Max Lucado Daily: PRAYER IS ALL YOU NEED
We have the opportunity to offer heartfelt prayers for every person we see. The attendant at the grocery store. The nurse in the doctor’s office. You don’t have to tell them of your intercessory prayer.
When we seek to bless others through prayer, we are blessed. Studies draw causal links between prayer and faith and health and happiness. The act of praying for others has a boomerang effect. It allows us to shift the burden we carry for others to the shoulders of God. Don’t grow angry at the church’s condition. Pray for her. Don’t fret about the future of your family, pray for them. Assume the posture of prayer.
Is there a crisis in your world? Are you called to give hope where hope cannot be found? Is prayer all that you have? That’s okay. Prayer is all you need. And this is how happiness happens.
Psalm 71
I run for dear life to God,
I’ll never live to regret it.
Do what you do so well:
get me out of this mess and up on my feet.
Put your ear to the ground and listen,
give me space for salvation.
Be a guest room where I can retreat;
you said your door was always open!
You’re my salvation—my vast, granite fortress.
4-7 My God, free me from the grip of Wicked,
from the clutch of Bad and Bully.
You keep me going when times are tough—
my bedrock, God, since my childhood.
I’ve hung on you from the day of my birth,
the day you took me from the cradle;
I’ll never run out of praise.
Many gasp in alarm when they see me,
but you take me in stride.
8-11 Just as each day brims with your beauty,
my mouth brims with praise.
But don’t turn me out to pasture when I’m old
or put me on the shelf when I can’t pull my weight.
My enemies are talking behind my back,
watching for their chance to knife me.
The gossip is: “God has abandoned him.
Pounce on him now; no one will help him.”
12-16 God, don’t just watch from the sidelines.
Come on! Run to my side!
My accusers—make them lose face.
Those out to get me—make them look
Like idiots, while I stretch out, reaching for you,
and daily add praise to praise.
I’ll write the book on your righteousness,
talk up your salvation the livelong day,
never run out of good things to write or say.
I come in the power of the Lord God,
I post signs marking his right-of-way.
17-24 You got me when I was an unformed youth,
God, and taught me everything I know.
Now I’m telling the world your wonders;
I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray.
God, don’t walk off and leave me
until I get out the news
Of your strong right arm to this world,
news of your power to the world yet to come,
Your famous and righteous
ways, O God.
God, you’ve done it all!
Who is quite like you?
You, who made me stare trouble in the face,
Turn me around;
Now let me look life in the face.
I’ve been to the bottom;
Bring me up, streaming with honors;
turn to me, be tender to me,
And I’ll take up the lute and thank you
to the tune of your faithfulness, God.
I’ll make music for you on a harp,
Holy One of Israel.
When I open up in song to you,
I let out lungsful of praise,
my rescued life a song.
All day long I’m chanting
about you and your righteous ways,
While those who tried to do me in
slink off looking ashamed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 30, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 53:1–6
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Insight
Isaiah 53 gives us the clearest description of the sacrifice of Christ in the Old Testament, describing His rejection (vv. 1–3), His suffering in our place (vv. 4–6), His sacrificial death and burial (vv. 7–9), and His reconciling atonement and resurrection (vv. 10–12). The chapter is the last of four messianic prophecies in the book of Isaiah (42:1–9; 49:1–13, 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12) known as the “Servant Songs” because they prophetically refer to Jesus the Messiah as Servant (42:1; 49:3; 50:10; 52:13), although Jewish scholars tend to identify the Servant as Israel itself.
In the New Testament, Isaiah is quoted or alluded to sixty-two times. New Testament writers unequivocally apply quotes from Isaiah 53 to Jesus Christ (Matthew 8:17; Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; John 12:38–41; Acts 8:32–35; Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 2:24).
A Ready Remedy
The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Following the park guide, I scribbled notes as he taught about the plants of the Bahamian primeval forest. He told us which trees to avoid. The poisonwood tree, he said, secretes a black sap that causes a painful, itchy rash. But not to worry! The antidote could usually be found growing right next it. “Cut into the red bark of the gum elemi tree,” he said, “and rub the sap on the rash. It will immediately begin to heal.”
I nearly dropped my pencil in astonishment. I hadn’t expected to find a picture of salvation in the forest. But in the gum elemi tree, I saw Jesus. He’s the ready remedy wherever the poison of sin is found. Like the red bark of that tree, the blood of Jesus brings healing.
The prophet Isaiah understood that humanity needed healing. The rash of sin had infected us. Isaiah promised that our healing would come through “a man of suffering” who would take our sickness upon Himself (Isaiah 53:3). That man was Jesus. We were sick, but Christ was willing to be wounded in our place. When we believe in Him, we are healed from the sickness of sin (v. 5). It may take a lifetime to learn to live as those who’re healed—to recognize our sins and to reject them in favor of our new identity—but because of Jesus, we can. By: Amy Peterson
Reflect & Pray
What other pictures in the natural world do you see of the salvation God offers us? What has the healing He offers meant to you?
Wherever sin is, Jesus is there, ready to save.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 30, 2019
The Assigning of the Call
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church… —Colossians 1:24
We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, “If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!” But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 30, 2019
Crawling is Not Enough - #8536
Our son was so excited when he called us. Our year-old granddaughter had just gotten up and walked about 30 steps across the floor! We had seen her crawl for the first time...we'd seen her stand by herself and even take a step. But this time she had suddenly exploded into big-time walking. Our son seemed to have an immediate revelation about what this development was going to mean for the life of her parents. He simply introduced his announcement of her walking with these four words, "Let the games begin!" No kidding!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Crawling is Not Enough."
You know, it's been fun and educational to watch grandchildren explode in their capabilities in the early months of their life. Now, our little granddaughter I was telling you about, back then she wasn't content with baby food for long. No, she kept following our forks as we put real food into our mouths. So, she realized she wanted some of that. And she wasn't content for long with depending on someone else to feed her. No, early on she was reaching out for food and insisting on feeding herself. Our little darlin' crawled for a while, but oh, boy, we could tell she was impatient with that being her only means of transportation. She really wanted to walk and she really did. Let the games begin! Actually, let a whole new life adventure begin.
A healthy child is never content to stay at the same level, and neither is a healthy child of God. Unfortunately, too many of God's kids have reached a particular level of growing up in Jesus and they have just settled down there. They don't feed themselves much spiritually. They depend largely on others feeding them. They think spiritual crawling is just fine, maybe because most of the Christians they know are stuck in the crawling stage. Our son was like any father; he was happy his daughter wasn't content to stay where she was. She was restless for more. He would have every reason to be very concerned if she was content to stay at a level that was below where she was meant to live. Right? Wonder if that's how your Heavenly Father feels about you?
Maybe you know that deep in your heart you're restless for something more. Your life is full, it's just not fulfilling. That's because God wants you to want the rest of what His Son died to give you. The writer of Hebrews challenged believers who he said "ought to be teachers" by this time but instead were needing someone to "teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again." He told them to "leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Hebrews 5:12, 6:1).
In Philippians 3, beginning with verse 12, our word for today from the word of God, we hear what a healthy child of God wants. Remember, this was written by the Apostle Paul, maybe the most powerful Christian of all time. But still he says, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Maybe you've been coasting at the same spiritual speed for a while; you've been content with - let's face it - mediocrity - with crawling. But you're restless. God's made you restless. He has so much more for you. It's time to get on your knees and say, "Jesus, I'm not content where I am anymore. I want to know you more than I've ever known you before, and I'm going to be pursuing You in Your Word and in prayer, and in Your church as I've never pursued You before. And, Lord, I want to make a greater difference with the rest of my life than I've ever made before. It's Yours to use as you see fit from now on."
He's been waiting to hear that from you. You are about to "press on to take hold of" something for which Christ Jesus "took hold of" you. So let the games begin as the lid comes off your relationship with Jesus. Let the greatest adventure of your life begin! And if you've never begun your relationship with this man who died for you, who will give you the meaning your life was meant to have, tell Him today, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. You are the more I was made for."
Get to our website, ANewStory.com, and find out exactly how to be sure you belong to Him. God has so much more for you. Listen to these words, "Made for more." You'll find it when you find Him.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Psalm 67, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Living Out of Your Inheritance
Promised Land people say I'm a victor in spite of my surroundings. Wilderness people say These are difficult days and I'll never get through them. But God's people say, These days are Glory Days…and God will get me through!
John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Imagine what would happen if a generation of Christians lived out of their inheritance. The lonely would find comfort in God, not in the arms of strangers. Struggling couples would spend more time in prayer and less time in anger. And children would consider it a blessing to care for their aging parents.
Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Join me in claiming your inheritance in a special 4-week journey of scripture memory at GloryDaysToday.com!
Claim Your Inheritance
We are in the middle of our 4 week Scripture Memory Challenge. This week's verse is John 1:12."Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Claim your inheritance! As a child of God you have the power of God in you to fight any battle you face. He set us free so he could raise us up. The gift has been given. Will you trust it?
God said to Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses." The people of Moses' day chose the wilderness. Don't make the same mistake! Joshua didn't. He took God at his word and set about the task of inheriting the land! I encourage you to do the same!
Psalm 67
God, mark us with grace
and blessing! Smile!
The whole country will see how you work,
all the godless nations see how you save.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Let all far-flung people become happy
and shout their happiness because
You judge them fair and square,
you tend the far-flung peoples.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Earth, display your exuberance!
You mark us with blessing, O God, our God.
You mark us with blessing, O God.
Earth’s four corners—honor him!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 3:10–17
So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[c] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Footnotes:
Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.
Insight
When Moses asked “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11), God reassured him of His presence. “I will be with you” (v. 12) corresponds to the statement “I am who I am” (v. 14), which identifies God as an existing being. He expanded on this when He called Himself “The Lord” (v. 15), from the Hebrew Yehovah, which means “self-existing.” Regardless of abilities Moses possessed, the self-existing Sustainer of the universe would be with him. By: Julie Schwab
Who Am I?
“I am who I am.” Exodus 3:14
Dave enjoyed his job, but for a long time he’d sensed a pull toward something else. Now he was about to fulfill his dream and step into mission work. But strangely, he began to have serious doubts.
