Max Lucado Daily: THE NEVER FAILING LOVE OF GOD
God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, flee his thoughts. You need not win his love. You already have it.
He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict– he loves you still!
No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love—never failing…never ending.
Psalm 45
A Wedding Song of the Sons of Korah
My heart bursts its banks,
spilling beauty and goodness.
I pour it out in a poem to the king,
shaping the river into words:
2-4 “You’re the handsomest of men;
every word from your lips is sheer grace,
and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.
Strap your sword to your side, warrior!
Accept praise! Accept due honor!
Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!
Ride on the side of truth!
Ride for the righteous meek!
4-5 “Your instructions are glow-in-the-dark;
you shoot sharp arrows
Into enemy hearts; the king’s
foes lie down in the dust, beaten.
6-7 “Your throne is God’s throne,
ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
measures right living.
You love the right
and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
from among your dear companions.
8-9 “Your ozone-drenched garments
are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music—from the throne room—
makes you want to dance.
Kings’ daughters are maids in your court,
the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.
10-12 “Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word:
forget your country, put your home behind you.
Be here—the king is wild for you.
Since he’s your lord, adore him.
Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre;
rich guests shower you with presents.”
13-15 (Her wedding dress is dazzling,
lined with gold by the weavers;
All her dresses and robes
are woven with gold.
She is led to the king,
followed by her virgin companions.
A procession of joy and laughter!
a grand entrance to the king’s palace!)
16-17 “Set your mind now on sons—
don’t dote on father and grandfather.
You’ll set your sons up as princes
all over the earth.
I’ll make you famous for generations;
you’ll be the talk of the town
for a long, long time.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 49:8–16
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favorw I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;x
I will keepy you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,z
to restore the landa
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,b
9 to say to the captives,c ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,d ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.e
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,f
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.g
He who has compassionh on them will guidei them
and lead them beside springsj of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highwaysk will be raised up.l
12 See, they will come from afarm—
some from the north, some from the west,n
some from the region of Aswan.b”
13 Shout for joy,o you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;p
burst into song, you mountains!q
For the Lord comfortsr his people
and will have compassions on his afflicted ones.t
14 But Zionu said, “The Lord has forsakenv me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the childw she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!x
16 See, I have engravedy you on the palms of my hands;
your wallsz are ever before me.
Insight
The book of Isaiah is one of the Major Prophets of the Old Testament, categorized as such because of its length. It’s sometimes referred to as a “miniature Bible” because it has sixty-six chapters divided into two major divisions of thirty-nine and twenty-seven chapters. The Bible contains sixty-six books and is divided into the Old Testament with thirty-nine books and the New Testament with twenty-seven books. Isaiah is the Old Testament book referenced most often in the New Testament, apart from the Psalms. By: Arthur Jackson
Never Forgotten
I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15
Egged on by my children to prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started playing the C Major scale. Having played very little piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered! Feeling brave, I proceeded to play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked! Years of practicing had imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they instantly knew what to do.
There are some things that can never be forgotten. But God’s love for His children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories—in fact, God can’t forget them. This is what the Israelites needed to hear when the exile left them feeling abandoned by Him (Isaiah 49:14). His response through Isaiah was unequivocal: “I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God’s promise to care for His people was more certain than a mother’s love for her child.
To assure them of His unchanging love, He gave them a picture of His commitment: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). It’s a beautiful image of God’s constant awareness of His children; their names and faces always before Him.
Still today, we can easily feel overlooked and forgotten. How comforting to remember that we’re “etched” on God’s hands—always remembered, cared for, and loved by our Father. By: Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
When have you felt forgotten or abandoned? In what ways has God always been present with you to remind you of His constant love?
Jesus, thank You that I’m never forgotten by You. When I feel abandoned by others, help me to remember and rest in Your never-ending, constant love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Continuous Conversion
…unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
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
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