE SPARKLE OF ETERNITY
The fifth chapter of Mark tells the story of a synagogue leader who reached the point where desperation exceeded dignity. He begged Jesus to heal his dying daughter. And Jesus did, with a look on his face that said, Come here. I’ve got a secret.
I’ve seen that sparkle of eternity in the eyes of a cancer patient who said, “I’m ready to go.” I saw it at a funeral. The widower didn’t weep like the others. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I know where she is.” Peace where there should be pain. Hope defying despair. That’s what that look says. It is a look that knows the answer to the question asked by every mortal: Does death have the last word? I can see Jesus wink as he answers, “Not on your life.”
Read more Six Hours One Friday
1 Kings 2
When David’s time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, “I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go. Then God will confirm what he promised me when he said, ‘If your sons watch their step, staying true to me heart and soul, you’ll always have a successor on Israel’s throne.’
5-6 “And don’t forget what Joab son of Zeruiah did to the two commanders of Israel’s army, to Abner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Jether. He murdered them in cold blood, acting in peacetime as if he were at war, and has been stained with that blood ever since. Do what you think best with him, but by no means let him get off scot-free—make him pay.
7 “But be generous to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite—extend every hospitality to them; that’s the way they treated me when I was running for my life from Absalom your brother.
8-9 “You also will have to deal with Shimei son of Gera the Benjaminite from Bahurim, the one who cursed me so viciously when I was on my way to Mahanaim. Later, when he welcomed me back at the Jordan, I promised him under God, ‘I won’t put you to death.’ But neither should you treat him as if nothing ever happened. You’re wise, you know how to handle these things. You’ll know what to do to make him pay before he dies.”
10-12 Then David joined his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. David ruled Israel for forty years—seven years in Hebron and another thirty-three in Jerusalem. Solomon took over on the throne of his father David; he had a firm grip on the kingdom.
13-14 Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She said, “Do you come in peace?”
He said, “In peace.” And then, “May I say something to you?”
“Go ahead,” she said, “speak.”
15-16 “You know that I had the kingdom right in my hands and everyone expected me to be king, and then the whole thing backfired and the kingdom landed in my brother’s lap—God’s doing. So now I have one request to ask of you; please don’t refuse me.”
“Go ahead, ask,” she said.
17 “Ask King Solomon—he won’t turn you down—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
18 “Certainly,” said Bathsheba. “I’ll speak to the king for you.”
19 Bathsheba went to King Solomon to present Adonijah’s request. The king got up and welcomed her, bowing respectfully, and returned to his throne. Then he had a throne put in place for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.
20 She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you. Don’t refuse me.”
The king replied, “Go ahead, Mother; of course I won’t refuse you.”
21 She said, “Give Abishag the Shunammite to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
22 King Solomon answered his mother, “What kind of favor is this, asking that Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah? Why don’t you just ask me to hand over the whole kingdom to him on a platter since he is my older brother and has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side!”
23-24 Then King Solomon swore under God, “May God do his worst to me if Adonijah doesn’t pay for this with his life! As surely as God lives, the God who has set me firmly on the throne of my father David and has put me in charge of the kingdom just as he promised, Adonijah will die for this—today!”
25 King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck Adonijah and he died.
26 The king then told Abiathar the priest, “You’re exiled to your place in Anathoth. You deserve death but I’m not going to kill you—for now anyway—because you were in charge of the Chest of our ruling God in the company of David my father, and because you shared all the hard times with my father.”
27 Solomon stripped Abiathar of his priesthood, fulfilling God’s word at Shiloh regarding the family of Eli.
28-29 When this news reached Joab, this Joab who had conspired with Adonijah (although he had remained loyal in the Absalom affair), he took refuge in the sanctuary of God, seizing the horns of the Altar and holding on for dear life. King Solomon was told that Joab had escaped to the sanctuary of God and was clinging to the Altar; he immediately sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada with orders, “Kill him.”