“I don’t deserve this,” he told a friend. “The mission board doesn’t know the real me. I’m not good enough.”
Dave has some pretty good company. Mention the name of Moses and we think of leadership, strength, and the Ten Commandments. We tend to forget that Moses fled to the desert after murdering a man. We lose sight of his forty years as a fugitive. We overlook his anger problem and his intense reluctance to say yes to God.
When God showed up with marching orders (Exodus 3:1–10), Moses played the I’m-not-good-enough card. He even got into a lengthy argument with God, asking Him: “Who am I?” (v. 11). Then God told Moses who He was: “I am who I am” (v. 14). It’s impossible for us to explain that mysterious name because our indescribable God is describing His eternal presence to Moses.
A sense of our own weaknesses is healthy. But if we use them as an excuse to keep God from using us, we insult Him. What we’re really saying is that God isn’t good enough.
The question isn’t Who am I? The question is Who is the I am? By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
When has thinking you’re not good enough kept you from serving God? How does it encourage you to look at Bible characters God used despite their flaws?
Eternal God, so often we doubt that You could ever use people like us. But You sent Your Son to die for the likes of us, so please forgive our doubts. Help us accept the challenges You bring our way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 29, 2019
The Awareness of the Call
…for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural— something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through— “I chose you…” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.
Biblical Psychology
Promised Land people say I'm a victor in spite of my surroundings. Wilderness people say These are difficult days and I'll never get through them. But God's people say, These days are Glory Days…and God will get me through!
John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Imagine what would happen if a generation of Christians lived out of their inheritance. The lonely would find comfort in God, not in the arms of strangers. Struggling couples would spend more time in prayer and less time in anger. And children would consider it a blessing to care for their aging parents.
Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Join me in claiming your inheritance in a special 4-week journey of scripture memory at GloryDaysToday.com!
Claim Your Inheritance
We are in the middle of our 4 week Scripture Memory Challenge. This week's verse is John 1:12."Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Claim your inheritance! As a child of God you have the power of God in you to fight any battle you face. He set us free so he could raise us up. The gift has been given. Will you trust it?
God said to Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses." The people of Moses' day chose the wilderness. Don't make the same mistake! Joshua didn't. He took God at his word and set about the task of inheriting the land! I encourage you to do the same!
Psalm 67
God, mark us with grace
and blessing! Smile!
The whole country will see how you work,
all the godless nations see how you save.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Let all far-flung people become happy
and shout their happiness because
You judge them fair and square,
you tend the far-flung peoples.
God! Let people thank and enjoy you.
Let all people thank and enjoy you.
Earth, display your exuberance!
You mark us with blessing, O God, our God.
You mark us with blessing, O God.
Earth’s four corners—honor him!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 3:10–17
So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[c] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Footnotes:
Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.
Insight
When Moses asked “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11), God reassured him of His presence. “I will be with you” (v. 12) corresponds to the statement “I am who I am” (v. 14), which identifies God as an existing being. He expanded on this when He called Himself “The Lord” (v. 15), from the Hebrew Yehovah, which means “self-existing.” Regardless of abilities Moses possessed, the self-existing Sustainer of the universe would be with him. By: Julie Schwab
Who Am I?
“I am who I am.” Exodus 3:14
Dave enjoyed his job, but for a long time he’d sensed a pull toward something else. Now he was about to fulfill his dream and step into mission work. But strangely, he began to have serious doubts.
“I don’t deserve this,” he told a friend. “The mission board doesn’t know the real me. I’m not good enough.”
Dave has some pretty good company. Mention the name of Moses and we think of leadership, strength, and the Ten Commandments. We tend to forget that Moses fled to the desert after murdering a man. We lose sight of his forty years as a fugitive. We overlook his anger problem and his intense reluctance to say yes to God.
When God showed up with marching orders (Exodus 3:1–10), Moses played the I’m-not-good-enough card. He even got into a lengthy argument with God, asking Him: “Who am I?” (v. 11). Then God told Moses who He was: “I am who I am” (v. 14). It’s impossible for us to explain that mysterious name because our indescribable God is describing His eternal presence to Moses.
A sense of our own weaknesses is healthy. But if we use them as an excuse to keep God from using us, we insult Him. What we’re really saying is that God isn’t good enough.
The question isn’t Who am I? The question is Who is the I am? By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
When has thinking you’re not good enough kept you from serving God? How does it encourage you to look at Bible characters God used despite their flaws?
Eternal God, so often we doubt that You could ever use people like us. But You sent Your Son to die for the likes of us, so please forgive our doubts. Help us accept the challenges You bring our way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, September 29, 2019
The Awareness of the Call
…for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural— something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through— “I chose you…” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.
Biblical Psychology
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Philippians 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Claim Your Inheritance
We are in the middle of our 4 week Scripture Memory Challenge. This week's verse is John 1:12."Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Claim your inheritance! As a child of God you have the power of God in you to fight any battle you face. He set us free so he could raise us up. The gift has been given. Will you trust it?
God said to Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses." The people of Moses' day chose the wilderness. Don't make the same mistake! Joshua didn't. He took God at his word and set about the task of inheriting the land! I encourage you to do the same!
Get started at GloryDaysToday.com.
The Authoritative Word
Let God's Word be the authoritative word in your world! It's a decision that rubs against the skin of our culture. We prefer the authority of the voting booth, pollster, or whatever feels good.
Paul reminded the young pastor, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:15: "Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise." And in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul states the power of Scripture against any stronghold. "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Philippians 1
Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the followers of Jesus in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
3-6 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
7-8 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!
9-11 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
12-14 I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.
15-17 It’s true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they’ll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world. One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help. The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.
18-21 So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.
22-26 As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.
27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 1:15–23
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit
Insight
Paul’s prayer in the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians (vv. 15–23) works hand-in-hand with the prayer of the third chapter (3:14–21). Together they show what it takes to sense something of the astonishing, inexpressible, and expansive purposes, power, and love of God. Both prayers remind us that growing in the immeasurable love and boundless scope of God’s plans require more than our desire and capacity to believe (1:17–19; 3:14–21). Such “knowing” is a gift and evidence of the Holy Spirit who is with us and in us. Both prayers give us reason to consciously draw near to God. And both lead us into an understanding of what it takes to prayerfully counter the strategies of our spiritual enemy—by drawing near to and relying on the Spirit (1:15–17; 6:18). By: Mart DeHaan
“Just the Office”?
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. Ephesians 1:18
I gazed out at the rolling, green hills in Lancashire in northern England, noticing the stone fences enclosing some sheep dotted around the hills. Puffy clouds moved across the bright sky, and I inhaled deeply, drinking in the sight. When I remarked about the beautiful scene to the woman working at the retreat center I was visiting, she said, “You know, I never used to notice it before our guests would point it out. We’ve lived here for years; and when we were farmers, this was just the office!”
We can easily miss the gift of what’s right in front of us, especially beauty that’s part of our everyday lives. We can also easily miss the beautiful ways God works in and around us daily. But believers in Jesus can ask God’s Spirit to open our spiritual eyes so we can understand how He’s at work, as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian believers. Paul yearned that God would give them the wisdom and revelation to know Him better (Ephesians 1:17). He prayed that their hearts would be enlightened so that they’d know God’s hope, promised future, and power (vv. 18–19).
God’s gift of the Spirit of Christ can awaken us to His work in us and through us. With Him, what may have once seemed like “just the office” can be understood as a place that displays His light and glory. By: Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
Where do you see God at work around you? How does seeing the world through spiritual eyes help?
Jesus, shine Your light on me and open my eyes and my heart to better understand Your goodness and Your grace. I want to receive Your love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 28, 2019
The “Go” of Unconditional Identification
Jesus…said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor…and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." —Mark 10:21
The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
“One thing you lack….” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing.
“…sell whatever you have….” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. “…come…and follow Me.” And the road is the way He went.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.
Biblical Psychology
We are in the middle of our 4 week Scripture Memory Challenge. This week's verse is John 1:12."Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Claim your inheritance! As a child of God you have the power of God in you to fight any battle you face. He set us free so he could raise us up. The gift has been given. Will you trust it?
God said to Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses." The people of Moses' day chose the wilderness. Don't make the same mistake! Joshua didn't. He took God at his word and set about the task of inheriting the land! I encourage you to do the same!
Get started at GloryDaysToday.com.
The Authoritative Word
Let God's Word be the authoritative word in your world! It's a decision that rubs against the skin of our culture. We prefer the authority of the voting booth, pollster, or whatever feels good.
Paul reminded the young pastor, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:15: "Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise." And in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul states the power of Scripture against any stronghold. "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Philippians 1
Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the followers of Jesus in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
3-6 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
7-8 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!
9-11 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
12-14 I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.
15-17 It’s true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they’ll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world. One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help. The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.
18-21 So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.
22-26 As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.
27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 1:15–23
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit
Insight
Paul’s prayer in the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians (vv. 15–23) works hand-in-hand with the prayer of the third chapter (3:14–21). Together they show what it takes to sense something of the astonishing, inexpressible, and expansive purposes, power, and love of God. Both prayers remind us that growing in the immeasurable love and boundless scope of God’s plans require more than our desire and capacity to believe (1:17–19; 3:14–21). Such “knowing” is a gift and evidence of the Holy Spirit who is with us and in us. Both prayers give us reason to consciously draw near to God. And both lead us into an understanding of what it takes to prayerfully counter the strategies of our spiritual enemy—by drawing near to and relying on the Spirit (1:15–17; 6:18). By: Mart DeHaan
“Just the Office”?
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. Ephesians 1:18
I gazed out at the rolling, green hills in Lancashire in northern England, noticing the stone fences enclosing some sheep dotted around the hills. Puffy clouds moved across the bright sky, and I inhaled deeply, drinking in the sight. When I remarked about the beautiful scene to the woman working at the retreat center I was visiting, she said, “You know, I never used to notice it before our guests would point it out. We’ve lived here for years; and when we were farmers, this was just the office!”
