Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS WITH US
Jesus understands you. He’s faced hunger, sorrow, and death and wants to face them with you. Scripture says Jesus “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
If Jesus understands our weaknesses, then so does God. Jesus was God in human form. He was God with us. That is why Jesus is called Immanuel. Immanu means “with us.” El refers to Elohim, or God. So Immanuel is not an “above-us God” or a “somewhere-in-the-neighborhood God.” He came as the “with-us God.” All of us.
“I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Search for restrictions on the promise and you’ll find none. There’s no withholding tax on God’s “with us” promise. God is with us. What great news.
Isaiah 1
Messages of Judgment
The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem during the times of the kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
2-4 Heaven and earth, you’re the jury.
Listen to God’s case:
“I had children and raised them well,
and they turned on me.
The ox knows who’s boss,
the mule knows the hand that feeds him,
But not Israel.
My people don’t know up from down.
Shame! Misguided God-dropouts,
staggering under their guilt-baggage,
Gang of miscreants,
band of vandals—
My people have walked out on me, their God,
turned their backs on The Holy of Israel,
walked off and never looked back.
5-9 “Why bother even trying to do anything with you
when you just keep to your bullheaded ways?
You keep beating your heads against brick walls.
Everything within you protests against you.
From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head,
nothing’s working right.
Wounds and bruises and running sores—
untended, unwashed, unbandaged.
Your country is laid waste,
your cities burned down.
Your land is destroyed by outsiders while you watch,
reduced to rubble by barbarians.
Daughter Zion is deserted—
like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street,
Like a tarpaper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks,
like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats.
If God-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we’d be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah.
10 “Listen to my Message,
you Sodom-schooled leaders.
Receive God’s revelation,
you Gomorrah-schooled people.
11-12 “Why this frenzy of sacrifices?”
God’s asking.
“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,
rams and plump grain-fed calves?
Don’t you think I’ve had my fill
of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?
When you come before me,
whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,
Running here and there, doing this and that—
all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?
13-17 “Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings
so I don’t have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
18-20 “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”
This is God’s Message:
“If your sins are blood-red,
they’ll be snow-white.
If they’re red like crimson,
they’ll be like wool.
If you’ll willingly obey,
you’ll feast like kings.
But if you’re willful and stubborn,
you’ll die like dogs.”
That’s right. God says so.
21-23 Oh! Can you believe it? The chaste city
has become a whore!
She was once all justice,
everyone living as good neighbors,
And now they’re all
at one another’s throats.
Your coins are all counterfeits.
Your wine is watered down.
Your leaders are turncoats
who keep company with crooks.
They sell themselves to the highest bidder
and grab anything not nailed down.
They never stand up for the homeless,
never stick up for the defenseless.
24-31 This Decree, therefore, of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
the Strong One of Israel:
“This is it! I’ll get my oppressors off my back.
I’ll get back at my enemies.
I’ll give you the back of my hand,
purge the junk from your life, clean you up.
I’ll set honest judges and wise counselors among you
just like it was back in the beginning.
Then you’ll be renamed
City-That-Treats-People-Right, the True-Blue City.”
God’s right ways will put Zion right again.
God’s right actions will restore her penitents.
But it’s curtains for rebels and God-traitors,
a dead end for those who walk out on God.
“Your dalliances in those oak grove shrines
will leave you looking mighty foolish,
All that fooling around in god and goddess gardens
that you thought was the latest thing.
You’ll end up like an oak tree
with all its leaves falling off,
Like an unwatered garden,
withered and brown.
‘The Big Man’ will turn out to be dead bark and twigs,
and his ‘work,’ the spark that starts the fire
That exposes man and work both
as nothing but cinders and smoke.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 12:41–44
The Widow’s Offering
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were puty and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Insight
The word treasury in Mark 12:41 and 43 translates the word gazophulakion; this compound word is from gaza, “a treasure” and phulake, “a place where something is guarded.” Together they carry the meaning “treasure house.” The word was used by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus to refer to “a special room in the women’s court of the Temple in which gold and silver bullion was kept” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary). Gentiles were allowed within the confines of the temple but they were restricted to the space known as the Court of the Gentiles. Women could go farther but not beyond the Women’s Court. Inside the Women’s Court were thirteen trumpet-shaped chests where the offerings of the people were deposited. It’s been noted that of the thirteen chests, six were for gifts in general and seven were for distinct purposes. The widow that Jesus witnessed in the temple made her deposit into one of those receptacles.
