Max Lucado Daily: LET’S STOP THIS FRENZY
Attempts at “self-salvation” guarantee nothing but exhaustion. We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points and scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments. The result? We are the weariest people on earth. We so fear failure that we create the image of perfection. Call us the church of hound-dog faces and slumped shoulders.
Stop it! Once and for all, enough of this frenzy! Hebrews 13:9 tells us, “Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.” In Matthew 11:28 Jesus promises, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
There is no fine print. A second shoe is not going to drop. God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen. You have His unending affection. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace. You can rest now!
Read more GRACE
1 Kings 14
At about this time Jeroboam’s son Abijah came down sick. Jeroboam said to his wife, “Do something. Disguise yourself so no one will know you are the queen and go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet lives there, the same Ahijah who told me I’d be king over this people. Take along ten loaves of bread, some sweet rolls, and a jug of honey. Make a visit to him and he’ll tell you what’s going on with our boy.”
4-5 Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told; she went straight to Shiloh and to Ahijah’s house. Ahijah was an old man at this time, and blind, but God had warned Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is on her way to consult with you regarding her sick son; tell her this and this and this.”
5-9 When she came in she was disguised. Ahijah heard her come through the door and said, “Welcome, wife of Jeroboam! But why the deception? I’ve got bad news for you. Go and deliver this message I received firsthand from God, the God of Israel, to Jeroboam: I raised you up from obscurity and made you the leader of my people Israel. I ripped the kingdom from the hands of David’s family and gave it to you, but you weren’t at all like my servant David who did what I told him and lived from his undivided heart, pleasing me. Instead you’ve set a new record in works of evil by making alien gods—tin gods! Pushing me aside and turning your back—you’ve made me mighty angry.
10-11 “And I’ll not put up with it: I’m bringing doom on the household of Jeroboam, killing the lot of them right down to the last male wretch in Israel, whether slave or free. They’ve become nothing but garbage and I’m getting rid of them. The ones who die in the city will be eaten by stray dogs; the ones who die out in the country will be eaten by carrion crows. God’s decree!
12-13 “And that’s it. Go on home—the minute you step foot in town, the boy will die. Everyone will come to his burial, mourning his death. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family who will get a decent burial; he’s the only one for whom God, the God of Israel, has a good word to say.
14-16 “Then God will appoint a king over Israel who will wipe out Jeroboam’s family, wipe them right off the map—doomsday for Jeroboam! He will hit Israel hard, as a storm slaps reeds about; he’ll pull them up by the roots from this good land of their inheritance, weeding them out, and then scatter them to the four winds. And why? Because they made God so angry with Asherah sex-and-religion shrines. He’ll wash his hands of Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins, which have led Israel into a life of sin.”
17-18 Jeroboam’s wife left and went home to Tirzah. The moment she stepped through the door, the boy died. They buried him and everyone mourned his death, just as God had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19-20 The rest of Jeroboam’s life, the wars he fought and the way he ruled, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. He ruled for twenty-two years. He died and was buried with his ancestors. Nadab his son was king after him.
21-24 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he took the throne and was king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God selected from all the tribes of Israel for the worship of his Name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite. Judah was openly wicked before God, making him very angry. They set new records in sin, surpassing anything their ancestors had done. They built Asherah sex-and-religion shrines and set up sacred stones all over the place—on hills, under trees, wherever you looked. Worse, they had male sacred prostitutes, polluting the country outrageously—all the stuff that God had gotten rid of when he brought Israel into the land.
25-28 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s rule, Shishak king of Egypt made war against Jerusalem. He plundered The Temple of God and the royal palace of their treasures, cleaned them out—even the gold shields that Solomon had made. King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and outfitted the royal palace guards with them. Whenever the king went to God’s Temple, the guards carried the shields but always returned them to the guardroom.
29-31 The rest of Rehoboam’s life, what he said and did, is all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time. Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite. His son Abijah ruled after him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Thessalonians 5:12–15
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[a] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Insight
Most scholars agree Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians early in his eighteen-month stay in Corinth (around AD 49–51) during his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1–18). Paul, Timothy, and Silas taught in the synagogue in Thessalonica over the course of three Sabbaths. During that time a number of Jews and God-fearing gentiles became believers in Jesus (Acts 17:4). But then rioters forced the trio to leave the city (vv. 9–10). Not long after, Paul sent Timothy back to check on the new church. When Timothy caught up with Paul in Corinth, he gave Paul a report that prompted him to write this letter. The book’s main theme is the second coming of Christ. Today’s passage outlines how to live in the meantime until He returns.
Wise Aid
Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14
As I stopped my car at a red light, I saw the same man standing beside the road again. He held a cardboard sign: Need money for food. Anything helps. I looked away and sighed. Was I the kind of person who ignored the needy?