We can easily miss the gift of what’s right in front of us, especially beauty that’s part of our everyday lives. We can also easily miss the beautiful ways God works in and around us daily. But believers in Jesus can ask God’s Spirit to open our spiritual eyes so we can understand how He’s at work, as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian believers. Paul yearned that God would give them the wisdom and revelation to know Him better (Ephesians 1:17). He prayed that their hearts would be enlightened so that they’d know God’s hope, promised future, and power (vv. 18–19).
God’s gift of the Spirit of Christ can awaken us to His work in us and through us. With Him, what may have once seemed like “just the office” can be understood as a place that displays His light and glory. By: Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
Where do you see God at work around you? How does seeing the world through spiritual eyes help?
Jesus, shine Your light on me and open my eyes and my heart to better understand Your goodness and Your grace. I want to receive Your love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, September 28, 2019
The “Go” of Unconditional Identification
Jesus…said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor…and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." —Mark 10:21
The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
“One thing you lack….” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing.
“…sell whatever you have….” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. “…come…and follow Me.” And the road is the way He went.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.
Biblical Psychology
Friday, September 27, 2019
Psalm 66, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:THE POWER POSTURE
Someone you know is under attack. Your neighbor is depressed. Your sibling is off track. Your child is facing an uphill challenge. You may not know what to say. You may not have resources to help. But you have this– you have prayer. According to this promise your prayers prompt the response of God in the lives of those you love. James 5:16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
When we pray for one another, we enter God’s workshop, we pick up a hammer, and help him accomplish his purposes. Our prayers unlock the storehouses of heaven. The link between God’s goodness and your friends is your prayers. When you pray, when you speak for the ones who need help to the One who can give it, something wonderful happens.
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 25:1–13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Insight
What is the “kingdom of heaven” referred to in Matthew 25:1? This phrase occurs thirty-one times in the New Testament—only in Matthew. It’s first used by John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2). Just as these are the first recorded words of John when he begins his ministry, they’re also Christ’s first words after He initiates His own ministry (4:17). Most scholars consider this phrase another name for the kingdom of God. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines it as “the sovereign rule of God, initiated by Christ’s earthly ministry and to be consummated when ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ’ (Revelation 11:15).”
By: Alyson Kieda
Live Like Jesus Is Coming
Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13
I’m inspired by country singer Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying.” In it he describes some of the exciting “bucket list” things a man did after receiving some bad news about his health. He also chose to love and forgive people more freely—speaking to them more tenderly. The song recommends that we live well, as if knowing our lives will end soon.
This song reminds us that our time is limited. It’s important for us to not put off for tomorrow what we can do today, because one day we’ll run out of tomorrows. This is particularly urgent for believers in Jesus, who believe that Jesus may return at any moment (perhaps in the very second you’re reading this sentence!). Jesus urges us to be ready, not living like the five “foolish” virgins who were caught unprepared when the bridegroom returned (Matthew 25:6–10).
But McGraw’s song doesn’t tell the whole story. We who love Jesus will never run out of tomorrows. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). Our life in Him never ends.
So don’t live like you’re dying. Because you’re not. Rather, live like Jesus is coming. Because He is!
By: Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
How will you live today like Jesus is coming soon? How does knowing He could return any day affect your choices?
Jesus, I look forward to the day You’ll return. May I use the time I’ve been given to honor You and to serve others well.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 27, 2019
The “Go” of Renunciation
…someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “…the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59. This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61. The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but…,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 27, 2019
UNFLAPPABLE - #8535
I always thought they were buzzards - but a friend of mine who grew up with them circling overhead told me they are officially turkey vultures. Excuse me. Most of us think of them as nature's garbage collectors, but on a past vacation I developed an appreciation for their grace in flight. Watching them every day I saw them soaring in these graceful circles above me. And, amazingly, they almost never flapped their wings once they were airborne! They ride the warm air currents that rise from the earth as the days temperature gets warmer. They seem to just go where the thermals carry them. And I've got to tell you, it's beautiful.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unflappable."
Some people live where they can watch eagles soar. I pretty much had to settle for turkey vultures. Apparently, Isaiah was an eagle watcher and one whom God had taught to live like one. It's our word for today from the Word of God - familiar words - Isaiah 40:30-31. "Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles (and maybe turkey vultures); they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint."
These great soaring birds are ultimately not sustained in flight by the flapping of their own wings but by the currents that carry them. That's why they can go so far and so long. God's inviting us here to do a new kind of soaring - it's for those who hope, who trust in the Lord - because they realize their wings can't do it for them. The King James Version says it's "those who wait on the Lord." It reminds me of those turkey vultures; they wait for those thermal currents to carry them before they even tackle their day.
The problem is a lot of us are instinctive, addicted wing-flappers! I know. I am one. I can get it done if I make a good plan, motivate the right people, work enough hours, sacrifice enough sleep, have enough control. Listen to those wings flapping wildly in the wind! I'm flying as high and as long as my resources can carry me. For too many years I settled for that altitude. I settled for the stress of trying to make things happen myself.
But I'm learning something about waiting for God's thermals - to not push to make things happen, but to wait until the Lord does it in His way and in His time. This doesn't mean that you're totally passive sitting there doing nothing. You still plan, and prepare, and work hard, but only after seeing what God wants you planning, and preparing, and working on. The issue is this: do you think it's just your wings flapping that will get you there? No, it will be finding where God's current is going, and then you spread your wings to be carried that direction that day. That's what Jesus meant when he said "follow Me," checking with Him to see where is He taking you instead of trying to take Him where you want to go.
When you're totally riding on God's provision, you can fly when you have no fly left. I'm broke, but God isn't. I'm exhausted, but God isn't. I'm out of answers, but God isn't. It's at that point where you experience the promise of Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."
I watched those soaring birds and I asked God to help me fly as they do. Not carried by the flapping of my own wings, but only by those warm currents of God.
Someone you know is under attack. Your neighbor is depressed. Your sibling is off track. Your child is facing an uphill challenge. You may not know what to say. You may not have resources to help. But you have this– you have prayer. According to this promise your prayers prompt the response of God in the lives of those you love. James 5:16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
When we pray for one another, we enter God’s workshop, we pick up a hammer, and help him accomplish his purposes. Our prayers unlock the storehouses of heaven. The link between God’s goodness and your friends is your prayers. When you pray, when you speak for the ones who need help to the One who can give it, something wonderful happens.
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 25:1–13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Insight
What is the “kingdom of heaven” referred to in Matthew 25:1? This phrase occurs thirty-one times in the New Testament—only in Matthew. It’s first used by John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2). Just as these are the first recorded words of John when he begins his ministry, they’re also Christ’s first words after He initiates His own ministry (4:17). Most scholars consider this phrase another name for the kingdom of God. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines it as “the sovereign rule of God, initiated by Christ’s earthly ministry and to be consummated when ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ’ (Revelation 11:15).”
By: Alyson Kieda
Live Like Jesus Is Coming
Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13
I’m inspired by country singer Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying.” In it he describes some of the exciting “bucket list” things a man did after receiving some bad news about his health. He also chose to love and forgive people more freely—speaking to them more tenderly. The song recommends that we live well, as if knowing our lives will end soon.
This song reminds us that our time is limited. It’s important for us to not put off for tomorrow what we can do today, because one day we’ll run out of tomorrows. This is particularly urgent for believers in Jesus, who believe that Jesus may return at any moment (perhaps in the very second you’re reading this sentence!). Jesus urges us to be ready, not living like the five “foolish” virgins who were caught unprepared when the bridegroom returned (Matthew 25:6–10).
But McGraw’s song doesn’t tell the whole story. We who love Jesus will never run out of tomorrows. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). Our life in Him never ends.
So don’t live like you’re dying. Because you’re not. Rather, live like Jesus is coming. Because He is!
By: Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
How will you live today like Jesus is coming soon? How does knowing He could return any day affect your choices?
Jesus, I look forward to the day You’ll return. May I use the time I’ve been given to honor You and to serve others well.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 27, 2019
The “Go” of Renunciation
…someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “…the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59. This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61. The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but…,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 27, 2019
UNFLAPPABLE - #8535
I always thought they were buzzards - but a friend of mine who grew up with them circling overhead told me they are officially turkey vultures. Excuse me. Most of us think of them as nature's garbage collectors, but on a past vacation I developed an appreciation for their grace in flight. Watching them every day I saw them soaring in these graceful circles above me. And, amazingly, they almost never flapped their wings once they were airborne! They ride the warm air currents that rise from the earth as the days temperature gets warmer. They seem to just go where the thermals carry them. And I've got to tell you, it's beautiful.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unflappable."
Some people live where they can watch eagles soar. I pretty much had to settle for turkey vultures. Apparently, Isaiah was an eagle watcher and one whom God had taught to live like one. It's our word for today from the Word of God - familiar words - Isaiah 40:30-31. "Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles (and maybe turkey vultures); they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint."
These great soaring birds are ultimately not sustained in flight by the flapping of their own wings but by the currents that carry them. That's why they can go so far and so long. God's inviting us here to do a new kind of soaring - it's for those who hope, who trust in the Lord - because they realize their wings can't do it for them. The King James Version says it's "those who wait on the Lord." It reminds me of those turkey vultures; they wait for those thermal currents to carry them before they even tackle their day.
The problem is a lot of us are instinctive, addicted wing-flappers! I know. I am one. I can get it done if I make a good plan, motivate the right people, work enough hours, sacrifice enough sleep, have enough control. Listen to those wings flapping wildly in the wind! I'm flying as high and as long as my resources can carry me. For too many years I settled for that altitude. I settled for the stress of trying to make things happen myself.
But I'm learning something about waiting for God's thermals - to not push to make things happen, but to wait until the Lord does it in His way and in His time. This doesn't mean that you're totally passive sitting there doing nothing. You still plan, and prepare, and work hard, but only after seeing what God wants you planning, and preparing, and working on. The issue is this: do you think it's just your wings flapping that will get you there? No, it will be finding where God's current is going, and then you spread your wings to be carried that direction that day. That's what Jesus meant when he said "follow Me," checking with Him to see where is He taking you instead of trying to take Him where you want to go.
