Proverbs 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: HUNGERING AND THIRSTING

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

For what are you hungering and thirsting?   The way we clutch our possessions and our pennies, you’d think we couldn’t live without them.  The problem is, the treasures of earth don’t satisfy.  The promise is, the treasures of heaven do.  Blessed are those, then, who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Blessed are those who are totally dependent upon Jesus for their joy.

Let today be marked by a deep hunger, a craving for God.  May you live this day thirsty… thirsty for what is right. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Read more Applause of Heaven

Proverbs 16

Mortals make elaborate plans,
    but God has the last word.

2 Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;
    God probes for what is good.

3 Put God in charge of your work,
    then what you’ve planned will take place.

4 God made everything with a place and purpose;
    even the wicked are included—but for judgment.

5 God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense;
    believe me, he’ll put those upstarts in their place.

6 Guilt is banished through love and truth;
    Fear-of-God deflects evil.

7 When God approves of your life,
    even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

8 Far better to be right and poor
    than to be wrong and rich.

9 We plan the way we want to live,
    but only God makes us able to live it.

10 A good leader motivates,
    doesn’t mislead, doesn’t exploit.

11 God cares about honesty in the workplace;
    your business is his business.

12 Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds;
    sound leadership has a moral foundation.

13 Good leaders cultivate honest speech;
    they love advisors who tell them the truth.

14 An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in lives;
    you’re smart to stay clear of someone like that.

15 Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives;
    they’re like spring rain and sunshine.

16 Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money;
    choose insight over income every time.

17 The road of right living bypasses evil;
    watch your step and save your life.

18 First pride, then the crash—
    the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

19 It’s better to live humbly among the poor
    than to live it up among the rich and famous.

20 It pays to take life seriously;
    things work out when you trust in God.

21 A wise person gets known for insight;
    gracious words add to one’s reputation.

22 True intelligence is a spring of fresh water,
    while fools sweat it out the hard way.

23 They make a lot of sense, these wise folks;
    whenever they speak, their reputation increases.

24 Gracious speech is like clover honey—
    good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.

25 There’s a way that looks harmless enough;
    look again—it leads straight to hell.

26 Appetite is an incentive to work;
    hunger makes you work all the harder.

27 Mean people spread mean gossip;
    their words smart and burn.

28 Troublemakers start fights;
    gossips break up friendships.

29 Calloused climbers betray their very own friends;
    they’d stab their own grandmothers in the back.

30 A shifty eye betrays an evil intention;
    a clenched jaw signals trouble ahead.

31 Gray hair is a mark of distinction,
    the award for a God-loyal life.

32 Moderation is better than muscle,
    self-control better than political power.

33 Make your motions and cast your votes,
    but God has the final say.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, May 17, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 31:1-8

A David Psalm

 I run to you, God; I run for dear life.
    Don’t let me down!
    Take me seriously this time!
Get down on my level and listen,
    and please—no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
    your high cliff aerie a place of safety.

3-5 You’re my cave to hide in,
    my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
    be my true mountain guide.
Free me from hidden traps;
    I want to hide in you.
I’ve put my life in your hands.
    You won’t drop me,
    you’ll never let me down.

6-13 I hate all this silly religion,
    but you, God, I trust.
I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
    you saw my pain,
    you disarmed my tormentors,
You didn’t leave me in their clutches
    but gave me room to breathe.
Be kind to me, God—
    I’m in deep, deep trouble again.
I’ve cried my eyes out;
    I feel hollow inside.
My life leaks away, groan by groan;
    my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out,
    turned my bones to powder.
To my enemies I’m a monster;
    I’m ridiculed by the neighbors.
My friends are horrified;
    they cross the street to avoid me.
They want to blot me from memory,
    forget me like a corpse in a grave,
    discard me like a broken dish in the trash.
The street-talk gossip has me
    “criminally insane”!
Behind locked doors they plot
    how to ruin me for good.

Insight
David wrote Psalm 31 when he was in grave danger because of persecution (vv. 4, 13). His close friends had abandoned him (vv. 11–12), leaving him to fend for himself against his enemies. David affirmed that his only protection and safety were in God, his refuge, rock, and fortress (vv. 1–2). Twice David affirmed his unwavering faith and trust in God: “I trust in the Lord” (vv. 6, 14). Whether he lived or died, David committed his life to God for safekeeping: “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 5). Years later, Jesus was similarly conspired against (John 11:53) and His friends deserted Him (Mark 14:50). While on the cross, Jesus prayed the same prayer of trust: “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

God’s Amazing Hands
Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. Psalm 31:5

Twenty minutes into a flight from New York to San Antonio, the flight plan changed as calm gave way to chaos. When one of the plane’s engines failed, debris from the engine smashed through a window causing the cabin to decompress. Sadly, several passengers were injured and one person was killed. Had not a calm, capable pilot been in the cockpit—one trained as a Navy fighter pilot—things could have been tragically worse. The headline in our local paper read, “In Amazing Hands.”

