Max Lucado Daily: MAKING A BIG DEAL “TO DO” OF GOD
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him. Herald him.
God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well. . .then God will be given glory” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT). Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything (1 Peter 4:11 MSG).
And when you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 5
Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 14:13–21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Insight
Christ’s feeding of a multitude with the loaves and fishes is a miracle in which the Creator works beyond His creation. It’s the only miracle of Jesus (aside from His resurrection) that’s recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:33–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:1–14). While each gospel writer includes distinct details, John’s account focuses on two disciples—Andrew and Philip—that rarely appear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (apart from the listing of disciples’ names). In John’s version, Jesus actually tests Philip by asking him how to provide food for the multitude (v. 5). Andrew is singled out as the one who offers a solution—albeit a radically insufficient one—by bringing to Jesus a boy with his lunch (vv. 8–9). What all four gospels are presenting, however, is that the small amount available was more than enough when placed in Christ’s hands.
Loaves and Fishes
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:16
A young boy came home from church and announced with great excitement that the lesson had been about a boy who “loafed and fished all day.” He, of course, was thinking of the little boy who offered his loaves and fish to Jesus.
Jesus had been teaching the crowds all day, and the disciples suggested He send them into the village to buy bread. Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples were perplexed for there were more than 5,000 to be fed!
You may know the rest of the story: a boy gave his lunch—five small loaves of bread and two fish—and with it Jesus fed the crowd (vv. 13–21). One school of thought contends that the boy’s generosity simply moved others in the crowd to share their lunches, but Matthew clearly intends us to understand that this was a miracle, and the story appears in all four gospels.
What can we learn? Family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and others stand around us in varying degrees of need. Should we send them away to those who are more capable than we are? Certainly, some people’s needs exceed our ability to help them, but not always. Whatever you have—a hug, a kind word, a listening ear, a brief prayer, some wisdom you’ve gathered—give it to Jesus and see what He can do. By David H. Roper
Reflect & Pray
What’s one need of another person that you may be able to meet? What can you give to Jesus to be used to bless others?
Jesus, give us eyes to see the ways we can care for others. Lead us and use us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 05, 2019
The Bewildering Call of God
"…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished."…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him. So Send I You, 1301 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 05, 2019
Facing Your Fears - #8496
Paula really took some risks. She's a Native American young woman who was in a training program at our office. She was deathly afraid of heights and my wife and I took her out for lunch at a place called the Cliff House Inn. Guess where it is? It hangs out on the side of a mountain. When we went out on the porch to admire the view, Paula asked to go out there with us. We had to hold her hand, but she bravely ventured out and actually spent a few minutes looking out from that very high perch that's suspended over a deep valley. The next day she went with a girlfriend to a theme park, and she purposely went with her on roller coasters that she was afraid of. You know something? It turned out, Paula was not quite as afraid of heights as she used to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Facing Your Fears."
Our friend Paula was working on conquered her fears by facing her fears; including some that are much, much bigger. With the help of some caring counselors, she dared to confront some of the issues of a very painful past - issues that she considered too painful and too scary to confront before. And you know what? Some healing began.
Maybe it's time for you to do the same thing - to stop avoiding that thing you've been afraid to face…stop running from it. Like Paula going out on that high deck, there's no way to conquer your fears other than to face them. And it's possible to do that if you'll claim as a promise the words of David in our word for today from the Word of God. They're in Psalm 34:4. It's been an anchor verse in my life.
As you hear what David says, remember that he's writing this while he's hiding in a cave, King Saul's army is pursuing him; they want to kill him on sight if they find him. Talk about fear! Here's the verse that my wife and I have claimed so many times, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." Wow! He wants to do that for you.
Where's the issue you've been afraid to deal with? Like Paula, maybe it's some very painful things in your past, or maybe it's a loss you haven't allowed yourself to grieve, or some area where you've just refused to obey God's direction because of your fear of the unknown. Maybe there's a ticking time bomb in your marriage, or in some of your children, or in your church. It could be you've got a fear of abandonment. But if there is any issue like these that you have been too afraid to face, you know that ignoring it doesn't make it go away. It never has.
In fact, an un-confronted fear just keeps on paralyzing you every time a reminder of it comes up. This is a time for courage, for facing the monster that you've been running from for so long. You begin by believing God, that He can "deliver you from all your fears." Then, by faith, get a buddy (maybe a counselor) to walk out on that deck with you. You'll have to confide in someone. Maybe there's a letter you should write, a call you need to make, a conversation you need to have, a forgiveness you need to grant.
And as you walk courageously into your personal "fear zone," you don't walk alone. God's promise is this in Isaiah 43, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you...you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned...for I am the Lord your God."
With that kind of assurance, with that kind of a God, you can face your fears and you can begin to finally conquer what has conquered you for way too long.