When you're totally riding on God's provision, you can fly when you have no fly left. I'm broke, but God isn't. I'm exhausted, but God isn't. I'm out of answers, but God isn't. It's at that point where you experience the promise of Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."
I watched those soaring birds and I asked God to help me fly as they do. Not carried by the flapping of my own wings, but only by those warm currents of God.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Psalm 43, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE GREATEST GREETING IN HISTORY
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University concluded that “huggers are happier.” Another study linked hugging with a diminished rate of sickness. So greet people for your sake and experience the joy of showing people that they matter.
And greet people for their sake. What is small to you may be huge to them. Most of all, greet one another for Jesus’ sake. He said, “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
By the way, the greatest greeting in history has yet to be issued. It will be issued by Jesus to you in person. He will say, “You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me” (Matthew 25:23).
This is how happiness happens.
Psalm 43
Clear my name, God; stick up for me
against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?
3-4 Give me your lantern and compass,
give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
to the place of your presence,
To enter the place of worship,
meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
magnificent God, my God.
5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
John 19:38–42
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[a] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes:
John 19:39 Or about 34 kilograms
Insight
Jewish burial customs required that the dead be buried within twenty-four hours. Jewish law dictated that a crucified body must be taken down and not left exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22–23; John 19:31). Jesus would have been buried with the other two convicted criminals in a common grave if Joseph hadn’t asked Pilate for His body (John 19:38). Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy and influential leader of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish judicial body. He was a good and upright man who was waiting for the kingdom of God. Though he was a secret disciple of Jesus, he wasn’t afraid to disagree with the Sanhedrin’s decision to put the Savior to death (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50–52). Joseph places Christ’s body “in his own new tomb” (Matthew 27:60). That Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9.
Faith-Stand
Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. John 19:40
Desmond Doss enlisted to serve in World War II as a non-combatant. Though his religious beliefs prevented him from carrying a gun, Doss ably served as a combat medic. In one battle, he withstood intense and repeated enemy fire to pull seventy-five soldiers in his unit to safety after they had been injured. His story is told in the documentary The Conscientious Objector and dramatized in the film Hacksaw Ridge.
A roll call of the heroes of Christian faith includes such courageous characters as Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, and Paul. Yet there are some unsung heroes like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who risked their standing with the Jewish leaders to take Christ’s crucified body and give Him a decent burial (John 19:40–42). This was a bold move from a fearful, secret disciple of Jesus and another, Nicodemus, who had previously dared to visit Him only at night (vv. 38–39). Even more impressive is that they took their faith-stand before Jesus rose victorious from the grave. Why?
Perhaps the manner of Jesus’s death and the events that immediately followed (Matthew 27:50–54) crystallized the fledgling faith of these fearful followers. Maybe they learned to focus on who God is rather than what man could do to them. Whatever the inspiration, may we follow their example and exhibit courage to take risks of faith in our God—for others today. By: Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you lived courageously for your faith in Jesus? What can you do differently that might show your faith to the world?
Courage [is] not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. Nelson Mandela
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The “Go” of Reconciliation
If you…remember that your brother has something against you… —Matthew 5:23
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you….” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you…remember….” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother….” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled….” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“…and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Life-Saving Pain - #8534
One of the first clues that something was wrong with little Megan showed up when her baby teeth were coming in. She'd chew her lips bloody in her sleep and bite through her tongue while she was eating. When she was three, she laid her hands on a hot pressure washer in the backyard. Didn't cry, just stared bewildered at the red blister in her palm. Megan was diagnosed with a rare condition that makes her unable to feel pain. She gulps down scalding hot food with no internal warning that she's hurting herself. One child with this same condition had appendicitis that went untreated until her appendix burst and there was no pain. Well, last I knew, Megan was five and her inability to feel pain was downright scary.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Life-Saving Pain."
At first thought, you might say. "Oh, it would be nice not to feel pain," but only on first thought. God has given us pain as His internal warning system that something is wrong, something that will cause us far more pain, or even kill us if we don't deal with it. Pain is our friend. It's our life-saving friend - not only physically, but spiritually.
God has built into our soul a capacity to feel guilty when we do something wrong. We might call guilt moral pain. Feeling guilty, and feeling shame over what we have or haven't done, feeling dirty inside - those aren't nice feelings. But they're God's alarm to deal with what's wrong before it causes greater pain, or even spiritual death.
In Psalm 32, which is where we find our word for today from the Word of God, David candidly pours out what moral pain feels like and two ways to respond to the pain. He tried them both. He begins with this conclusion: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him." Now, there's a declaration of spiritual freedom!
But first came the pain. David says, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." He's talking about a deep soul anguish that he couldn't even put into words. "Day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." Maybe these are feelings you know all too well - that heavy weight. Turns out to be the weight of God's hand on you: the dwindling energy - dwindling enthusiasm for life, the dark feelings of shame and guilt, the fear of getting caught. Moral pain, given to you by God, not to make you miserable, but to make you well.
Your guilt isn't meant to crush you. It's meant to save you. And David got the message. He said, "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' and You forgave my sin.'" Guilt removed - pain over.
It can be that way for you if you'll quit trying to rationalize your sin, or cover up your sin, or justify it. The longer you refuse to repent of your sin, the more God's going to turn up the pain and the higher price you're going to pay. Not because He doesn't love you, but because He does, too much to let you keep going down a road that's destroying you.
The message from heaven to your heart today is the summons from Acts 3:19 - "Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Relief from your pain, healing for your heart, cleansing for your soul - you'll find them at the foot of the cross of Jesus where everything you've done was paid for in full with His blood.
Maybe you've never personally in your heart gone to that cross and said, "Jesus, what You did there is for me your dying for every wrong thing I have ever done, and I'm tired of the guilt. I want to be forgiven. I want to be clean." Would you tell Him that today, put your life in His hands? Put your total trust in Him to be your own Savior from your own sin. And it is done! You are forgiven. It could happen today.
Our website is set up just for this kind of a moment where you're considering beginning a relationship with Jesus. Go there! There's information that will help you cross the line. That website is ANewStory.com.
You know that pain in your soul? Listen to it. It's life-saving pain.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University concluded that “huggers are happier.” Another study linked hugging with a diminished rate of sickness. So greet people for your sake and experience the joy of showing people that they matter.
And greet people for their sake. What is small to you may be huge to them. Most of all, greet one another for Jesus’ sake. He said, “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
By the way, the greatest greeting in history has yet to be issued. It will be issued by Jesus to you in person. He will say, “You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me” (Matthew 25:23).
This is how happiness happens.
Psalm 43
Clear my name, God; stick up for me
against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?
3-4 Give me your lantern and compass,
give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
to the place of your presence,
To enter the place of worship,
meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
magnificent God, my God.
5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
John 19:38–42
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[a] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes:
John 19:39 Or about 34 kilograms
Insight
Jewish burial customs required that the dead be buried within twenty-four hours. Jewish law dictated that a crucified body must be taken down and not left exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22–23; John 19:31). Jesus would have been buried with the other two convicted criminals in a common grave if Joseph hadn’t asked Pilate for His body (John 19:38). Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy and influential leader of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish judicial body. He was a good and upright man who was waiting for the kingdom of God. Though he was a secret disciple of Jesus, he wasn’t afraid to disagree with the Sanhedrin’s decision to put the Savior to death (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50–52). Joseph places Christ’s body “in his own new tomb” (Matthew 27:60). That Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9.
Faith-Stand
Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. John 19:40
Desmond Doss enlisted to serve in World War II as a non-combatant. Though his religious beliefs prevented him from carrying a gun, Doss ably served as a combat medic. In one battle, he withstood intense and repeated enemy fire to pull seventy-five soldiers in his unit to safety after they had been injured. His story is told in the documentary The Conscientious Objector and dramatized in the film Hacksaw Ridge.
A roll call of the heroes of Christian faith includes such courageous characters as Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, and Paul. Yet there are some unsung heroes like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who risked their standing with the Jewish leaders to take Christ’s crucified body and give Him a decent burial (John 19:40–42). This was a bold move from a fearful, secret disciple of Jesus and another, Nicodemus, who had previously dared to visit Him only at night (vv. 38–39). Even more impressive is that they took their faith-stand before Jesus rose victorious from the grave. Why?
Perhaps the manner of Jesus’s death and the events that immediately followed (Matthew 27:50–54) crystallized the fledgling faith of these fearful followers. Maybe they learned to focus on who God is rather than what man could do to them. Whatever the inspiration, may we follow their example and exhibit courage to take risks of faith in our God—for others today. By: Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you lived courageously for your faith in Jesus? What can you do differently that might show your faith to the world?
Courage [is] not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. Nelson Mandela
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The “Go” of Reconciliation
If you…remember that your brother has something against you… —Matthew 5:23
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you….” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you…remember….” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother….” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled….” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“…and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Life-Saving Pain - #8534
One of the first clues that something was wrong with little Megan showed up when her baby teeth were coming in. She'd chew her lips bloody in her sleep and bite through her tongue while she was eating. When she was three, she laid her hands on a hot pressure washer in the backyard. Didn't cry, just stared bewildered at the red blister in her palm. Megan was diagnosed with a rare condition that makes her unable to feel pain. She gulps down scalding hot food with no internal warning that she's hurting herself. One child with this same condition had appendicitis that went untreated until her appendix burst and there was no pain. Well, last I knew, Megan was five and her inability to feel pain was downright scary.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Life-Saving Pain."
At first thought, you might say. "Oh, it would be nice not to feel pain," but only on first thought. God has given us pain as His internal warning system that something is wrong, something that will cause us far more pain, or even kill us if we don't deal with it. Pain is our friend. It's our life-saving friend - not only physically, but spiritually.
God has built into our soul a capacity to feel guilty when we do something wrong. We might call guilt moral pain. Feeling guilty, and feeling shame over what we have or haven't done, feeling dirty inside - those aren't nice feelings. But they're God's alarm to deal with what's wrong before it causes greater pain, or even spiritual death.
In Psalm 32, which is where we find our word for today from the Word of God, David candidly pours out what moral pain feels like and two ways to respond to the pain. He tried them both. He begins with this conclusion: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him." Now, there's a declaration of spiritual freedom!
