Max Lucado Daily: EXTENDED HANDS
When a law-abiding, timid electronics buff blasted four would-be muggers in a New York subway, Bernhard Geotz became an instant hero! It’s not hard to see why. He clobbered evil over the head. He embodied a nationwide anger—a passion for revenge. Yet reality makes us ask the questions: What good was done? Are the streets now free of fear?
On the cross Jesus said, “They do not know what they are doing.” It doesn’t justify kiddie-porn peddlers or heroin dealers. But it does help explain why they do the miserable things they do.
Once we see ourselves for what we are, we can help. Not out of anger, but out of concern and compassion. We go to the ghettos. We teach in the schools. We build hospitals and help orphans. We look at the world not with bitter frowns, but with extended hands!
1 Chronicles 10
The Philistines went to war against Israel; the Israelites ran for their lives from the Philistines but fell, slaughtered on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines zeroed in on Saul and his sons and killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. The battle went hard against Saul—the archers found him and wounded him. Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and finish me off before these pagan pigs get to me and make a sport of my body.” But his armor bearer, restrained by both reverence and fear, wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and killed himself. The armor bearer, panicked because Saul was dead, then killed himself.
6-7 So Saul and his three sons—all four the same day—died. When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and ran off; the Philistines came and moved in.
8-10 The next day the Philistines came to plunder the dead bodies and found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They stripped Saul, removed his head and his armor, and put them on exhibit throughout Philistia, reporting the victory news to their idols and the people. Then they put Saul’s armor on display in the temple of their gods and placed his skull as a trophy in the temple of their god Dagon.
11-12 The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. All of their fighting men went into action—retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh, gave them a dignified burial under the oak at Jabesh, and mourned their deaths for seven days.
13-14 Saul died in disobedience, disobedient to God. He didn’t obey God’s words. Instead of praying, he went to a witch to seek guidance. Because he didn’t go to God for help, God took his life and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 16, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Zechariah 11:4–13
Two Shepherds
This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.d 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.e 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighborsf and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”g
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,h particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detestedi me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.j Let those who are left eatk one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favorl and broke it, revokingm the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.n
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silvero and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.p
Insight
Zechariah is a common name in the Old Testament, with as many as thirty different people bearing that name. It was particularly appropriate for the prophet to carry this name, however, for Zechariah means “Yahweh remembers.” As one of the former exiles returning from Babylon, Zechariah’s role was to remind the people of Israel to remember the God who’d never forgotten them through all their years of captivity. By: Bill Crowder
What You’re Worth
The Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter!” Zechariah 11:13
Now an accomplished writer, Caitlin describes the depression she battled after fighting off an assault. The emotional violence cut deeper than her physical struggle, for she felt it proved “how undesirable I was. I was not the kind of girl you wanted to get to know.” She felt unworthy of love, the kind of person others use and toss aside.
God understands. He lovingly shepherded Israel, but when He asked them what He was worth, “they paid me thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12). This was the price of a slave; what masters must be reimbursed should their slave be accidentally killed (Exodus 21:32). God was insulted to be offered the lowest possible value—look at “the handsome price at which they valued me!” He said sarcastically (Zechariah 11:13). And He had Zechariah throw the money away.
Jesus understands. He wasn’t merely betrayed by His friend; He was betrayed with contempt. The Jewish leaders despised Christ, so they offered Judas thirty pieces of silver—the lowest price you could put on a person—and he took it (Matthew 26:14–15; 27:9). Judas thought so little of Jesus he sold Him for nearly nothing.
If people undervalued Jesus, don’t be surprised when they undervalue you. Your value isn’t what others say. It’s not even what you say. It’s entirely and only what God says. He thinks you are worth dying for. By: Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
How would you describe your value? Who can you help to grasp true value?
I’m grateful that I’m valued by You, God!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 16, 2019
Wrestling Before God
Take up the whole armor of God…praying always… —Ephesians 6:13,18
You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him…” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God….”
Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God…” (Romans 8:28)— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.
The Place of Help
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 16, 2019
Grabbing What's Quick, Missing What's Better - #8591
If anybody ever tells you that travel is glamorous, would you have them talk to me, or anybody who flies a lot? A while back I had one of those glamorous days, chasing through airports to make connections because of delayed flights. And since you don't see many meals on airplanes these days, you have to grab what you can. In this particular airport, I had a few extra minutes for a meal, but not knowing if there would be any other options between where I was and my gate, so I grabbed the first thing in sight, which happened to be the gourmet treat known as a hot dog. It wasn't even that great of a hot dog honestly. But what was especially aggravating was what I saw after I wolfed down that hot dog. Within two minutes, I walked by two or three places where I could have had a real meal! But no, I couldn't wait.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grabbing What's Quick, Missing What's Better."
My mistake that day at the airport was very simple; very easily avoided, too. I went for what I could have at the moment and I missed something a lot better down the road. That's a pretty common mistake, especially when it comes to love, and especially when it comes to sex.
In our word for today from the Word of God, a man named Esau makes that tragic mistake of trading what he can have now for something much better he could have had later. The issue was something the Jews called the birthright - the legal privileges of the firstborn son. He got a double inheritance and he got other great benefits. Jacob, the younger brother, wants the birthright that belongs to Esau.
In Genesis 25:29, Esau comes in from a hunting trip with a powerful appetite. Jacob is cooking a pot of stew - which Esau asks to share. The story picks up as "Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said" (which was probably a huge exaggeration). "What good is the birthright to me?'...So he swore an oath to Jacob, selling him his birthright.'" A tragic mistake! The New Testament comments on his choice this way: "Esau, for a single meal, sold his inheritance...afterward...when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected" (Hebrews 12:16-17). He took what he could have right now and he forfeited something so much more valuable because he couldn't wait. It's a bad trade.
And so many people have done that for love. So many people have done that sexually. God designed sex to be one man with one woman in a committed lifetime relationship called marriage. And when you wait for that kind of exclusive love, you experience sex at its best - the way God designed it...Designer love. But it's very tempting to go for what looks and feels like love right now; especially if you've been waiting for a while. But you're losing something that's just too special to sacrifice.
Right now you might be facing the temptation to do something for love that will cost you the "birthright" that God has for you if you wait. And like Esau, once you've met your immediate need, you'll realize that you gave what you cannot get back. Whatever the pressure, whatever the temptation, however strong those feelings are, don't make a mistake that you'll regret for a long, long time.
You say, "Well, Ron, it's a little late. I've already made that decision. I've already made that choice. I've already made that mistake." It's so good to know that the Bible says when you come to Jesus to have your sins forgiven, He says "your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more." The moment you give yourself to Him, he gives you a new beginning. You are, the Bible calls it, a new creation in Christ and he begins to restore you on every level, including your spiritual and emotional virginity.
But listen, if you've still got those choices ahead, know that God has something beautiful up ahead. Don't blow it by grabbing what's there now and missing what is so much better later. Believe me, it is worth the wait.
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