Max Lucado Daily: A CRAZY HUNCH AND A HIGH HOPE
We don’t know her name, but we know her situation. According to the 5th chapter of Mark, she “had been bleeding for twelve years. She suffered very much from many doctors and had spent all the money she had; but instead of improving she was getting worse.” She was physically exhausted and socially ostracized.
She extended her arm through the crowd thinking, If only I can touch him. When her dilemma met His dedication, a miracle occurred. With that small, courageous gesture, she experienced Jesus’ tender power.
God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it. Do something that demonstrates faith—radical, risk-taking faith. God will respond. He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith. Never.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 28
A David Psalm
28 Don’t turn a deaf ear
when I call you, God.
If all I get from you is
deafening silence,
I’d be better off
in the Black Hole.
2 I’m letting you know what I need,
calling out for help
And lifting my arms
toward your inner sanctum.
3-4 Don’t shove me into
the same jail cell with those crooks,
With those who are
full-time employees of evil.
They talk a good line of “peace,”
then moonlight for the Devil.
Pay them back for what they’ve done,
for how bad they’ve been.
Pay them back for their long hours
in the Devil’s workshop;
Then cap it with a huge bonus.
5 Because they have no idea how God works
or what he is up to,
God will smash them to smithereens
and walk away from the ruins.
6-7 Blessed be God—
he heard me praying.
He proved he’s on my side;
I’ve thrown my lot in with him.
Now I’m jumping for joy,
and shouting and singing my thanks to him.
8-9 God is all strength for his people,
ample refuge for his chosen leader;
Save your people
and bless your heritage.
Care for them;
carry them like a good shepherd.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Isaiah 43:25
“But I, yes I, am the one
who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do.
I don’t keep a list of your sins.
Isaiah 44:21-23 The Message (MSG)
21-22 “Remember these things, O Jacob.
Take it seriously, Israel, that you’re my servant.
I made you, shaped you: You’re my servant.
O Israel, I’ll never forget you.
I’ve wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings.
There’s nothing left of your sins.
Come back to me, come back.
I’ve redeemed you.”
23 High heavens, sing!
God has done it.
Deep earth, shout!
And you mountains, sing!
A forest choir of oaks and pines and cedars!
God has redeemed Jacob.
God’s glory is on display in Israel.
Insight
The theme of forgiveness found in Isaiah 44:21–23 beautifully describes the lavish grace and mercy of the God who forgives. Here God speaks to His wayward people and calls them to three important responses. First, they are challenged to remember that they have been made by Him and called to relationship with Him—for He will never forget them (v. 21). In spite of their spiritual drifting, Yahweh has extravagantly poured out forgiveness on them. Their response to this forgiveness? They are to return to Him (v. 22), accepting His gift of redemption. Finally, they are to witness the way that all of creation celebrates the mercy and love of their forgiving God (v. 23). Just as God’s glory is revealed in His creation, He also has chosen to reveal it in His forgiven, restored, and redeemed covenant people.
For more on God’s forgiveness, read The Forgiveness of God at discoveryseries.org/q0602. By: Bill Crowder
Swept Away
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Isaiah 44:22
When he invented the pencil eraser, British engineer Edward Nairne was reaching instead for a piece of bread. Crusts of bread were used then, in 1770, to erase marks on paper. Picking up a piece of latex rubber by mistake, Nairne found it erased his error, leaving rubberized “crumbs” easily swept away by hand.
With us too the worst errors of our lives can be swept away. It’s the Lord—the Bread of Life—who cleans them with His own life, promising never to remember our sins. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,” says Isaiah 43:25, “and remembers your sins no more.”
This can seem to be a remarkable fix—and not deserved. For many, it’s hard to believe our past sins can be swept away by God “like the morning mist.” Does God, who knows everything, forget them so easily?
That’s exactly what God does when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Choosing to forgive our sins and to “[remember them] no more,” our heavenly Father frees us to move forward. No longer dragged down by past wrongs, we’re free of debris and cleaned up to serve, now and forever.
Yes, consequences may remain. But God sweeps sin itself away, inviting us to return to Him for our clean new life. There’s no better way to be swept away. By Patricia Raybon
Today's Reflection
What things from your past do you have trouble forgetting? Ask God to help you take Him at His word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 11, 2019
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).\
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 11, 2019
How To End The War You're In - #8391
"Our planes were in the air." That's what the Air Force briefing officer told us as we had the privilege of touring a major American defense command facility. He was talking about a day during the Cold War when, unbeknownst to most Americans, World War III could have almost begun. America's warning systems had indicated clearly that Russian planes were in the air and headed for the United States. In those days when nuclear war was our greatest fear and a real possibility, the orders were given to get our planes in the air. Those planes were headed for the Soviet Union with the capability of starting a nuclear war. Why hadn't you heard about it? Thankfully, the trackers discovered in time that what was sent out was an erroneous message about the Russian planes. You know why? Because of one defective computer chip. That's a close call!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How To End The War You're In."
We never knew how close we had come to being in a war that would have been a tragic mistake. Thank God, that war was avoided. Of course, not all wars are between nations. No, some are between individuals. You might be in one now: in a family, a church, a neighborhood, a school, a team, an organization. There's a good chance it's a war God doesn't want you involved in. It's a war He wants to help you either prevent before it starts or end it if it's already started.
And He's given us a plan for peace in our word for today from the Word of God in Joshua 22, beginning with verse 10. Here's the scene. The twelve tribes of Israel have conquered the Promised Land, each tribe now settling the portion of Canaan that had been given to them. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned to their land, which happened to be on the other side – the east side of the Jordan River. That distance set the stage for what was almost a war between the west-siders and the east-siders. A war that should not have been; maybe like a war that's looming in your life. There's a lot of lesson here. Follow this.
The Bible says that the two and a half tribes on the east side of the river "built an imposing altar there by the Jordan." When the rest of the Jews heard about this "they gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them." See, they were thinking that they were establishing an alternative to the worship of Jehovah God by setting up another altar.
The Book of Joshua goes on to explain that the Israelites sent a high-ranking delegation across the Jordan. They said to the east-siders, "How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this?" And the east-siders explained they weren't rebelling against God by building this altar. They were just afraid that someday another generation might cut them off from worshiping the Lord on the other side of the river. In other words, it was to insure that they could worship Jehovah God. You know what the result was? The west-side leaders returned home with their report and here's the end of the story, "they talked no more about going to war against them."
Let's bring it down to us. Conflicts often result from misunderstanding the other person's motives or actions. The only way to avoid that is to do what these ancient Jews did. Go directly to the person or persons involved and let them explain what they're thinking. Don't go on hearsay, second-hand information, rumors, or suppositions. Peace between God's people is too precious for that. Go to them – don't wait for them to come to you. Use healing words like "Help me understand", "Let's not let any walls get between us", "I miss you", "Please forgive me", "I forgive you", or even those hard but healing words, "I was wrong." So many wars – in your family, in that friendship, in a working relationship, in a ministry are unnecessary wars where only the devil wins.
We can't afford to form our firing squad in a circle and shoot at each other. We need to reserve all our ammunition for the enemy that wants to bring us all down. The war-preventing, peacekeeping plan of God can be pretty well summed up in these twelve little words from James 1:19, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." Remember: blessed are the peacemakers!