But first came the pain. David says, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." He's talking about a deep soul anguish that he couldn't even put into words. "Day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." Maybe these are feelings you know all too well - that heavy weight. Turns out to be the weight of God's hand on you: the dwindling energy - dwindling enthusiasm for life, the dark feelings of shame and guilt, the fear of getting caught. Moral pain, given to you by God, not to make you miserable, but to make you well.
Your guilt isn't meant to crush you. It's meant to save you. And David got the message. He said, "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' and You forgave my sin.'" Guilt removed - pain over.
It can be that way for you if you'll quit trying to rationalize your sin, or cover up your sin, or justify it. The longer you refuse to repent of your sin, the more God's going to turn up the pain and the higher price you're going to pay. Not because He doesn't love you, but because He does, too much to let you keep going down a road that's destroying you.
The message from heaven to your heart today is the summons from Acts 3:19 - "Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Relief from your pain, healing for your heart, cleansing for your soul - you'll find them at the foot of the cross of Jesus where everything you've done was paid for in full with His blood.
Maybe you've never personally in your heart gone to that cross and said, "Jesus, what You did there is for me your dying for every wrong thing I have ever done, and I'm tired of the guilt. I want to be forgiven. I want to be clean." Would you tell Him that today, put your life in His hands? Put your total trust in Him to be your own Savior from your own sin. And it is done! You are forgiven. It could happen today.
Our website is set up just for this kind of a moment where you're considering beginning a relationship with Jesus. Go there! There's information that will help you cross the line. That website is ANewStory.com.
You know that pain in your soul? Listen to it. It's life-saving pain.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Psalm 33, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE FINE ART OF SAYING “HELLO”
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Paul gave these instructions to the Romans and repeated them to other churches. Twice to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16:20 and 2 Cor. 13:12); and then to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:26). Peter flew the friendliness flag as well in his first epistle (1 Peter 5:14) when he said, “Greet one another with a kiss of love.”
We tend to overlook these passages. Why the big deal? Why should we be careful to greet one another? The answer is out of respect. Respect is a mindfulness of another person’s situation. Respect says “Hello” to the new kid in class. Respect says “Good afternoon” to the cashier at the checkout stand. A greeting in its purest sense is a gesture of goodwill. Simply greeting one another is not that hard. But it makes a significant difference. And this is how happiness happens.
Psalm 33
Good people, cheer God!
Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.
4-5 For God’s Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.
He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
in God’s affectionate satisfaction.
6-7 The skies were made by God’s command;
he breathed the word and the stars popped out.
He scooped Sea into his jug,
put Ocean in his keg.
8-9 Earth-creatures, bow before God;
world-dwellers—down on your knees!
Here’s why: he spoke and there it was,
in place the moment he said so.
10-12 God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
he shoots down the world’s power-schemes.
God’s plan for the world stands up,
all his designs are made to last.
Blessed is the country with God for God;
blessed are the people he’s put in his will.
13-15 From high in the skies God looks around,
he sees all Adam’s brood.
From where he sits
he overlooks all us earth-dwellers.
He has shaped each person in turn;
now he watches everything we do.
16-17 No king succeeds with a big army alone,
no warrior wins by brute strength.
Horsepower is not the answer;
no one gets by on muscle alone.
18-19 Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him,
the ones who are looking for his love.
He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times;
in lean times he keeps body and soul together.
20-22 We’re depending on God;
he’s everything we need.
What’s more, our hearts brim with joy
since we’ve taken for our own his holy name.
Love us, God, with all you’ve got—
that’s what we’re depending on.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 1:9–15
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Footnotes:
Mark 1:13 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
Insight
Why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? (Mark 1:9). Mark records that John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 4), and Matthew records that John baptized “with water for repentance” (3:11). Jesus was the only sinless person to walk the earth, so He wasn’t in need of repentance or forgiveness. Some have argued that Christ’s baptism was part of His identification with humanity in its sinful state. Others have said it was the inauguration of His ministry. Perhaps Jesus was identifying with us in His surrender to God and to the Father’s will. That’s what those confessing their sins were doing—surrendering to God—and in that vein, Jesus was doing the same thing.
False Places of Safety
The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! Mark 1:15
When our dog Rupert was a puppy, he was so afraid of going outside I’d have to drag him to the park. After getting him there one day, I foolishly let him off his leash. He sprinted home, back to his place of safety.
That experience reminded me of a man I met on a plane, who began apologizing to me as we taxied down the runway. “I’m going to get drunk on this flight,” he said. “It sounds like you don’t want to,” I replied. “I don’t,” he said, “but I always run back to the wine.” He got drunk, and the saddest part was watching his wife embrace him when he got off the plane, smell his breath, then push him away. Drink was his place of safety, but it was no safe place at all.
Jesus began His mission with the words, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). “Repent” means to reverse direction. The “kingdom of God” is His loving rule over our lives. Instead of running to places that entrap us, or being ruled by fears and addictions, Jesus says we can be ruled by God Himself, who lovingly leads us to new life and freedom.
Today Rupert runs to the park barking with joy. I pray the man on the plane finds that same joy and freedom, leaving behind his false place of safety. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What false place of safety do you run to in times of fear or stress? How will you leave it behind today and place yourself under God’s freeing rule?
Jesus, forgive me for running to anything but You in search of life and happiness. I turn away from those things now, and turn my life over to You. Lead me to real freedom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
The “Go” of Relationship
Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. —Matthew 5:41
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Just Go - #8533
Boy, when our family was growing up, if you were planning to take our oldest son somewhere, you'd better have all your details or you may not go. See, he was never a great fan of surprises or mystery rides. No, in fact, ever since he was little he wanted a detailed itinerary before he could feel good about any trip.
Man, I would get so many questions, "Well, where are we going, Dad?" "How much money will I need?" "What will we do when we're there?" "What will we do when there's nothing to do?" "Where are we going to eat?" "How long will it take to get back?" Ahhh! He should have been a detective or a reporter with all those questions. I'm not sure he was all that unusual. I mean, most of us like to know a lot about our destination before we leave where we are. Right? But that information is often not available.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Go."
Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 8. Let me begin reading out of the ministry of Philip here in verse 5. "Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there." Now, the ensuing verses go on to tell us that he was having some very dramatic results. And then in the middle of all that in verse 26, "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' So he started out, and on his way he meets this Ethiopian eunuch, who is an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home he's sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. And the Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'"
Now, as you may remember, the rest of the story tells us that Philip went and had an opportunity to actually find a spiritually prepared man there. He led him to Christ, told him who Isaiah was speaking of, and this man went back and began the spread of the Gospel into Africa because of his very strategic position in the court of Ethiopia.
Now, Philip was in the middle of a great situation in Samaria, and suddenly he's told, "Go to the desert." That's it! No further instructions. You know what it says? "So he started out." There's a biblical pattern here. It happened to Abraham, "Go to the land I will show you." Not much detail. No brochure. He said to Saul of Tarsus in chapter 9, after Saul was accosted by Christ and met by Christ on that Damascus road, he says, "Go into the city and you will be told what you must do." Here we go again! No further instructions. See, God often asks you to be going without knowing. And we're just like my son, "Where? What about all the money I need? What are we going to do there? How long will I be there?" God says, "Just go."
A lot of people have missed God's best because they've limited themselves to safe obedience – must stay in my comfort zone. That's a great place to miss the will of God. Instead of saying, "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go," they sing, "Anywhere with Jesus I can go safely." It wouldn't surprise me if God is right now saying "Go!" to you. Maybe to talk to someone who doesn't know Christ and you have never talked to them, or to go to a ministry assignment you feel unprepared for, or to go follow Him into Christian service, or to go obey Him in an area where that obedience might cost you something. But will you go? Will you pray about it? Will you study His Word?
Be sure it's His voice and then - here comes Nike - just do it! What happened when Philip did? He found a prepared heart, he found a mission that made a transforming difference, and you will too. But first, you're going to have to lay aside that caution and the rigidity that only goes when all the answers are there. After all, what is living by faith?
If the Lord is saying, "Just go," then just go.
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Paul gave these instructions to the Romans and repeated them to other churches. Twice to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16:20 and 2 Cor. 13:12); and then to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:26). Peter flew the friendliness flag as well in his first epistle (1 Peter 5:14) when he said, “Greet one another with a kiss of love.”
We tend to overlook these passages. Why the big deal? Why should we be careful to greet one another? The answer is out of respect. Respect is a mindfulness of another person’s situation. Respect says “Hello” to the new kid in class. Respect says “Good afternoon” to the cashier at the checkout stand. A greeting in its purest sense is a gesture of goodwill. Simply greeting one another is not that hard. But it makes a significant difference. And this is how happiness happens.
Psalm 33
Good people, cheer God!
Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.
4-5 For God’s Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.
He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
in God’s affectionate satisfaction.
6-7 The skies were made by God’s command;
he breathed the word and the stars popped out.
He scooped Sea into his jug,
put Ocean in his keg.
8-9 Earth-creatures, bow before God;
world-dwellers—down on your knees!
Here’s why: he spoke and there it was,
in place the moment he said so.
10-12 God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
he shoots down the world’s power-schemes.
God’s plan for the world stands up,
all his designs are made to last.
Blessed is the country with God for God;
blessed are the people he’s put in his will.
13-15 From high in the skies God looks around,
he sees all Adam’s brood.
From where he sits
he overlooks all us earth-dwellers.
He has shaped each person in turn;
now he watches everything we do.
16-17 No king succeeds with a big army alone,
no warrior wins by brute strength.
Horsepower is not the answer;
no one gets by on muscle alone.
18-19 Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him,
the ones who are looking for his love.
He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times;
in lean times he keeps body and soul together.
20-22 We’re depending on God;
he’s everything we need.
What’s more, our hearts brim with joy
since we’ve taken for our own his holy name.
