Max Lucado Daily: KEEP YOUR GAZE ON JESUS
Peter said, “‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So Jesus said, ‘Come.’” For a few heart-stilling moments described in Matthew 14, Peter did the impossible. He defied every law of gravity and nature. Then he shifted his attention away from Jesus, and he sank like a brick.
Give the storm waters more attention that the Storm Walker, and get ready to do the same. We can’t choose whether or not storms come. But we can choose where we stare during a storm. Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus. Courage is always a possibility. Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will starve. Storms are not an option, but fear is.
Read more Fearless
2 Samuel 14
-3 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king, deep down, still cared for Absalom. So he sent to Tekoa for a wise woman who lived there and instructed her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in black and don’t comb your hair, so you’ll look like you’ve been grieving over a dead loved one for a long time. Then go to the king and tell him this . . .” Joab then told her exactly what to say.
4 The woman of Tekoa went to the king, bowed deeply before him in homage, and said, “O King, help!”
5-7 He said, “How can I help?”
“I’m a widow,” she said. “My husband is dead. I had two sons. The two of them got into a fight out in the field and there was no one around to step between them. The one struck the other and killed him. Then the whole family ganged up against me and demanded, ‘Hand over this murderer so we can kill him for the life of the brother he murdered!’ They want to wipe out the heir and snuff out the one spark of life left to me. And then there would be nothing left of my husband—not so much as a name—on the face of the earth.
15-17 “So now I’ve dared come to the king, my master, about all this. They’re making my life miserable, and I’m afraid. I said to myself, ‘I’ll go to the king. Maybe he’ll do something! When the king hears what’s going on, he’ll step in and rescue me from the abuse of the man who would get rid of me and my son and God’s inheritance—the works!’ As your handmaid, I decided ahead of time, ‘The word of my master, the king, will be the last word in this, for my master is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil.’ God be with you!”
8 The king said, “Go home, and I’ll take care of this for you.”
9 “I’ll take all responsibility for what happens,” the woman of Tekoa said. “I don’t want to compromise the king and his reputation.”
10 “Bring the man who has been harassing you,” the king continued. “I’ll see to it that he doesn’t bother you anymore.”
11 “Let the king invoke the name of God,” said the woman, “so this self-styled vigilante won’t ruin everything, to say nothing of killing my son.”
“As surely as God lives,” he said, “not so much as a hair of your son’s head will be lost.”
12 Then she asked, “May I say one more thing to my master, the king?”
He said, “Go ahead.”
13-14 “Why, then,” the woman said, “have you done this very thing against God’s people? In his verdict, the king convicts himself by not bringing home his exiled son. We all die sometime. Water spilled on the ground can’t be gathered up again. But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back.”
18 The king then said, “I’m going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully.”
“Certainly,” she said. “Let my master, the king, speak.”
19-20 The king said, “Is the hand of Joab mixed up in this?”
“On your life, my master king, a body can’t veer an inch right or left and get by with it in the royal presence! Yes, it was your servant Joab who put me up to this, and put these very words in my mouth. It was because he wanted to turn things around that your servant Joab did this. But my master is as wise as God’s angels in knowing how to handle things on this earth.”
21 The king spoke to Joab. “All right, I’ll do it. Go and bring the young man Absalom back.”
22 Joab bowed deeply in reverence and blessed the king. “I’m reassured to know that I’m still in your good graces and have your confidence, since the king is taking the counsel of his servant.”
23-24 Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. The king said, “He may return to his house, but he is not to see me face-to-face.” So Absalom returned home, but was not permitted to see the king.
25-27 This Absalom! There wasn’t a man in all Israel talked about so much for his handsome good looks—and not a blemish on him from head to toe! When he cut his hair—he always cut it short in the spring because it had grown so heavy—the weight of the hair from his head was over two pounds! Three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter. Her name was Tamar—and she was a beauty.
28-31 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, and not once did he see the king face-to-face. He sent for Joab to get him in to see the king, but Joab still wouldn’t budge. He tried a second time and Joab still wouldn’t. So he told his servants, “Listen. Joab’s field adjoins mine, and he has a crop of barley in it. Go set fire to it.” So Absalom’s servants set fire to the field. That got him moving—Joab came to Absalom at home and said, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”
32 Absalom answered him, “Listen, I sent for you saying, ‘Come, and soon. I want to send you to the king to ask, “What’s the point of my coming back from Geshur? I’d be better off still there!” Let me see the king face-to-face. If he finds me guilty, then he can put me to death.’”
33 Joab went to the king and told him what was going on. Absalom was then summoned—he came and bowed deeply in reverence before him. And the king kissed Absalom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 18, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 13:1-6
A David Psalm
13 1-2 Long enough, God—
you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
have looked down their noses at me.
3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;
I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
or laugh when I fall on my face.
5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
I’m so full of answered prayers.
