Max Lucado Daily: JESUS AFFIRMS PETER
Encouragement occurs when we “come alongside and call out.” Jesus modeled this. Peter was prone to speak too soon and boast too much. Yet Jesus saw something in the heart of this crusty fisherman worth calling forth. Jesus asked his followers, “Who do you say that I am?” I hear silence. Finally Peter spoke up. He looked at the penniless rabbi from Galilee and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus all but jumped for joy at the confession. He even changed the apostle’s name. Simon would now be called Peter, a name that is next of kin to petros or Rocky. Simon, the man who expressed rock-solid faith, needed a rock-solid name. Jesus did to Peter what encouragers do. He summoned the best. He built Peter up. Will you do the same for someone else?
2 Kings 20
Some time later Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz paid him a visit and said, “Put your affairs in order; you’re about to die—you haven’t long to live.”
2-3 Hezekiah turned from Isaiah and faced God, praying:
Remember, O God, who I am, what I’ve done!
I’ve lived an honest life before you,
My heart’s been true and steady,
I’ve lived to please you; lived for your approval.
And then the tears flowed. Hezekiah wept.
4-6 Isaiah, leaving, was not halfway across the courtyard when the word of God stopped him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, prince of my people, ‘God’s word, Hezekiah! From the God of your ancestor David: I’ve listened to your prayer and I’ve observed your tears. I’m going to heal you. In three days you will walk on your own legs into The Temple of God. I’ve just added fifteen years to your life; I’m saving you from the king of Assyria, and I’m covering this city with my shield—for my sake and my servant David’s sake.’”
7 Isaiah then said, “Prepare a plaster of figs.”
They prepared the plaster, applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah was on his way to recovery.
8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “How do I know whether this is of God and not just the fig plaster? What confirming sign is there that God is healing me and that in three days I’ll walk into The Temple of God on my own legs?”
9 “This will be your sign from God,” said Isaiah, “that God is doing what he said he’d do: Do you want the shadow to advance ten degrees on the sundial or go back ten degrees? You choose.”
10 Hezekiah said, “It would be easy to make the sun’s shadow advance ten degrees. Make it go back ten degrees.”
11 So Isaiah called out in prayer to God, and the shadow went back ten degrees on Ahaz’s sundial.
12-13 Shortly after this, Merodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon, having heard that the king was sick, sent a get-well card and a gift to Hezekiah. Hezekiah was pleased and showed the messengers around the place—silver, gold, spices, aromatic oils, his stockpile of weapons—a guided tour of all his prized possessions. There wasn’t a thing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah didn’t show them.
14 And then Isaiah the prophet showed up: “And just what were these men doing here? Where did they come from and why?”
Hezekiah said, “They came from far away—from Babylon.”
15 “And what did they see in your palace?”
“Everything,” said Hezekiah. “There isn’t anything I didn’t show them—I gave them the grand tour.”
16-18 Then Isaiah spoke to Hezekiah, “Listen to what God has to say about this: The day is coming when everything you own and everything your ancestors have passed down to you, right down to the last cup and saucer, will be cleaned out of here—plundered and packed off to Babylon. God’s word! Worse yet, your sons, the progeny of sons you’ve begotten, will end up as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “If God says it, it must be good.” But he was thinking to himself, “It won’t happen during my lifetime—I’ll enjoy peace and security as long as I live.”
20-21 The rest of the life and times of Hezekiah, along with his projects, especially the way he engineered the Upper Pool and brought water into the city, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Hezekiah died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Manasseh became the next king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 3:1–6
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Insight
Who was James, the “servant of God” (1:1) and author of this epistle? Several different men named James appear in the New Testament. The most prominent is James, Zebedee’s son and John’s brother (Matthew 4:21). Another of Christ’s disciples was James the son of Alphaeus (10:3). James the younger or “the Less” (nkjv) is mentioned in Mark 15:40, but some scholars say this James might have been James the son of Alphaeus. Another was the father of Judas (not Iscariot, Luke 6:16). Finally, is James the half-brother of Jesus Himself (Matthew 13:55; 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19). This James most likely wrote the book. James the son of Zebedee was the first of Christ’s disciples to be martyred (Acts 12:2), and the others were not prominent enough to have such broad influence.