Love us, God, with all you’ve got—
that’s what we’re depending on.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 1:9–15
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Footnotes:
Mark 1:13 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
Insight
Why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? (Mark 1:9). Mark records that John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 4), and Matthew records that John baptized “with water for repentance” (3:11). Jesus was the only sinless person to walk the earth, so He wasn’t in need of repentance or forgiveness. Some have argued that Christ’s baptism was part of His identification with humanity in its sinful state. Others have said it was the inauguration of His ministry. Perhaps Jesus was identifying with us in His surrender to God and to the Father’s will. That’s what those confessing their sins were doing—surrendering to God—and in that vein, Jesus was doing the same thing.
False Places of Safety
The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! Mark 1:15
When our dog Rupert was a puppy, he was so afraid of going outside I’d have to drag him to the park. After getting him there one day, I foolishly let him off his leash. He sprinted home, back to his place of safety.
That experience reminded me of a man I met on a plane, who began apologizing to me as we taxied down the runway. “I’m going to get drunk on this flight,” he said. “It sounds like you don’t want to,” I replied. “I don’t,” he said, “but I always run back to the wine.” He got drunk, and the saddest part was watching his wife embrace him when he got off the plane, smell his breath, then push him away. Drink was his place of safety, but it was no safe place at all.
Jesus began His mission with the words, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). “Repent” means to reverse direction. The “kingdom of God” is His loving rule over our lives. Instead of running to places that entrap us, or being ruled by fears and addictions, Jesus says we can be ruled by God Himself, who lovingly leads us to new life and freedom.
Today Rupert runs to the park barking with joy. I pray the man on the plane finds that same joy and freedom, leaving behind his false place of safety. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What false place of safety do you run to in times of fear or stress? How will you leave it behind today and place yourself under God’s freeing rule?
Jesus, forgive me for running to anything but You in search of life and happiness. I turn away from those things now, and turn my life over to You. Lead me to real freedom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
The “Go” of Relationship
Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. —Matthew 5:41
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Just Go - #8533
Boy, when our family was growing up, if you were planning to take our oldest son somewhere, you'd better have all your details or you may not go. See, he was never a great fan of surprises or mystery rides. No, in fact, ever since he was little he wanted a detailed itinerary before he could feel good about any trip.
Man, I would get so many questions, "Well, where are we going, Dad?" "How much money will I need?" "What will we do when we're there?" "What will we do when there's nothing to do?" "Where are we going to eat?" "How long will it take to get back?" Ahhh! He should have been a detective or a reporter with all those questions. I'm not sure he was all that unusual. I mean, most of us like to know a lot about our destination before we leave where we are. Right? But that information is often not available.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Go."
Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 8. Let me begin reading out of the ministry of Philip here in verse 5. "Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there." Now, the ensuing verses go on to tell us that he was having some very dramatic results. And then in the middle of all that in verse 26, "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' So he started out, and on his way he meets this Ethiopian eunuch, who is an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home he's sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. And the Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'"
Now, as you may remember, the rest of the story tells us that Philip went and had an opportunity to actually find a spiritually prepared man there. He led him to Christ, told him who Isaiah was speaking of, and this man went back and began the spread of the Gospel into Africa because of his very strategic position in the court of Ethiopia.
Now, Philip was in the middle of a great situation in Samaria, and suddenly he's told, "Go to the desert." That's it! No further instructions. You know what it says? "So he started out." There's a biblical pattern here. It happened to Abraham, "Go to the land I will show you." Not much detail. No brochure. He said to Saul of Tarsus in chapter 9, after Saul was accosted by Christ and met by Christ on that Damascus road, he says, "Go into the city and you will be told what you must do." Here we go again! No further instructions. See, God often asks you to be going without knowing. And we're just like my son, "Where? What about all the money I need? What are we going to do there? How long will I be there?" God says, "Just go."
A lot of people have missed God's best because they've limited themselves to safe obedience – must stay in my comfort zone. That's a great place to miss the will of God. Instead of saying, "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go," they sing, "Anywhere with Jesus I can go safely." It wouldn't surprise me if God is right now saying "Go!" to you. Maybe to talk to someone who doesn't know Christ and you have never talked to them, or to go to a ministry assignment you feel unprepared for, or to go follow Him into Christian service, or to go obey Him in an area where that obedience might cost you something. But will you go? Will you pray about it? Will you study His Word?
Be sure it's His voice and then - here comes Nike - just do it! What happened when Philip did? He found a prepared heart, he found a mission that made a transforming difference, and you will too. But first, you're going to have to lay aside that caution and the rigidity that only goes when all the answers are there. After all, what is living by faith?
If the Lord is saying, "Just go," then just go.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Acts 16:22-40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JOY IN THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS
We are not God’s gift to humanity. God can use each of us, but he doesn’t need any of us. We are valuable but not indispensable. You love. But who loved you first? You serve. But who served the most? What are you doing for God that God could not do alone?
How wise of us to remember Paul’s antidote to joy-sucking self-promotion. “With humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3).
Here is a helpful exercise that can turn your focus off yourself and on to others. During the next twenty-four hours make it your aim to celebrate everything good that happens to someone else. Keep a list. You will move from joy to joy as you regard other people’s success as more important than your own. And this is how happiness happens.
Acts 16:22-40
When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood.
22-24 The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.
25-26 Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.
27-28 Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!”
29-31 The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”
32-34 They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.
35-36 At daybreak, the court judges sent officers with the instructions, “Release these men.” The jailer gave Paul the message, “The judges sent word that you’re free to go on your way. Congratulations! Go in peace!”
37 But Paul wouldn’t budge. He told the officers, “They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want to get us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight.”
38-40 When the officers reported this, the judges panicked. They had no idea that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They hurried over and apologized, personally escorted them from the jail, and then asked them if they wouldn’t please leave the city. Walking out of the jail, Paul and Silas went straight to Lydia’s house, saw their friends again, encouraged them in the faith, and only then went on their way.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Genesis 6:9–18
This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all around.[d] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Footnotes:
Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Insight
The words “he walked faithfully with God” describe Noah’s life (Genesis 6:9). The Hebrew word translated “walked faithfully” (some versions have “walked” nkjv, nasb) is used to describe one’s lifestyle or conduct. Twice it’s said of Enoch that he “walked faithfully with God” (5:22, 24). In Genesis 17:1, Abraham was commanded by God to “walk before me faithfully.” Interestingly, we find in Hebrews 11:5–8 that all three of these men—Enoch, Noah, and Abraham—are commended for their faith. Theirs was a genuine faith that compelled them to honor God by the way they lived. By: Arthur Jackson
Qualified in God’s Eyes
[Noah] walked faithfully with God. Genesis 6:9
A technology-consulting firm hired me after college although I couldn’t write a line of computer code and had very little business knowledge. During the interview process for my entry-level position, I learned that the company did not place high value on work experience. Instead, personal qualities such as the ability to solve problems creatively, exercise good judgment, and work well with a team were more important. The company assumed new workers could be taught the necessary skills as long as they were the kind of people the company was looking for.
Noah didn’t have the right resume for the job of constructing the ark—he wasn’t a boat builder or even a carpenter. Noah was a farmer, a man comfortable with dirt on his shirt and a plow in his hands. Yet as God decided how to deal with the evil in the world at that time, Noah stood out because “he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). God valued the teachableness of Noah’s heart—the strength to resist the corruption around him and to do what was right.
When opportunities to serve God come our way, we may not feel qualified for the work. Thankfully, God is not necessarily concerned with our skill set. He prizes our character, love for Him, and willingness to trust Him. When these qualities are being developed inside us by the Spirit, He can use us in big or small ways to accomplish His will on earth. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
What character qualities do you need God to develop in you? Why is your character so important to God?
Dear God, give me a heart that’s willing to serve You in any way. Equip me in the areas where I lack experience, and fill me with Your Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The “Go” of Preparation
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. —Matthew 5:23-24
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “…go your way. First be reconciled to your brother….” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
One Velcro Friend - #8532
It was one of those nights that flashes back in our memory for years, like treasured pictures in a mental scrapbook. It was the early 1990s and the Soviet Union was beginning to break up. Estonia and Latvia had been under Soviet domination for years, with Christians often being persecuted, or marginalized, even imprisoned and beaten. Our daughter was one of a team of college students, privileged to be one of the first Christian teams to be able to freely present Christ in Estonia and Latvia. They had just held some unforgettable meetings with believers in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and they had heard some of the stories of the price some of those dear saints had paid for their loyalty to Jesus. They'd been through so much.
The team members bade their new friends an emotional farewell at church and they headed for the train station, where they eventually boarded the midnight train. But as they boarded, the railway platform was suddenly alive with the faces and the voices of the Latvian Christians they had left behind they thought they'd said goodbye to. They showed up en masse at the station at midnight for one last goodbye and a special send off. As our daughter settled into her seat on the train, she could hear the voices of those people joining together in a melody that just echoed through the station. She didn't recognize the words - they were in Latvian, of course - but she sure recognized the song. As the train slowly began to pull out of the station, these people who had endured so much, were singing an old song that, at least for one college student, would never be the same again "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear." These people would know that, wouldn't they?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "One Velcro Friend."
That's what those people had learned through those years of injustice, and uncertainty, and hardship. They learned that Jesus is the "Velcro friend" who sticks with you through it all. He wants to be that friend for you. People can fire you, abuse you, criticize you, divorce you, disappoint you, abandon you, but millions of us have found what those Latvian followers of Christ found, that Jesus is life's one and only "through it all" person - that intimacy is born from difficulty.
When the Apostle Paul said his passionate life goal was to "know Christ," he went on to say that involved knowing "the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10). See, you never really know Jesus until you really need Jesus. And when you really, really need Him, He's really, really there.
The Son of God, the King of all kings, laid out the amazing relationship He wants to have with us as He was talking to His disciples just before His long dark night of the cross and the long dark stretch that would follow for His disciples. In John 15, beginning with verse 15, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants...I have called you friends." If you have that love relationship with Jesus, there's nothing the two of you can't handle, because as the Bible says, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
And if you don't have that love relationship with Him, great news! It could start today if you'll give your life to this One who loves you so deeply He paid for your sins with His life. Our sins are serious business, and they carry a death penalty which Jesus paid for you. I don't know if you've had a lot of relationships, and you hoped each one would be the ultimate harbor for your heart, and it wasn't. Well, Jesus is life's one safe harbor, and you need to be safe in His love.
