Max Lucado Daily: THE DEHYDRATED HEART
Your body is 80 percent fluid. Stop drinking and see what happens. Coherent thoughts vanish, skin grows clammy, and vital organs wrinkle.
Deprive your heart of spiritual water, and your dehydrated heart will send desperate messages—hopelessness, loneliness, resentment. Where do you find water for your soul? Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
Let Christ be the water of your soul. Church activities might hide a thirst, but only Christ quenches it. Drink him. Receive Christ’s work on the cross, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship over your life, his unending, unfailing love. Drink deeply and often. And out of you will flow rivers of living water.
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 28
The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off
even when no one’s after them;
Honest people are relaxed and confident,
bold as lions.
2 When the country is in chaos,
everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
to straighten things out.
3 The wicked who oppress the poor
are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;
those who seek God know it inside and out.
6 It’s better to be poor and direct
than rich and crooked.
7 Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;
hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.
8 Get as rich as you want
through cheating and extortion,
But eventually some friend of the poor
is going to give it all back to them.
9 God has no use for the prayers
of the people who won’t listen to him.
10 Lead good people down a wrong path
and you’ll come to a bad end;
do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.
11 The rich think they know it all,
but the poor can see right through them.
12 When good people are promoted, everything is great,
but when the bad are in charge, watch out!
13 You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
15 Lions roar and bears charge—
and the wicked lord it over the poor.
16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.
17 A murderer haunted by guilt
is doomed—there’s no helping him.
18 Walk straight—live well and be saved;
a devious life is a doomed life.
19 Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.
20 Committed and persistent work pays off;
get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
21 Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.
22 A miser in a hurry to get rich
doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.
23 In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated
far more than bootlicking flattery.
24 Anyone who robs father and mother
and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”
is worse than a pirate.
25 A grasping person stirs up trouble,
but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.
26 If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others.
27 Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;
shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.
28 When corruption takes over, good people go underground,
but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 63:1-8
A David Psalm, When He Was out in the Judean Wilderness
God—you’re my God!
I can’t get enough of you!
I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.
2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.
5-8 I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It’s time to shout praises!
If I’m sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you’ve always stood up for me,
I’m free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
Insight
The introductory note to Psalm 63 states, “A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.” Psalms 61–63 were probably written when David sought refuge in the wilderness during his son Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 15–18). What do we know about Absalom? And why did he revolt against his father? Absalom, the son of David and Maakah (3:3), was a handsome man noted for his long, thick hair (14:25–26). When his beautiful sister Tamar was cruelly raped by their half-brother Amnon, Absalom took in his sister and waited for their father to punish Amnon. Two years later, after Absalom’s anger had simmered unabated and David still hadn’t intervened, Absalom ordered his brother killed and then fled. Eventually father and son were reunited, but it was far too late. David’s inaction ultimately led to Absalom’s attempt to usurp the throne.
Night Watches
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6
During my college days, my summers were spent working at a guest ranch in the stunningly beautiful mountains of Colorado. On a rotating basis, staff members were assigned “night watch” duty—to keep an eye out for forest fires in order to protect the guests as they slept. What initially seemed to be an exhausting and thankless task became a unique opportunity for me to be still, reflect, and find solace in the majesty of God’s presence.
King David earnestly sought and thirsted for the presence of God (Psalm 63:1), even from his bed and through the “watches of the night” (v. 6). The psalm makes it clear David was troubled. It’s possible the words contained in it reflect his deep sadness over the rebellion of his son Absalom. Yet the night became a time for David to find help and restoration in the “shadow of [God’s] wings” (v. 7)—in His power and presence.
Perhaps you’re dealing with some crisis or difficulty in your life, and the night watches have been anything but comforting. Perhaps your own “Absalom” weighs heavy on your heart and soul. Or other burdens of family, work, or finances plague your times of rest. If so, consider these sleepless moments to be opportunities to call out and cling to God—allowing His loving hand to uphold you (v. 8).
Reflect & Pray
How do God’s promises encourage you when you face challenges that keep you awake at night? How can the night watches draw you closer to Him?