He Knows All About It
His understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5
Finn, a Siamese fighting fish, lived at our house for two years. My young daughter would often bend down to talk with him after dropping food into his tank. When the topic of pets came up in kindergarten, she proudly claimed him as her own. Eventually, Finn passed away, and my daughter was heartbroken.
My mother advised me to listen closely to my daughter’s feelings and tell her, “God knows all about it.” I agreed that God knows everything, yet wondered, How will that be comforting? Then it occurred to me that God isn’t simply aware of the events in our lives—He compassionately sees into our souls and knows how they affect us. He understands that “little things” can feel like big things depending on our age, past wounds, or lack of resources.
Jesus saw the real size of a widow’s gift—and heart—as she dropped two coins into a temple collection box. He described what it meant for her as He said, “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. . . . [She put in] all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43–44).
The widow kept quiet about her situation but Jesus recognized that what others considered a tiny donation was a sacrifice to her. He sees our lives in the same way. May we find comfort in His limitless understanding. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
How might you show compassion to someone who is upset about a “small” problem? How does God respond when you tell Him about your problems?
God, thank You for knowing me completely and loving me. Help me to feel Your comfort when I consider Your infinite knowledge of my life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is in the middle that human choices are made; the beginning and the end remain with God. The decrees of God are birth and death, and in between those limits man makes his own distress or joy. Shade of His Hand, 1223 L
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
The King's Speech - #8653
Now, I don't really go see many movies. I mean, my popcorn is much cheaper than theirs, and actually, I don't like the sticky "cinemuck" on the floor. Now, I haven't seen this movie, but the story's fascinating. I read about it. It was called The King's Speech, and that year it walked off with all kinds of Academy Awards.
King George VI was handicapped with a stutter, and he had to go on radio to give the speech of his life. Great Britain is about to go to war, and their king must rally them. Ultimately he is able to say what he needs to say to the people, and they need to hear it. It was because of the man who gave him the coaching and the help he needed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The King's Speech."
Now, I'm personally familiar with that story line. Well, actually, every follower of Jesus should be. Because we've all been positioned by Him to deliver a message from the King of all kings, with all the help we'll need. It's a message people must hear, because their eternity depends on it.
But we hold back because we're afraid we'll fail, we'll mess it up, or people won't like us. What we're missing is that we're not in this alone. There is someone who has promised to give us everything we will need if we'll just open our mouth.
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in 2 Corinthians 5:19. It says, "God was in Christ, restoring the world to Himself, no longer counting men's sins against them but blotting them out." That's a wonderful message, and He's given it to us to tell others. And He says, "We are Christ's ambassadors..." Now, if you belong to Jesus, the King Himself has given you a life-changing trust. He has given you a message to deliver. He's counting on you.
Since the eternal destinies of the people around us depend on hearing the King's message, our silence could be for them a silent death sentence. God told me, so I would tell them, and I don't. So they may live and die without ever hearing what Jesus did on the cross for them because I failed them, and I failed Him.
As bold as I am speaking on a platform, I know, as most believers do. I know the fear that keeps us from telling people close to us about our Jesus. I still experience that. But in those moments of fear and holding back this life-saving message, we can experience the wonder of what God promised to a reluctant, inadequate Moses. He said, "I will be with you...Now, go; I will help you speak. I will teach you what to say" (Exodus 3:11, 4:12).
You know, so often I have failed to deliver the message of Jesus because I was afraid of what might happen to me if I told them. That's wrong! Isn't the greater fear what will happen to them if I don't tell them?
The lepers in the book of 2 Kings, who had found all this food at an enemy camp
at a time when all the people in the city were dying of starvation, after stuffing themselves made this realization. They said, and I quote, "This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves...We're not doing right" (2 Kings 7:9). And I'm thinking, "Man, could that be us?"
Hey, the King will go with me. The King will give me the words to say. He's the hand, I'm just His glove.
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