You don't need one more day without Him. Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I would love to help you get this settled once and for all. And that's why our website is there. I hope you'll go there. It's ANewStory.com.
"What a friend we have in Jesus." That's more than a song. It's a life you can have. What a friend I have in Jesus!
We are not God’s gift to humanity. God can use each of us, but he doesn’t need any of us. We are valuable but not indispensable. You love. But who loved you first? You serve. But who served the most? What are you doing for God that God could not do alone?
How wise of us to remember Paul’s antidote to joy-sucking self-promotion. “With humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3).
Here is a helpful exercise that can turn your focus off yourself and on to others. During the next twenty-four hours make it your aim to celebrate everything good that happens to someone else. Keep a list. You will move from joy to joy as you regard other people’s success as more important than your own. And this is how happiness happens.
Acts 16:22-40
When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood.
22-24 The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.
25-26 Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.
27-28 Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!”
29-31 The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”
32-34 They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.
35-36 At daybreak, the court judges sent officers with the instructions, “Release these men.” The jailer gave Paul the message, “The judges sent word that you’re free to go on your way. Congratulations! Go in peace!”
37 But Paul wouldn’t budge. He told the officers, “They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want to get us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight.”
38-40 When the officers reported this, the judges panicked. They had no idea that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They hurried over and apologized, personally escorted them from the jail, and then asked them if they wouldn’t please leave the city. Walking out of the jail, Paul and Silas went straight to Lydia’s house, saw their friends again, encouraged them in the faith, and only then went on their way.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Genesis 6:9–18
This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all around.[d] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Footnotes:
Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Insight
The words “he walked faithfully with God” describe Noah’s life (Genesis 6:9). The Hebrew word translated “walked faithfully” (some versions have “walked” nkjv, nasb) is used to describe one’s lifestyle or conduct. Twice it’s said of Enoch that he “walked faithfully with God” (5:22, 24). In Genesis 17:1, Abraham was commanded by God to “walk before me faithfully.” Interestingly, we find in Hebrews 11:5–8 that all three of these men—Enoch, Noah, and Abraham—are commended for their faith. Theirs was a genuine faith that compelled them to honor God by the way they lived. By: Arthur Jackson
Qualified in God’s Eyes
[Noah] walked faithfully with God. Genesis 6:9
A technology-consulting firm hired me after college although I couldn’t write a line of computer code and had very little business knowledge. During the interview process for my entry-level position, I learned that the company did not place high value on work experience. Instead, personal qualities such as the ability to solve problems creatively, exercise good judgment, and work well with a team were more important. The company assumed new workers could be taught the necessary skills as long as they were the kind of people the company was looking for.
Noah didn’t have the right resume for the job of constructing the ark—he wasn’t a boat builder or even a carpenter. Noah was a farmer, a man comfortable with dirt on his shirt and a plow in his hands. Yet as God decided how to deal with the evil in the world at that time, Noah stood out because “he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). God valued the teachableness of Noah’s heart—the strength to resist the corruption around him and to do what was right.
When opportunities to serve God come our way, we may not feel qualified for the work. Thankfully, God is not necessarily concerned with our skill set. He prizes our character, love for Him, and willingness to trust Him. When these qualities are being developed inside us by the Spirit, He can use us in big or small ways to accomplish His will on earth. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
What character qualities do you need God to develop in you? Why is your character so important to God?
Dear God, give me a heart that’s willing to serve You in any way. Equip me in the areas where I lack experience, and fill me with Your Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The “Go” of Preparation
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. —Matthew 5:23-24
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “…go your way. First be reconciled to your brother….” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
One Velcro Friend - #8532
It was one of those nights that flashes back in our memory for years, like treasured pictures in a mental scrapbook. It was the early 1990s and the Soviet Union was beginning to break up. Estonia and Latvia had been under Soviet domination for years, with Christians often being persecuted, or marginalized, even imprisoned and beaten. Our daughter was one of a team of college students, privileged to be one of the first Christian teams to be able to freely present Christ in Estonia and Latvia. They had just held some unforgettable meetings with believers in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and they had heard some of the stories of the price some of those dear saints had paid for their loyalty to Jesus. They'd been through so much.
The team members bade their new friends an emotional farewell at church and they headed for the train station, where they eventually boarded the midnight train. But as they boarded, the railway platform was suddenly alive with the faces and the voices of the Latvian Christians they had left behind they thought they'd said goodbye to. They showed up en masse at the station at midnight for one last goodbye and a special send off. As our daughter settled into her seat on the train, she could hear the voices of those people joining together in a melody that just echoed through the station. She didn't recognize the words - they were in Latvian, of course - but she sure recognized the song. As the train slowly began to pull out of the station, these people who had endured so much, were singing an old song that, at least for one college student, would never be the same again "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear." These people would know that, wouldn't they?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "One Velcro Friend."
That's what those people had learned through those years of injustice, and uncertainty, and hardship. They learned that Jesus is the "Velcro friend" who sticks with you through it all. He wants to be that friend for you. People can fire you, abuse you, criticize you, divorce you, disappoint you, abandon you, but millions of us have found what those Latvian followers of Christ found, that Jesus is life's one and only "through it all" person - that intimacy is born from difficulty.
When the Apostle Paul said his passionate life goal was to "know Christ," he went on to say that involved knowing "the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10). See, you never really know Jesus until you really need Jesus. And when you really, really need Him, He's really, really there.
The Son of God, the King of all kings, laid out the amazing relationship He wants to have with us as He was talking to His disciples just before His long dark night of the cross and the long dark stretch that would follow for His disciples. In John 15, beginning with verse 15, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants...I have called you friends." If you have that love relationship with Jesus, there's nothing the two of you can't handle, because as the Bible says, "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
And if you don't have that love relationship with Him, great news! It could start today if you'll give your life to this One who loves you so deeply He paid for your sins with His life. Our sins are serious business, and they carry a death penalty which Jesus paid for you. I don't know if you've had a lot of relationships, and you hoped each one would be the ultimate harbor for your heart, and it wasn't. Well, Jesus is life's one safe harbor, and you need to be safe in His love.
You don't need one more day without Him. Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I would love to help you get this settled once and for all. And that's why our website is there. I hope you'll go there. It's ANewStory.com.
"What a friend we have in Jesus." That's more than a song. It's a life you can have. What a friend I have in Jesus!
Monday, September 23, 2019
Psalm 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: MINISTRY VS. VAIN AMBITION
“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me!” (Luke 10:40).
Of all the ironies. Martha was in the presence of the Prince of Peace, yet she was the picture of stress. Martha’s downfall was not her work or request; it was her motivation. Rather than making a meal for Jesus, it seems she was trying to make a big deal about her service.
Might there be a bit of Martha within us? What begins as a desire to serve Christ metastasizes into an act of impressing people. And gifted Marthas become miserable mumblers. Yet the Martha within is not easily silenced. Mark it down. When ministry becomes vain ambition, nothing good happens. And Jesus does not get served. No wonder the apostle Paul was so insistent when he said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3).
Psalm 10
God, are you avoiding me?
Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.
3-4 The wicked are windbags,
the swindlers have foul breath.
The wicked snub God,
their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
“Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”
5-6 They care nothing for what you think;
if you get in their way, they blow you off.
They live (they think) a charmed life:
“We can’t go wrong. This is our lucky year!”
7-8 They carry a mouthful of hexes,
their tongues spit venom like adders.
They hide behind ordinary people,
then pounce on their victims.
9 They mark the luckless,
then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
they stab him in the back.
10-11 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
He thinks God has dumped him,
he’s sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
12-13 Time to get up, God—get moving.
The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God
and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
they’ll never come up for audit.
14 But you know all about it—
the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
will get lucky someday in you.
You won’t let them down:
orphans won’t be orphans forever.
15-16 Break the wicked right arms,
break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
every sign of crime.
God’s grace and order wins;
godlessness loses.
17-18 The victim’s faint pulse picks up;
the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
as you put your ear to their lips.
Orphans get parents,
the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
the rule of the gang lords is ended.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 23, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Footnotes:
Psalm 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-8 is numbered 3:2-9.
Psalm 3:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 4 and 8.
Insight
The book of Psalms is Israel’s poetry and songbook that captures the human experience and emotions of the psalmists as they seek to trust God in the midst of life’s struggles and pains. Psalm 3 is the first of fourteen psalms that David wrote in response to a specific event (7; 18; 30; 34; 51; 52; 54; 56; 57; 59; 60; 63; 142). The superscription to Psalm 3—“When he fled from his son Absalom”—tells of David’s crisis when his son usurped the throne, forcing the king to flee because he’d be killed if he remained in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:13–14). Despite the danger and threat to his life, David was fully confident of God’s protection, deliverance, and sustenance: “I lie down and sleep. . . . I will not fear” (Psalm 3:5–6). David experienced the “perfect peace” promised in Isaiah 26:3 that comes through trusting God.
A Shield Around Me
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3
Our church experienced an agonizing loss when Paul, our gifted worship minister, died at the age of thirty-one in a boating accident. Paul and his wife, DuRhonda, were no strangers to pain; they had buried several children who hadn’t made it to term. Now there would be another grave near the small graves of these little ones. The life-crushing crisis this family experienced hit those who loved them like a knockout blow to the head.
David was no stranger to personal and family crises. In Psalm 3, he found himself overwhelmed because of the rebellion of his son Absalom. Rather than stay and fight, he chose to flee his home and throne (2 Samuel 15:13–23). Though “many” considered him forsaken by God (Psalm 3:2), David knew better; he saw the Lord as his protector (v. 3), and he called upon Him accordingly (v. 4). And so did DuRhonda. In the midst of her grief, when hundreds had gathered to remember her husband, she raised her soft, tender voice in a song that expressed confidence in God.
When doctors’ reports are not encouraging, when financial pressures won’t ease up, when efforts to reconcile relationships fail, when death has left those we cherish in its wake—may we too be strengthened to say, “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high” (v. 3). By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
How did you respond the last time you found yourself in an overwhelming situation? How does knowing God is a shield around you help?
