1 Peter 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: PRAYER CHANGES THINGS

We are never without hope because we are never without prayer. Prayer confesses, “God can handle it, and since he can, I have hope!” When we pray in the name of Jesus, we come to God on the basis of Jesus’ accomplishment. The Scripture says, “Since we have such a great high priest [Jesus] over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:21-22).

Some people say, “Prayer changes things because it changes us.” I agree, but only in part. Prayer changes things because prayer appeals to the top power in the universe. It is the yes to God’s invitation to invoke his name. Prayer moves the world because prayer moves the heart of God.

1 Peter 5

He’ll Promote You at the Right Time

 I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.

4-5 When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he’ll see that you’ve done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—

God has had it with the proud,
But takes delight in just plain people.

6-7 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

He Gets the Last Word
8-11 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

12 I’m sending this brief letter to you by Silas, a most dependable brother. I have the highest regard for him.

I’ve written as urgently and accurately as I know how. This is God’s generous truth; embrace it with both arms!

13-14 The church in exile here with me—but not for a moment forgotten by God—wants to be remembered to you. Mark, who is like a son to me, says hello. Give holy embraces all around! Peace to you—to all who walk in Christ’s ways.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Ephesians 6:10–20

The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Insight
In Paul’s day, Roman soldiers would carry a large wooden shield covered in leather in battle, wetting the leather to extinguish any fire-tipped arrows fired from the opposing side. In battle, the first row of soldiers would carry their shields in front, while the rows behind would hold their shields above their heads, effectively protecting the unit from nearly all incoming threats. This was called a testudo (or tortoise) formation because it resembled a tortoise shell.

In Ephesians 6:10–20, Paul subtly inverts this military image to describe believers’ resistance to evil forces. Paul relies on imagery from Isaiah 59:17, which describes God’s righteousness in restoring His exiled people. The metaphor reveals that the only way for believers to stand firm against evil is through continual reliance on “the Lord and . . . his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10).

Unseen Realities
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:12

In 1876, men drilling for coal in central Indiana thought they had found the gates of hell. Historian John Barlow Martin reports that at six hundred feet, “foul fumes issued forth amid awesome noises.” Afraid they had “bitten into the roof of the devil’s cave,” the miners plugged the well and scurried back to their homes.

The miners, of course, were mistaken—and some years later, they would drill again and be rich in natural gas. Even though they were mistaken, I find myself a little jealous of them. These miners lived with an awareness of the spiritual world that is often missing from my own life. It’s easy for me to live as if the supernatural and the natural rarely intersect and to forget that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

When we see evil winning in our world, we shouldn’t give in or try to fight it in our own strength. Instead, we’re to resist evil by putting on “the full armor of God” (vv. 13–18). Studying Scripture, meeting regularly with other believers for encouragement, and making choices with the good of others in mind can help us “stand against the devil’s schemes” (v. 11). Equipped by the Holy Spirit, we can stand firm in the face of anything (v. 13). By:  Amy Peterson

Reflect & Pray
How can you cultivate an awareness of the reality of the spiritual world? Is God calling you to “put on” some part of the “armor” Paul describes? What might that look like today?

Help me to remember, God, to walk and serve by faith and in Your power.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Deserter or Disciple?

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. —John 6:66

When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.  Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R

Bible in a Year: Zechariah 9-12; Revelation 20

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
When You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up - #8862
So how many diets have you been on in your life? Lost count? Yeah, me too. I think I must have gone on my first diet when I was about six months old. If you're one of those over-blessed people who can eat anything you want and never gain weight, oh fine! Just keep it to yourself and have some sympathy for the rest of us. But if you've been on a diet, then you know what it's like to blow a diet probably. You've been eating just celery and tofu for the past couple of weeks, and you're getting lighter. Then somebody offers you a French fry and you succumb. Then you say, "Oh well, I might as well eat all the French fries!" Then you feel so bad about it, you say, "Oh, what's the use, I might as well wash it down with a milkshake while I'm at it!" An hour later, you're thinking, "If I've blown it this bad, I might as well order pizza too...with extra cheese and extra pepperoni, of course!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up."

You're making progress, you slip, you feel bad about slipping-so you fall farther. You start thinking, "What's the use after what I've done?" You give up and you maybe even end up worse off than when you began. That's not just a blueprint for dieting disaster. It's a blueprint for spiritual disaster.

I call it the Cycle of Shame. It's one of the devil's favorite tools for pulling a follower of Jesus down and then keeping them down. You could be trapped in that Cycle of Shame even now. Or you've been there and you don't want to go back there. You may have fallen, but you can get up! There's so much hope for you in our word for today from the Word of God in Micah 7:8-10. It's about someone who has fallen but who's defiantly turning the tables on the enemy who brought them down.

Here's what defiant hope sounds like: "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. He will bring me out into the light. I will see His righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame."

Notice at the beginning, it's you who are covered by shame because of what you've done. At the end, it's your enemy who's covered with shame because you've shaken off his shackles of shame, and you've realized you can't change you but the Lord can. You have refused to stay down. You are defiantly determining to make the devil pay for what he deceived you into doing. You're going to do some serious damage to the kingdom of the one who had tried to do some serious damage to you.

Satan succeeds in keeping you down with that "what's the use?" lie when you make a big mistake. You focus on you instead of the One who died so you could be free. The Bible doesn't say, "The righteous man never falls." It says in Proverbs 24:16, "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." You don't let one sin turn into 100 sins. You get up right away and you pick up where you left off growing in Christ.

You bring your sin, you bring your failure to Jesus, you turn from it, and you apply the forgiveness Jesus paid for at the Cross to that sin. And you believe His promise about what you did, "I will remember their sins no more" (Hebrews 10:17). Satan keeps pointing to your past because, well, it can't be changed. Jesus keeps pointing to your future because it's yet to be written.

Yes, you went down, but you don't have to stay down! Jesus stands ready this very minute to pick you up, dust you off, bandage your wounds, and help you start running for Him again; forgiven, restored, and stronger than you've ever been before.