Dear God, thank You for always being awake and present with me in every night watch.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 03, 2019
“The Secret of the Lord”
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him… —Psalm 25:14
What is the sign of a friend? Is it that he tells you his secret sorrows? No, it is that he tells you his secret joys. Many people will confide their secret sorrows to you, but the final mark of intimacy is when they share their secret joys with you. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God. But then we find that God wants to get us into an intimate relationship with Himself— to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so intimately united to Jesus Christ’s idea of prayer— “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10)— that we catch the secrets of God? What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us— He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.
“Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (Psalm 25:12). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, “I wonder why I shouldn’t do this?” God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, “Now, Lord, what is Your will?”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 03, 2019
When a Planet Becomes Your Sun - #8451
You are probably a believer in heliocentricity, right? Now that is not some new denomination. It just means the sun is the center of our solar system and the planets, including the little tennis ball we live on, are revolving around the sun. We do sound a little confused about this sometimes, like when we say, "Isn't that a beautiful sunset?" Actually, the sun isn't going anywhere, we're the ones who are moving. But who wants to go for a romantic walk to watch a beautiful earthset? It doesn't have the same ring. But apparently, not everyone's got this orbit thing straight even today. The American Scientific Association did a survey a few years ago and they found that 21% (that's one out of every five Americans) that they surveyed thought the sun orbited around the earth, and seven percent said they didn't know.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When a Planet Becomes Your Sun."
So, there's some confusion about the fact that the planets revolve around the sun, not the sun around the planets. That's not just a scientific issue. It's a real spiritual issue. Because a whole lot of us have forgotten what is supposed to be the "sun" at the center of our life. We've put one of the "planets" of our life at the center, and in reality, everything is revolving around it. The Bible has a word for that. We don't like it but it's the word "idol." An idol.
Someone listening today is living in violation of the very First Commandment. It's recorded in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 20:3. Heading the fundamental Law of God, the Ten Commandments, is this imperative: "You shall have no other gods before Me." Our instinctive response is: "Well, excuse me. I don't have any little images in my closet that I'm praying to." That's blatant, overt idolatry. But idolatry is far more than that. That's why, for example, greed is called idolatry in Colossians 3:5.
In real terms, your "god" isn't what you say you believe in, it's whatever you revolve your life around, what you think about most of the time, what you spend your time and money on, whatever is your bottom line in your life-choices. Obviously, the Bible says we are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). In other words, He is supposed to be the sun in the universe of every part of our life. Everyone and everything else is just a planet that is supposed to revolve around Him, and our beliefs agree with that. It's our everyday behavior that's the problem, not our beliefs. It could be that at this moment in your life, you're actually revolving around one of the planets in your life, and you're treating Jesus like He should revolve around that really important thing you have, too.
Maybe the real "sun" in your personal universe is your children. They're supposed to be very important to you, but not the center of your life. Maybe your marriage or your strong desire to be married is what you've put at the center. Your business or your career - that could become an idol. A relationship, your stuff, your plans, even your ministry can become an idol - you've started serving the work instead of serving the Lord, maybe.
If the sun were ever to leave its place at the center of our solar system, it would mess up everything. When you put what's supposed to be a "planet" in your life at the center of your life, nothing is going to work right. And it could be that Jesus is not really the sun around which everything in your life is revolving right now and the result is going to be chaos, confusion, and collapse.
That's why this wakeup call from God - to put the sun...actually, the Son of God - back at the center of everything you're about. Remember God's first order to the human race: "No other gods." And you pray with the hymn writer, "The dearest idol I have known, help me to tear it from the throne and worship only Thee."
Yout know the Bible says we are created by Jesus and for Jesus and maybe you have never put Him at the center of your life in the first place. He put you at the center when He died on a cross for your sin. And today, this could be your day to begin a relationship with Him, with the One who made you, where He belongs - on the throne of your life. Just tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Go to our website, get more information - ANewStory.com, and make sure that Jesus is the sun that you revolve around.