Tongue Tamers
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. Ephesians 4:29
In West with the Night, author Beryl Markham detailed her work with Camciscan, a feisty stallion she was tasked with taming. She’d met her match with Camciscan. No matter what strategy she employed, she could never fully tame the proud stallion, chalking up only one victory over his stubborn will.
How many of us feel this way in the battle to tame our tongues? While James compares the tongue to the bit in a horse’s mouth or a ship’s rudder (James 3:3–5), he also laments, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (v. 10).
So, how can we win the battle over the tongue? The apostle Paul offers tongue-taming advice. The first involves speaking only the truth (Ephesians 4:25). This is not a license to be painfully blunt, however. Paul follows up with “do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up” (v. 29). We can also take out the trash: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (v. 31). Is this easy? Not if we attempt to do it on our own. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit who helps us as we rely on Him.
As Markham learned, consistency with Camciscan was needed in the battle of wills. Such is the case in the taming of the tongue. By: Linda Washington
Reflect & Pray
What do you find most challenging in taming your tongue? What practical steps can you take to win the battle in the coming week?
Jesus, I need You to help me be mindful of the words I use.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask." —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember— He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father— as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives…” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. Biblical Ethics, 99 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Born to Fly - #8524
I read once that Benjamin Franklin had nominated the turkey to be America's national bird. With all due respect to our wonderful founding father, I'm glad Ben got outvoted on that one, aren't you? I'm glad they picked the American eagle. What a majestic bird! They're even a good example for us humans! They mate for life, they build a family home called a nest to last for life, and they do a good job raising their kids. Veteran eagle watchers have told us that Mom and Pop eagle cover the floor of their nest with feathers and fur and, you know, soft stuff for their little babies. And then one day that little eaglet ventures outside the nest for a little walk on the cliff. And that's when the renovations start. Mr. and Mrs. Eagle start removing the fur and the feathers from the nest. When the eaglet returns from his little stroll, he returns to a nest that doesn't feel as good as it did before. Oooh, ouch! He's resting on sticks and stones now. Suddenly the comfy nest isn't comfortable anymore. Actually, this is the first step in getting that eagle to do what he otherwise might never do. What he was born to do - fly!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Born to Fly."
Now God likes eagles, too. He talks about them many times in the Bible. One of them is in Deuteronomy 32. I'll begin reading at verse 10 - it's our word for today from the Word of God. Speaking of his leadership of some of the believers in the past it says, "He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The Lord alone led him." How does he lead him? Well, part of his leading of him is to stir up the nest.
Maybe that's a fair description of what's been happening in your life recently? Your nest isn't as comfortable as it used to be; you're restless, and maybe even hurting. It's obvious something is going on but you haven't been able to figure out what it is. Well, it could be that your loving Father is stirring up your nest. Why? The same reason the father eagle stirs up the nest of that eaglet...to move you out of your comfort zone so you can fly! God's moving you to do what you were made for, but you don't know it.
I remember a call we got from our son just a couple of weeks after he had followed the Lord's leading to go work for the Lord among a tough southwestern Indian tribe. He was just out of college, obeying the Lord's call, but without much that folks would call security. Believe me. He had actually broken an engagement a few months earlier because of his calling. He'd been sleeping on a table in a church storeroom, that's all he had to start with. He was totally depending on the Lord to support his daily needs.
He called early one morning and he said, "Mom, Dad, you know when I was in college and I needed friends, they were right there. If I needed a girl, not a problem, and If I needed money, I knew what I had to do." He said, "I don't have any of that here and I'm really lonely." You know, we're parents. We're like, "Oh, boy." But then he said, "I have never had such peace and contentment like this in my whole life." And then I will never forget what he said after that, "Because I am where I was born to be."
Man, that is the peace the Lord wants you to have. That's where your Lord wants to take you to be the kind of person you were born to be, to be in the place you were born to be, the work you were born to do. But He has got to get you out of that comfy nest first, so He's stirring it up.
I'm sure if Papa Eagle told that eaglet that he was going to hang out there in mid-air and fly, that baby would say, "No way I'm doing that." But then comes the discomforting of his nest! If your comfortable spot is suddenly getting uncomfortable, it's time to be asking, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" I'm ready for whatever you have for me.
See, He's moving you to what you were created for. Which wasn't to spend your life in the nest. No, you were born to fly!
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