30 Benaiah went to the sanctuary of God and said, “King’s orders: Come out.”
He said, “No—I’ll die right here.”
Benaiah went back to the king and reported, “This was Joab’s answer.”
31-33 The king said, “Go ahead then, do what he says: Kill him and bury him. Absolve me and my father’s family of the guilt from Joab’s senseless murders. God is avenging those bloody murders on Joab’s head. Two men he murdered, men better by far than he ever was: Behind my father’s back he brutally murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. Responsibility for their murders is forever fixed on Joab and his descendants; but for David and his descendants, his family and kingdom, the final verdict is God’s peace.”
34-35 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went back, struck Joab, and killed him. He was buried in his family plot out in the desert. The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
36-37 The king next called in Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but you are not to leave the area. If you so much as cross the Brook Kidron, you’re as good as dead—you will have decreed your own death sentence.”
38 Shimei answered the king, “Oh, thank you! Your servant will do exactly as my master the king says.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39-40 But it so happened that three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” Shimei sprang into action, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish in Gath looking for his slaves. And then he came back, bringing his slaves.
41 Solomon was told, “Shimei left Jerusalem for Gath, and now he’s back.”
42-43 Solomon then called for Shimei and said, “Didn’t I make you promise me under God, and give you a good warning besides, that you would not leave this area? That if you left you would have decreed your own death sentence? And didn’t you say, ‘Oh, thank you—I’ll do exactly as you say’? So why didn’t you keep your sacred promise and do what I ordered?”
44-45 Then the king told Shimei, “Deep in your heart you know all the evil that you did to my father David; God will now avenge that evil on you. But King Solomon will be blessed and the rule of David will be a sure thing under God forever.”
46 The king then gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he went out and struck Shimei dead.
The kingdom was now securely in Solomon’s grasp.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 22, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Isaiah 40:27–31
Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.
Insight
Isaiah, whose name means “The Lord saves,” warns an unrepentant Judah that God will use two foreign pagan superpowers, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, to discipline them for their idolatrous unfaithfulness (Isaiah 1–39). Isaiah also comforts Judah with the promise that God will restore and bless them once the punishment is complete (chs. 40–66). In chapter 40, Isaiah draws their attention to God’s authority, sovereignty, majesty, and glory (vv. 1–26) and tenderly speaks of God’s loving, providential care (vv. 11, 27–31). Addressing their sense of abandonment (v. 27), Isaiah assures them that God is not only resolute in blessing them, but also has the absolute power to do so (v. 28). As the everlasting, omnipotent Creator God, He is the source of their strength (v. 29). Isaiah calls on these despondent Jews to rise to a new level of commitment as they trust God to carry out His promises (vv. 30–31).
Second-Wind Strength
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
At the age of fifty-four I entered the Milwaukee marathon with two goals—to finish the race and to do it under five hours. My time would have been amazing if the second 13.1 miles went as well as the first. But the race was grueling, and the second-wind strength I’d hoped for never came. By the time I made it to the finish line, my steady stride had morphed into a painful walk.
Footraces aren’t the only things that require second-wind strength—life’s race does too. To endure, tired, weary people need God’s help. Isaiah 40:27–31 beautifully weds poetry and prophecy to comfort and motivate people who need strength to keep going. Timeless words remind fatigued and discouraged people that the Lord isn’t detached or uncaring (v. 27), that our plight doesn’t escape His notice. These words breathe comfort and assurance, and remind us of God’s limitless power and bottomless knowledge (v. 28).
