Max Lucado Daily: CAUGHT IN A STORM
How sturdy is your life when faced with the storm of futility, wondering what is the purpose of it all? What about the storm of failure, when you blew it and let everyone down…or the storm of finality —tears, and flowers— an open grave.
Two thousand years ago during six hours on a Friday, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Jesus gave us three anchor points that can stand against any storm. The first anchor point is my life is not futile. The second is my failures are not fatal. And the third anchor point is my death is not final. So, when the storm comes, anchor deep, say a prayer, and hold on. And don’t be surprised if someone walks across the water to help you.
Read more Six Hours One Friday
Psalm 68
A David Psalm
68 1-4 Up with God!
Down with his enemies!
Adversaries, run for the hills!
Gone like a puff of smoke,
like a blob of wax in the fire—
one look at God and the wicked vanish.
When the righteous see God in action
they’ll laugh, they’ll sing,
they’ll laugh and sing for joy.
Sing hymns to God;
all heaven, sing out;
clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
Enjoy God,
cheer when you see him!
5-6 Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.
God makes homes for the homeless,
leads prisoners to freedom,
but leaves rebels to rot in hell.
7-10 God, when you took the lead with your people,
when you marched out into the wild,
Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat;
God was on the march.
Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move,
at the sight of Israel’s God.
You pour out rain in buckets, O God;
thorn and cactus become an oasis
For your people to camp in and enjoy.
You set them up in business;
they went from rags to riches.
11-14 The Lord gave the word;
thousands called out the good news:
“Kings of the armies
are on the run, on the run!”
While housewives, safe and sound back home,
divide up the plunder,
the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold.
On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings,
snow fell on Black Mountain.
15-16 You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
he’ll rule from this mountain forever.
17-18 The chariots of God, twice ten thousand,
and thousands more besides,
The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai—
straight to the Holy Place!
You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow,
your arms full of booty from rebels,
And now you sit there in state,
God, sovereign God!
19-23 Blessed be the Lord—
day after day he carries us along.
He’s our Savior, our God, oh yes!
He’s God-for-us, he’s God-who-saves-us.
Lord God knows all
death’s ins and outs.
What’s more, he made heads roll,
split the skulls of the enemy
As he marched out of heaven,
saying, “I tied up the Dragon in knots,
put a muzzle on the Deep Blue Sea.”
You can wade through your enemies’ blood,
and your dogs taste of your enemies from your boots.
24-31 See God on parade
to the sanctuary, my God,
my King on the march!
Singers out front, the band behind,
maidens in the middle with castanets.
The whole choir blesses God.
Like a fountain of praise, Israel blesses God.
Look—little Benjamin’s out
front and leading
Princes of Judah in their royal robes,
princes of Zebulon, princes of Naphtali.
Parade your power, O God,
the power, O God, that made us what we are.
Your temple, High God, is Jerusalem;
kings bring gifts to you.
Rebuke that old crocodile, Egypt,
with her herd of wild bulls and calves,
Rapacious in her lust for silver,
crushing peoples, spoiling for a fight.
Let Egyptian traders bring blue cloth
and Cush come running to God, her hands outstretched.
32-34 Sing, O kings of the earth!
Sing praises to the Lord!
There he is: Sky-Rider,
striding the ancient skies.
Listen—he’s calling in thunder,
rumbling, rolling thunder.
Call out “Bravo!” to God,
the High God of Israel.
His splendor and strength
rise huge as thunderheads.
35 A terrible beauty, O God,
streams from your sanctuary.
It’s Israel’s strong God! He gives
power and might to his people!
O you, his people—bless God!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: 1 Chronicles 29:6-16
Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the king’s affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly. They gave 5,000 talents (188 tons) and 10,000 darics (185 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver (377 tons), 18,000 talents of bronze (679 tons), and 100,000 talents (3,775 tons) of iron. Anyone who had precious jewels put them in the treasury for the building of The Temple of God in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
9 And the people were full of a sense of celebration—all that giving! And all given willingly, freely! King David was exuberant.
10-13 David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation:
Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father
from of old and forever.
To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might,
the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor;
Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;
the kingdom all yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.
Riches and glory come from you,
you’re ruler over all;
You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand
to build up and strengthen all.
And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you,
praising your splendid Name.
14-19 “But me—who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all we’re doing is giving back what we’ve been given from your generous hand. As far as you’re concerned, we’re homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us. God, our God, all these materials—these piles of stuff for building a house of worship for you, honoring your Holy Name—it all came from you! It was all yours in the first place! I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface—you want us, our true selves—and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly—what a joy! O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you. And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.”
Insight
In David’s prayer recorded in 1 Chronicles 29, he makes several important statements about the true and living God. He praises God for being everlasting (v.10), having majestic splendor (v. 11), exercising kingdom rule (v. 12), and ultimately being the source of all provision (v. 14). This is the nature of the God that David rightly worships and the reason he’s made preparations for the building of a temple for Him (chs. 28–29).