Heavenly Father, help me to see that though life can be uncomfortable, I can find comfort in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Missionary’s Goal
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him— “…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“…there they crucified Him…” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ‘up to Jerusalem.’ ”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Secret of Not Getting Lost - #8531
We were driving with some of our young Native American friends in Arizona and we were returning from a little sightseeing outing. And even though men never get lost, right? Well, the man driving did. As we were debating which way to go to get back, one of our Indian passengers described exactly how we had traveled to this area and exactly how we could get back. We listened, we tried it, and we weren't lost anymore! Now maybe it's just been my experience, and sometimes I even joke about it with my Native friends - Native Americans just don't seem to get lost! I've tried to figure this out. Maybe it's just instinct, but over and over I've noticed something. My Native friends pay very close attention to where they're going. Seldom do they have to travel there twice to know where they're going. Now, they have taught me a very valuable lesson - the way to know your way is to pay close attention to where you've been!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You about "The Secret of Not Getting Lost."
Which brings us to our word for today from the Word of God which is in Psalm 78. It's a record of the sad history of God's ancient people - oh, and some of His current people too. Verse 10: "They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by His law." Now why? Verse 11, "They forgot what He had done, the wonders that He had shown them."
You see, they forgot the road that God had brought them on in the past. And then there is a tragic description throughout the chapter of a lifetime of bad choices. It says, "They spoke against God" (verse 19), "they kept on sinning" (verse 32). In spite of His wonders they did not believe. Another verse says they rebelled against Him. And the result? Well, it says that, "They ended their days in futility and their years in terror." The bottom line mistake is summed up in verse 42, "They did not remember His power."
All the wonderful times God had provided, intervened, blessed, protected. They simply forgot when they were facing a new challenge or a new choice. So what's changed? Not much! As God's children today we get lost because we fail to remember where we've been with Him before. We live in unbelief, failing to trust God to work in this situation because we ignore how God has worked before. It's like spiritual amnesia. The result is we start to invent our own solutions; we come up with our own plans. We run ahead of God, we run behind God, or in some way we take a detour from His perfect will.
Now maybe you're facing a choice right now, a challenge, a crossroads that could take you deeper into God's great plans for you, or down a road that's wrong for you. It's time to retrace the road He's already been leading you on. Ask yourself questions like these: What have been the milestone scripture verses that God has used to guide my life in the past? Go over them, quote them, depend on them for this crossroads. Another question: What's God been saying to me in recent months as I've prayed and spent time with Him in His Word, the Bible? Look for the recurring themes that He's been bringing into your heart.
By the way, that is why it is so helpful to keep a spiritual journal of each day's time with Him. Oh, and there's another question: what patterns can I see in how God has led me in the past? Remember the past has been preparation for this moment. What does it look like He's been preparing you for? Another question: What are some times that I've seen my God majorly intervene and support me, use me, and supply for me? Expect Him to be that same God for you again. It might be a different method, but it's the same awesome Heavenly Father.
The hymn writer looked back over the path of his lifetime and he said what we've all sung with all our hearts, "Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."
There's a way to keep from getting lost. Pay close attention to where you've already been. The Good Shepherd who brought you this far isn't about to leave you now.
“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me!” (Luke 10:40).
Of all the ironies. Martha was in the presence of the Prince of Peace, yet she was the picture of stress. Martha’s downfall was not her work or request; it was her motivation. Rather than making a meal for Jesus, it seems she was trying to make a big deal about her service.
Might there be a bit of Martha within us? What begins as a desire to serve Christ metastasizes into an act of impressing people. And gifted Marthas become miserable mumblers. Yet the Martha within is not easily silenced. Mark it down. When ministry becomes vain ambition, nothing good happens. And Jesus does not get served. No wonder the apostle Paul was so insistent when he said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3).
Psalm 10
God, are you avoiding me?
Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.
3-4 The wicked are windbags,
the swindlers have foul breath.
The wicked snub God,
their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
“Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”
5-6 They care nothing for what you think;
if you get in their way, they blow you off.
They live (they think) a charmed life:
“We can’t go wrong. This is our lucky year!”
7-8 They carry a mouthful of hexes,
their tongues spit venom like adders.
They hide behind ordinary people,
then pounce on their victims.
9 They mark the luckless,
then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
they stab him in the back.
10-11 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
He thinks God has dumped him,
he’s sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
12-13 Time to get up, God—get moving.
The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.
They wonder why the wicked scorn God
and get away with it,
Why the wicked are so cocksure
they’ll never come up for audit.
14 But you know all about it—
the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
will get lucky someday in you.
You won’t let them down:
orphans won’t be orphans forever.
15-16 Break the wicked right arms,
break all the evil left arms.
Search and destroy
every sign of crime.
God’s grace and order wins;
godlessness loses.
17-18 The victim’s faint pulse picks up;
the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood
as you put your ear to their lips.
Orphans get parents,
the homeless get homes.
The reign of terror is over,
the rule of the gang lords is ended.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 23, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Footnotes:
Psalm 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-8 is numbered 3:2-9.
Psalm 3:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 4 and 8.
Insight
The book of Psalms is Israel’s poetry and songbook that captures the human experience and emotions of the psalmists as they seek to trust God in the midst of life’s struggles and pains. Psalm 3 is the first of fourteen psalms that David wrote in response to a specific event (7; 18; 30; 34; 51; 52; 54; 56; 57; 59; 60; 63; 142). The superscription to Psalm 3—“When he fled from his son Absalom”—tells of David’s crisis when his son usurped the throne, forcing the king to flee because he’d be killed if he remained in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:13–14). Despite the danger and threat to his life, David was fully confident of God’s protection, deliverance, and sustenance: “I lie down and sleep. . . . I will not fear” (Psalm 3:5–6). David experienced the “perfect peace” promised in Isaiah 26:3 that comes through trusting God.
A Shield Around Me
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3
Our church experienced an agonizing loss when Paul, our gifted worship minister, died at the age of thirty-one in a boating accident. Paul and his wife, DuRhonda, were no strangers to pain; they had buried several children who hadn’t made it to term. Now there would be another grave near the small graves of these little ones. The life-crushing crisis this family experienced hit those who loved them like a knockout blow to the head.
David was no stranger to personal and family crises. In Psalm 3, he found himself overwhelmed because of the rebellion of his son Absalom. Rather than stay and fight, he chose to flee his home and throne (2 Samuel 15:13–23). Though “many” considered him forsaken by God (Psalm 3:2), David knew better; he saw the Lord as his protector (v. 3), and he called upon Him accordingly (v. 4). And so did DuRhonda. In the midst of her grief, when hundreds had gathered to remember her husband, she raised her soft, tender voice in a song that expressed confidence in God.
When doctors’ reports are not encouraging, when financial pressures won’t ease up, when efforts to reconcile relationships fail, when death has left those we cherish in its wake—may we too be strengthened to say, “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high” (v. 3). By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
How did you respond the last time you found yourself in an overwhelming situation? How does knowing God is a shield around you help?
Heavenly Father, help me to see that though life can be uncomfortable, I can find comfort in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Missionary’s Goal
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him— “…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“…there they crucified Him…” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ‘up to Jerusalem.’ ”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Secret of Not Getting Lost - #8531
We were driving with some of our young Native American friends in Arizona and we were returning from a little sightseeing outing. And even though men never get lost, right? Well, the man driving did. As we were debating which way to go to get back, one of our Indian passengers described exactly how we had traveled to this area and exactly how we could get back. We listened, we tried it, and we weren't lost anymore! Now maybe it's just been my experience, and sometimes I even joke about it with my Native friends - Native Americans just don't seem to get lost! I've tried to figure this out. Maybe it's just instinct, but over and over I've noticed something. My Native friends pay very close attention to where they're going. Seldom do they have to travel there twice to know where they're going. Now, they have taught me a very valuable lesson - the way to know your way is to pay close attention to where you've been!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You about "The Secret of Not Getting Lost."
Which brings us to our word for today from the Word of God which is in Psalm 78. It's a record of the sad history of God's ancient people - oh, and some of His current people too. Verse 10: "They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by His law." Now why? Verse 11, "They forgot what He had done, the wonders that He had shown them."
You see, they forgot the road that God had brought them on in the past. And then there is a tragic description throughout the chapter of a lifetime of bad choices. It says, "They spoke against God" (verse 19), "they kept on sinning" (verse 32). In spite of His wonders they did not believe. Another verse says they rebelled against Him. And the result? Well, it says that, "They ended their days in futility and their years in terror." The bottom line mistake is summed up in verse 42, "They did not remember His power."
All the wonderful times God had provided, intervened, blessed, protected. They simply forgot when they were facing a new challenge or a new choice. So what's changed? Not much! As God's children today we get lost because we fail to remember where we've been with Him before. We live in unbelief, failing to trust God to work in this situation because we ignore how God has worked before. It's like spiritual amnesia. The result is we start to invent our own solutions; we come up with our own plans. We run ahead of God, we run behind God, or in some way we take a detour from His perfect will.
Now maybe you're facing a choice right now, a challenge, a crossroads that could take you deeper into God's great plans for you, or down a road that's wrong for you. It's time to retrace the road He's already been leading you on. Ask yourself questions like these: What have been the milestone scripture verses that God has used to guide my life in the past? Go over them, quote them, depend on them for this crossroads. Another question: What's God been saying to me in recent months as I've prayed and spent time with Him in His Word, the Bible? Look for the recurring themes that He's been bringing into your heart.
By the way, that is why it is so helpful to keep a spiritual journal of each day's time with Him. Oh, and there's another question: what patterns can I see in how God has led me in the past? Remember the past has been preparation for this moment. What does it look like He's been preparing you for? Another question: What are some times that I've seen my God majorly intervene and support me, use me, and supply for me? Expect Him to be that same God for you again. It might be a different method, but it's the same awesome Heavenly Father.
The hymn writer looked back over the path of his lifetime and he said what we've all sung with all our hearts, "Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."
There's a way to keep from getting lost. Pay close attention to where you've already been. The Good Shepherd who brought you this far isn't about to leave you now.
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