Max Lucado Daily: THE GREAT GOSPEL OF GOD
No one knows me, we think. People know my name, but not my heart. They know my face but not my feelings. I have a social security number, but not a soul mate. No one really knows me.
The response of heaven is that God does! Prophets weren’t enough. Apostles wouldn’t do and angels won’t suffice. God sent more than miracles and messages. He sent himself; he sent his Son. In God’s great gospel, he not only sends, he becomes. He lives with us… as one of us. He knows our hurt. He knows our hunger. He knows betrayal. Most of all, he knows our sins. He knows them better than you do. He knows their price because he paid it. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). God knows you!
Amos 3
Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!
2 “Out of all the families on earth,
I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”
3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand
if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
if nothing trips it?
When the alarm goes off in the city,
aren’t people alarmed?
And when disaster strikes the city,
doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
without first telling his prophets the whole story.
8 The lion has roared—
who isn’t frightened?
God has spoken—
what prophet can keep quiet?
9-11 Announce to the forts of Assyria,
announce to the forts of Egypt—
Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:
what a snake pit of brutality and terror!
They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.
“They stockpile violence and blight.
Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.
He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”
12 God’s Message:
“In the same way that a shepherd
trying to save a lamb from a lion
Manages to recover
just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear,
So will little be saved of the Israelites
who live in Samaria—
A couple of old chairs at most,
the broken leg of a table.
13-15 “Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—
this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,
pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,
The horned altars will all be dehorned
and scattered around.
I’ll tear down the winter palace,
smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.
The luxury homes will be demolished,
all those pretentious houses.”
God’s Decree.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 26, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Micah 7:1–3, 18–20
What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
2 The faithful have been swept from the land;
not one upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait to shed blood;
they hunt each other with nets.
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
Insight
Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, ministered some sixty-five years to both Israel and Judah (Micah 1:1; Hosea 1:1). Both kingdoms were at this time characterized by idolatry, corruption, injustice, and oppression of the poor (Micah 7:2–3). Even as he speaks of God’s disciplining hand, warning that Israel would be destroyed by the Assyrians (1:6), of the exile (v. 16), and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (3:12), Micah also speaks unequivocally of God’s benevolence and blessings if they would repent and “act justly . . . love mercy, and walk humbly with [their] God” (6:8). Micah also prophesied of the blessings of the return of a remnant back to Jerusalem (2:12) and the birth of the Messiah (5:2). Micah thus concludes with a proclamation, “Who is a God like you” (7:18), reminiscent of God’s own self-revelation in Exodus 34:6–7. Interestingly, Micah’s name means “Who is like Jehovah.”
Visit christianuniversity.org/OT223 to learn more about the prophet Micah.
Another Chance
Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! Micah 7:19 nlt
At the Second Chance Bike Shop near our neighborhood, volunteers rebuild cast-off bicycles and donate them to needy kids. Shop founder Ernie Clark also donates bikes to needy adults, including the homeless, the disabled, and military veterans struggling to make it in civilian life. Not only do the bicycles get a second chance but sometimes the recipients get a new start too. One veteran used his new bike to get to a job interview.
Second chances can transform a person’s life, especially when the second chance comes from God. The prophet Micah extoled such grace during a time the nation of Israel groveled in bribery, fraud, and other despicable sins. As Micah lamented, “The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth” (Micah 7:2 nlt).
God would rightly punish evil, Micah knew. But being loving, He would give those who repented another chance. Humbled by such love, Micah asked, “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people?” (v. 18 nlt).
We too can rejoice that God doesn’t abandon us because of our sins if we ask for forgiveness. As Micah declared of God, “Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (v. 19 nlt). God’s love gives second chances to all who seek Him. By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What sin will you repent of and gain a second chance from our loving God?
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the grace of second chances.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 26, 2019
Are You Ever Troubled?
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… —John 14:27
There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “…My peace I give to you…”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.
Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.
With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 26, 2019
Birds and Shaking Nests - #8511
Birds usually build their nests in trees. We had some that tried a creative alternative at our house. While we were on vacation, this mother and father bird built a nest in the exhaust fan for our kitchen range. Problem: the nest was so huge it made the exhaust fan unworkable. Problem two: when we returned from vacation, spiders were hanging down from the hood of the range. Mmm, yum yum. We knew babies had also hatched out up there in that nest. We couldn't see them, but we could sure hear the little noises when they were hungry. We didn't want to kill a whole nest full of babies, so we waited until Mom and Dad Bird had taken the babies out. I got a long stick and I proceeded to take out the nest. But as the nest came out, we discovered a little surprise - actually a big surprise - the fattest baby bird we had ever seen, seated in that nest. My wife went in to get gloves and a box. In the meantime, he got away. How long would this Big Bird have stayed in the nest if we hadn't shaken up his world?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Birds and Shaking Nests."
That bird had gotten so big he literally couldn't get out of his nest, just like a lot of God's children. You see, it took a shaking that dislodged his whole world to get him out of the nest! Just like a lot of God's children.
The fact is we believers have a tendency to settle into a comfortable spiritual routine, soak up the teaching, the fellowship, the blessings, and spiritually we're just getting bigger and bigger, fatter and fatter spiritually. One veteran of years under the Soviet system said, "The problem with you Western Christians is that you are over-feeded." Either that, or under-exercised! It's so tempting just to settle into the Christian nest, to define our Christian commitment by what's comfortable, and to settle for being a spiritual consumer but not a producer.
Here's God's stick poking our nest in our word for today from the Word of God. Romans 13:11-12 says this, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here." God says, "It's just too late in the game for you to be sitting comfortably in the stands. Time is running out! You need to get out of the stands and get into the game!" Or out of the nest, as the case may be.
Realistically, though, we're often like that large bird. We will not move out of our nest until God shakes up our world. Then we start thinking, "Lord, what are You trying to say to me?" If your world has been stirred lately, some things have been dislodged, let me encourage you to respond by asking that question and by considering whether your Lord is trying to move you where you can make a much greater difference for Him. Lord, what are you trying to say to me by all this shaking that's going on? That restlessness you've been feeling, the un-fulfillment you've been wondering about, the turbulence you've been through, could those be God trying to get your attention; to shake up your life so He can take your life where it's never gone before?
If your nest is suddenly not as comfortable as it was, maybe it's because your Lord is trying to move you out of your nest. Don't be afraid to go where you've never gone, to try what you've never tried, or to attempt what is way beyond you.
The nest may be safe, but if you stay there, you will never do what you were born to do, because you were born to fly!