For more on 1 Chronicles, check out the online course christianuniversity.org/OT220. By: Bill Crowder
Borrowed Blessings
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. Psalm 24:1
As we bowed our heads over lunch, my friend Jeff prayed: “Father, thank You for letting us breathe Your air and eat Your food.” Jeff had just been through a difficult job loss, so his heartfelt trust in God and recognition that everything belongs to Him profoundly moved me. I found myself thinking: Do I honestly understand that even the most basic, everyday things in my life are really God’s, and He’s simply letting me use them?
When King David received offerings from the people of Israel for building the temple in Jerusalem, he prayed, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” Then he added, “All of it belongs to you” (1 Chronicles 29:14, 16).
Scripture tells us that even “the ability to produce wealth” and earn a living come from Him (Deuteronomy 8:18). Understanding that all we have is borrowed encourages us to loosen our grip on the stuff of this world and live with open hands and hearts—sharing freely because we’re deeply thankful for the kindnesses we receive daily.
God is a generous giver—so loving that He even gave up His Son “for us all” (Romans 8:32). Because we have been given so much, may we give Him our heartfelt thanks for blessings small and large. By James Banks
Today's Reflection
What borrowed blessing can you thank God for today? How does it help to know that every good gift is from Him?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 01, 2019
Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?
It is Christ…who also makes intercession for us….the Spirit…makes intercession for the saints… —Romans 8:34, 27
Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors– that Christ “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints”? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look at our current circumstances. Do crises which affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained through the work of intercession, where God works His miracles.
Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming so burdened with people and problems that we don’t worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried, uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to our Lord.
Are our lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 01, 2019
How to Find the Love of Your Life - #8406
One lousy moose - that's all our family wanted to see. The moose did not get the memo. Or he did get the memo and he took off. We were on our first trip to Alaska years ago, and all five Hutchcrafts were determined, "We're going to meet a moose." After all, like they're grazing in every backyard in Alaska, right? Well, the February we were there it looked like they'd decided to take the winter in the Bahamas. I was busy speaking at some meetings, so my wife and kids were out driving around, you know, looking for a moose. They even went to the animal sanctuary. We were told there was always a moose there. Not always. Several people told us about hitting a moose that suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Not any on the road we were on. Someone suggested leaving a Hershey bar on our car - something about a chocolate mousse. Anyway, we weren't that desperate. Well, lots of looking, no finding. Next morning, we drove down the driveway of the house someone had loaned to us and guess what? Yep! Three moose, grazing at the end of the driveway. I guess you don't find moose; they find you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Find the Love of Your Life."
Okay, if you're single, fasten your seat belt for a moose truth. Finding the right mate is a lot like finding a moose. You don't find Miss or Mr. Right by looking for them, which is what so many single people are led to believe they're supposed to be doing. And the longer you've been searching, the more desperate you can become. If you look at the out-of-control divorce rates around us, don't you find yourself saying, "There's got to be a better way." Well, there is.
Of course, if you want to find the best way to do anything important in life, check with the One who invented love; who invented relationships - God. Here's what He says in Psalm 37:4-5, our word for today from the Word of God. It covers a lot things in life. But as I read it right now, think of it in terms of your desire to find the love of your life. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this."
God says, "Pursue Me and I'll take care of the desires of your heart." Not "pursue that guy" or "pursue that girl," but "Pursue Me." As you make God your source of love and worth and completeness, you're in a position for Him to send you what you could never find! Like those crazy moose on our doorstep. We didn't find them by looking. It's when we stopped looking for them that we finally found them.
Here's the question: "Will you trust God enough to release to Him all of your deepest needs for love, for belonging, for security, for worth?" How do you know you can trust Him with the deepest parts of you? Well, anyone who loved you enough to die for you will never do you wrong!
Concentrate on making friends with the opposite sex. I'll tell you this, the best romances were great friendships first, because marriage is ultimately life's greatest friendship. That's what you need to be pursuing. Ask God to help you build God-honoring relationships that don't have a romantic agenda. He knows what you need more than you ever will. And He can, in the next ten minutes, bring the person He's prepared for you into your life. You won't find Mr. or Miss Right. God will bring him or her to you. Right now, He wants you to focus on Him without the distraction of some guy or girl, so He can make you the man or woman He's created you to be.
You can resign from this neurotic emotional roller coaster of "The Hunt" and relax in your completeness in Jesus Christ, which puts you in the best possible situation for love to find you. The best love; the love God made for you. So let your prayer be the wonderful commitment of the man who brought Isaac's wife to him.
You'll find it in Genesis 24:44 - "Let her (or let him) be the one the Lord has chosen." Or, in the words of the plaque my daughter had up in her room as a teenager: "God reserves His very best for those who leave the choice to Him."