In Psalm 31, David revealed that he knew something about the Lord’s amazing, caring hands. That’s why he could confidently say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 5). David believed that the Lord could be trusted even when life got bumpy. Because he was targeted by unfriendly forces, life was very uncomfortable for David. Though vulnerable, he was not without hope. In the midst of harassment David could breathe sighs of relief and rejoice because his faithful, loving God was his source of confidence (vv. 5–7).

Perhaps you find yourself in a season of life when things are coming at you from every direction, and it’s difficult to see what’s ahead. In the midst of uncertainty, confusion, and chaos one thing remains absolutely certain: those who are secure in the Lord are in amazing hands. By Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray
Have you committed your life—your earthly and eternal existence and well-being—to God? How are you showing that you are trusting Him in good times and bad?

Father, help me to be encouraged knowing that Jesus prayed Psalm 31:5 when He was on the cross. In the midst of pain and suffering, He committed His life into Your hands.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 17, 2019
His Ascension and Our Access

It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. —Luke 24:51

We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward— Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection— everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.

The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.

The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 17, 2019
Your Personal Trust Walk - #8440

I was with a group of young people who had the enlightening experience of going on a Trust Walk. They got into pairs, one was blindfolded, and the other got to lead that person wherever they wanted and however they wanted for five minutes. Then they reversed roles and the one who had been led got to be the leader, while their former leader got to be the blindfolded follower. I'm actually glad we videoed it, it was really something to watch. Some led their partner by the arm, others with the follower's hands on the leader's shoulders, and some just lead with their voice. And some led very carefully and considerately. They told them exactly when to step up or down, maybe there was a curb or some stairs. But then there were those who couldn't resist taking advantage of the situation, like Matt, he led his partner into a picnic table, over the picnic table, right into a tree, and right into a toy truck on the ground. You should have heard our discussion afterwards as people were talking about how they felt about being led and how they felt about the person who led them!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Personal Trust Walk."

Those who had a "good leader" said their leader kept them from tripping over anything and running into anything. Then I told them what I'm about to tell you, that the invitation of Jesus Christ is expressed in two words, "Follow Me." And He's asking you to go with Him on a Trust Walk for the rest of your life.

Listen to His promise in Isaiah 48:17, our word for today from the Word of God. "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." That is a great promise. In fact, it's even worth memorizing! The fact is we don't know what is best for us. We really need the leadership of a Lord who can see the whole picture. We may know the way we'd like to go, but we don't know the way we should go. We need God's guiding hand.

And the exciting thing about following Jesus is that He will never lead you where you're going to trip or you're going to run into something that would be bad for you. His ways are, according to Romans 12:2, "good, pleasing, and perfect." The problem is you might be following someone else's leading right now and guess what? They are blindfolded, too! Or you may be thinking that the only safe way to go is for you to lead yourself, but you're blindfolded! The only One who can see everything ahead of you is Jesus.

One of our "Trust Walkers" said that she felt like she had no control when she was following her partner. Well, you know what, it is that control thing that might be keeping you from experiencing all that Jesus Christ wants to lead you into. You refuse to relinquish control, even to the God who made you. As a result, you're going to keep tripping and running into things and doing it the hard way. And since when are we in control anyway? It's the illusion of control. I don't even decide if I take my next breath. So much of our life is totally out of our control! What we're trying to protect is actually the illusion of being in control.

You may have been battling God over some places He's trying to lead you. That's a battle you just can't win. It's a blueprint for unnecessary scars and wasted years. It's time to take His hand and let Him lead you into the very best places you could possibly go. You will have to trust Him; He'll usually only let you know the next step, not the whole road ahead. But you can only take one step at a time. That's all you need to know.

You see, this man Jesus loved you enough to come and sacrifice His life on a cross to pay for your sin, to tear down the wall between you and God and to make it possible for you to spend eternity in heaven with Him. It could be you've never gotten behind this loving leader, Jesus Christ. You've never put all your trust in Him. You may know Him as an example; you might know Him as a belief. But do you know Him as your Savior and your Rescuer from your sin? Today would be a great day to say "Jesus, I'm yours. I hear you calling, 'Follow Me.' And I want to for the rest of my life. You died for me, for my sin and I am yours from this day on."

Our website would be a great place for you to go this very day to make sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com - please go there.

Anyone who loves you enough to die for you will never do you wrong.