Insight
A lament psalm typically contains five elements: invocation, lament, request, trust, and praise. We see all five in Psalm 13. First is the invocation, in which an appeal for help is made to an authority: “How long, Lord?” (v. 1). Next is the lament, which takes the form of David’s bitter questions (vv. 1–2). Soon he pivots to his request, as he demands an answer from God: “Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death” (v. 3). The poet then circles back to trust (v. 5), which naturally leads to his anticipation of future praise (v. 6). We don’t know the details of David’s desperate straits, but that uncertainty only enhances this psalm’s universal accessibility. Everyone understands what it is to be desperate. Not everyone understands where to turn for genuine help. David shows us what it looks like to find hope where there seems to be none. By: Tim Gustafson
Worshiping with Questions
I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.-Psalm 13:5
It’s not uncommon during a long (or short!) trip for someone in a group of travelers to ask, “Are we there yet?” or “How much longer?” Who hasn’t heard these universal queries coming from the lips of children and adults eager to arrive at their destination? But people of all ages are also prone to ask similar questions when wearied because of life challenges that never seem to cease.
Such was the case with David in Psalm 13. Four times in two verses (vv. 1–2), David—who felt forgotten, forsaken, and defeated—lamented “How long?” In verse two, he asks, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?” Psalms that include lament, like this one, implicitly give us permission to worshipfully come to the Lord with questions of our own. After all, what better person to talk to during prolonged times of stress and strain than God? We can bring our struggles with illness, grief, the waywardness of a loved one, and relational difficulties to Him.
Worship need not stop when we have questions. The sovereign God of heaven welcomes us to bring our worry-filled questions to Him. And perhaps, like David, in due time our questions will be transformed into petitions and expressions of trust and praise to the Lord (vv. 3–6).
By Arthur Jackson
Today's Reflection
Lord, thank You that I don’t have to stop worshiping when I have questions; I can worship You with my questions.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 18, 2019
“It Is the Lord!”
Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28
“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 18, 2019
Everything You Need to Build Your Home - #8355
You know, the opening of a new store in town usually creates a buzz. Like maybe one of those major discount stores, or that do-it-yourself place like Home Depot or something. Well, that stirred things up when it opened in our community some years ago. I’m not doing a commercial; it’s just an observation. Some observers say that Home Depot's comprehensive inventory and competitive prices have actually helped interest a whole new wave of people in doing their own home improvements. (If I only had the ability to use those things they sell!) But any, it's sort of meant to be a one-stop shopping place for everything you need to build your home.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Everything You Need to Build Your Home."
If only building or improving a home was just a matter of plywood, sheetrock, and tile. That will take care of a place called home, but not necessarily the people who are really what home is. Building a marriage, building your children—that's a lot more challenging. And you can't just go to a store to pick up the materials you need to be the right kind of mom or dad, to be what your wife needs, to be what your husband needs.
And there's nothing like trying to make a family work to make you face things that need work inside of you; inside your personality, your heart, your priorities, your attitude, your soul. Living in the intensity of a family really exposes the baggage you're carrying from your past, your weaknesses, your selfishness, and your dark side. There's this person we want to be that our family really needs us to be. Then there's this person we really are, and we just don't know how to get from who we are to who we need to be. The ugly stuff in us is now marking another generation and it’s hurting the very people we love the most. If we could change, we would have changed by now.
But there’s a place you can go to find everything you need to build your home; to someone whose spiritual resources have transformed millions of people for thousands of years. Our word for today from the Word of God spells out concisely but clearly the secret of a home that works. In Psalm 127:1, the inventor of the family says: "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain."
The simple truth is: you need the Lord to make you what your family needs you to be. Because the darkness inside us is a cancer we can't cure; the "disease of me" that no one on earth can cure. God calls it "sin," and the Bible makes it clear this cancer is incurable. It's actually terminal. The Bible says, "Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:15). That death includes the death of many marriages and many parent relationships over the years.
We're like a drowning person or a person trapped in the rubble of an earthquake. Our only hope is a rescue. And because God loves you so much, He launched a rescue mission for you and me on a skull-shaped hill near Jerusalem called Golgotha. The Bible says, "He loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood" (Revelation 1:6).
Your new beginning starts when you, in your heart, find your way to the cross of Jesus to claim His forgiveness for every wrong thing and every hurting thing you have ever done. He died for you to forgive you, and then He rose from the dead to prove He has the power to conquer anything including that darkness inside you. In the Bible's words, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
You begin this transforming relationship with Jesus the moment you claim what He did on the cross for yourself personally; when you tell Him with all your heart, "I'm totally yours, Jesus. From this moment on, I won’t be driving anymore. You’re in the driver’s seat." That new beginning could be today for you.
In fact, our website is called ANewStory.com, and many people have begun a new story in their life by going there simply to find the words from God that will help you know you belong to Jesus and have Him now in your life and your home.
The greatest gift you can give the people you love is for you to give yourself to Jesus. He alone can give you everything you need to build your home.