Some people pretend to have needs but are actually con artists. Others have legitimate needs but face difficulties overcoming destructive habits. Social workers tell us it’s better to give money to the aid ministries in our city. I swallowed hard and drove past. I felt bad, but I may have acted wisely.
God commands us to “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). To do this well we must know who belongs in which category. If we warn a weak or disheartened person, we may break her spirit; if we help an idle person, we may encourage laziness. Consequently, we help best from up close, when we know the person well enough to know what he needs.
Has God burdened your heart to help someone? Great! Now the work begins. Don’t assume you know what that person needs. Ask her to share her story, and listen. Prayerfully give as seems wise and not merely to feel better. When we truly aim “to do what is good for each other,” we will more readily “be patient with everyone,” even when they stumble (vv. 14–15). By Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
When have others most helped you? What did you learn about how best to help others?
Father, help me to help wisely, and often.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 18, 2019
The Mystery of Believing
He said, "Who are You, Lord?" —Acts 9:5
Through the miracle of redemption, Saul of Tarsus was instantly changed from a strong-willed and forceful Pharisee into a humble and devoted bondservant of the Lord Jesus.
There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral virtue in obedience, unless a person recognizes the higher authority of the one giving the orders. If this recognition does not exist, even the one giving the orders may view the other person’s disobedience as freedom. If one rules another by saying, “You must do this,” and, “You will do that,” he breaks the human spirit, making it unfit for God. A person is simply a slave for obeying, unless behind his obedience is the recognition of a holy God.
Many people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart— Jesus Christ, not religion. But “Woe is me” if after seeing Him I still will not obey (Isaiah 6:5 , also see Isaiah 6:1). Jesus will never insist that I obey, but if I don’t,I have already begun to sign the death certificate of the Son of God in my soul. When I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and say, “I will not obey,” He will never insist. But when I do this, I am backing away from the recreating power of His redemption. It makes no difference to God’s grace what an abomination I am, if I will only come to the light. But “Woe is me” if I refuse the light (see John 3:19-21).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 18, 2019
The Secret of Getting Where You're Supposed to Go - #8484
Commercial flying can be a real adventure. Like the day I booked a last-minute flight to the Northwest to support some Native American friends of ours who had just lost their young son. I was supposed to fly into Spokane, Washington, but fog shut it down and we were diverted to another airport for the night. So, the airline put us up in a hotel overnight and promised us they would do their best to get us to Spokane the next morning. I knew if I didn't get to the reservation that next day, I would have missed what I was going for. I really needed the real scoop on whether or not our plane was going to get into Spokane.
Thankfully, from a casual conversation at the hotel, I knew who the captain was. So that next morning, as we waited around trying to get some word on the fate of our flight, I saw the captain headed for a pay phone in the airport (yeah, this was a while ago). I made sure I got close to the captain - he was calling to check the current Spokane weather. Then, as he walked over to the gate agents in charge of our flight, I overheard him say, "Well, we'll try Spokane, but I think there's only a 20% chance we'll get in. We'll probably end up back in Denver where we started." Well, that inside information helped me pursue alternatives - one of which got me where I needed to be, when I needed to be there.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Secret of Getting Where You're Supposed to Go."
There was one reason I knew where to go - I stayed close to the captain. Actually, that's how you're going to know what you're supposed to do and where you're supposed to go - by staying close to the Captain of your flight, by staying close to Captain Jesus.
There are eight words in our word for today from the Word of God that I've actually made into a plaque hanging up at our house. They're from 2 Chronicles 23:7, and they remind me of the secret of knowing and doing what God has planned for us in any given situation. In this chapter, a coalition of military and spiritual leaders is working to put the rightful king on the throne in Judah - even though he's only a boy. The temple staff, the Levites, are given a straightforward assignment, and here are those eight words: "Stay close to the king wherever he goes." Wow! That's your assignment, too. That's my assignment.
And when you do, when you stay close to the king wherever he goes, you'll be led naturally - actually supernaturally - into the next steps you're supposed to take. Just like that day at the airport when I got my direction just by staying close to the captain. He had the information I needed, but I never would have known that information except from my proximity to the one who knew. It's like that with knowing God's will. It's not your cleverness in figuring it out; it's your closeness to God whose will you're looking for!
That's actually the spirit of John 10, which describes us as sheep following our Shepherd. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). See, it's about being where you can hear His voice - not figuring out some spiritual jigsaw puzzle called "The Will of God."
If you're needing to know God's direction right now, don't focus so much on figuring out The Plan. Focus on staying close to the Man, to Jesus, whose plan it is. Living in God's will isn't supposed to be this stressful spiritual mystery game. Relax and do the things that get you really close to the person who is the Pilot of your earth-journey. Or in the words of the Bible, "Stay close to the King...wherever He goes!"