The second-wind strength described in verses 29–31 is just right for us—whether we’re in the throes of raising and providing for our families, struggling through life under the weight of physical or financial burdens, or discouraged by relational tensions or spiritual challenges. Such is the strength that awaits those who—through meditating on the Scriptures and prayer—wait upon the Lord. By Arthur Jackson
Today's Reflection
When have life circumstances taken the wind out of you? In what particular area do you need God’s strength today?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 22, 2019
The Light That Never Fails
We all, with unveiled face, beholding…the glory of the Lord… —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “…no one stood with me, but all forsook me….But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— “…Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Exodus 34:29).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray. So Send I You, 1325 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 22, 2019
One Way to God - Or Many? - #8421
A ten-year-old boy who never should have waded out into Lake Michigan without knowing how to swim. Me. I can still remember the terror and the helplessness of going under for the second time. I'm alive today because someone on the shore saw me drowning. He jumped in and he saved my life.
Then there were those 33 Chilean miners, trapped for 69 days in a collapsed mine a half mile down. Remember, that rescue capsule was lowered down that newly-created shaft, and the rescuers brought every miner out alive. Or Houston. Hurricane Harvey. Whole neighborhoods, suddenly a lake - and people stranded on their rooftops. Until that rescue chopper came and lifted them to safety.
A makeshift mine shaft and a rescue capsule. A chopper hovering above a house surrounded by floodwaters. And a man reaching to rescue a drowning boy. Oh, and a man nailed to a cross on a skull-shaped hill near Jerusalem. Where the only Son God has gave His life for the greatest rescue mission in history. They all have this in common: people would have died except someone stepped in with a way to live. There were not many ways for them to be saved. Just one. But, thank God, there was one!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "One Way to God - Or Many?"
There may be no more audacious - and controversial - statement Jesus ever made than the one recorded in our word for today in the Word of God in John 14:6. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me." As I delve more deeply into the teaching of Scripture, it's clear there's no convenient "off ramp" from that claim.
The apostles declared, "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Then it says, "There is only one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus. He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone" (1 Timothy 2:5).
But see, in our tolerant, inclusive, open-minded culture, those are fighting words! "How can you say there's only one way?" Even those Bible folks - "evangelical Christians" - are retreating from that exclusive claim. Fifty-six percent believe there are many paths to God other than faith in Jesus Christ. This is not a casual issue. Eternity never is. I can be wrong about a lot of things and not pay an awful price. But not being right with God when I die? That is a price too high to pay.
There's a reason an instrument of torture and shame - the cross - has been the identifying symbol of Jesus' followers from the beginning. Because as the Bible says, "this is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him...He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).
Among all the great religions of the world, no one else even claimed to die for our sins. Every religion, including the Christian faith, gives us a moral code to follow. And if God-pleasing goodness is what it takes to get to God's heaven, take your pick from the menu of religions. But the Bible makes it clear that human sin is not a matter of breaking some religion's rules. It is, in essence, my raising my fist and saying, "God, You run the universe. I'm running me, thank You." It is refusing to let the God who gave me my life be God in my life. Spiritual hijacking. Punishable by death.
The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death...the soul that sins shall die...your sins have separated you from your God" (Romans 6:23, Ezekiel 18:20, Isaiah 59:2). There's only one way to pay a death penalty. Somebody's got to die. And Somebody did. God's one and only Son. He - and He alone - could and did take our place and pay for our sin. The only One who could forgive my sin is the One who paid for it with His life.
Before there were churches. Before there was Christianity. Before anyone had been called a Christian, there was a cross - where the very One I defied and denied paid my death penalty. That's the unspeakable love that captured my heart.
So, it isn't about which religion is right. No religion could die for our sins. I don't need a religion. I need a rescuer! His name is Jesus, who paid the price for every person's sins, whatever their religion. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His...Son..." (John 3:16). There are many religions. There's only one Savior.
If there had been any other way to remove the sin that keeps us out of heaven, why would God have ever sent His Son to die that brutal death? I can't imagine walking up to that bloody cross, looking Jesus in the eyes, and saying, "By the way, Jesus - there are other ways." For me, the issue is not "why is there only one way?" It's that there is a way where there was no way. I was drowning. And the Rescuer came and died so I could live and so you could live.
I want you to go to our website and find a way to begin that relationship today; the rescue relationship with Jesus. It's ANewStory.com where your new story can begin.
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