Max Lucado Daily: A FIRE TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Can God use us? I have one hundred and twenty answers to that question— the 120 charter members of the Jerusalem church. They had nothing more going for them than a fire in the belly to change the world. Luke recorded their stories in the book of Acts. It cracks with the sounds of God’s ever-expanding work.
Would God do with us what he did with his first followers? You know ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever. We have enough food to feed the hungry. And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. I don’t mean to oversimplify these terribly complicated questions. But this much is clear: God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Let’s live in such a way, that the world will be glad we did.
Psalm 48
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah
God majestic,
praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain,
breathtaking in its heights—earth’s joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North,
city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks
impregnable.
4-6 The kings got together,
they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads,
they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain
like a woman having a baby.
7-8 You smashed the ships of Tarshish
with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it
with our eyes—
In God’s city of Angel Armies,
in the city our God
Set on firm foundations,
firm forever.
9-10 We pondered your love-in-action, God,
waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train
of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far;
your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
11 Be glad, Zion Mountain;
Dance, Judah’s daughters!
He does what he said he’d do!
12-14 Circle Zion, take her measure,
count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
climb her citadel heights—
Then you can tell the next generation
detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever,
who guides us till the end of time.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Timothy 2:1–8
Instructions on Worship
2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,w intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority,x that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godlinessy and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleasesz God our Savior,a 4 who wantsb all peoplec to be savedd and to come to a knowledge of the truth.e 5 For there is one Godf and one mediatorg between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,h 6 who gave himself as a ransomi for all people. This has now been witnessed toj at the proper time.k 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lyingl—and a true and faithful teacherm of the Gentiles.n
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy handso without anger or disputing.
Insight
One of the ways we pray for all people is by praying for authorities (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Such praying contributes to “all people” being able to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” under leaders who take their responsibilities seriously. Notice the two pairs of ideas Paul is presenting as the goal of these prayers. The first pair, “peaceful and quiet,” refers to a dual focus of calm. Vincent’s Word Studies tells us that “peaceful” speaks of a lack of outward disturbance and “quiet” refers to “tranquility arising from within.” The second pair of ideas, “godliness and holiness,” speak to how we live out our faith. “Godliness” refers to a life that flows out of a right belief in God, while “holiness” speaks of respectful behavior. To pray for “all those in authority” (v. 2) would have been difficult for Timothy, given the political upheaval and generally anti-Christian sentiment in the Roman Empire at that time. By: Bill Crowder
Prompted to Pray
I constantly remember you in my prayers. 2 Timothy 1:3
“Several years ago I was prompted to pray for you often, and I wonder why.”
That text message from an old friend came with a photo of a note she’d kept in her Bible: “Pray for James. Cover mind, thoughts, words.” Beside my name she’d recorded three separate years.
I looked at the years and caught my breath. I wrote back and asked what month she began to pray. She responded, “Sometime around July.”
That was the month I was preparing to leave home for extended study abroad. I would be facing an unfamiliar culture and language and have my faith challenged like never before. As I looked at the note, I realized I’d received the precious gift of generous prayer.
My friend’s kindness reminded me of another “prompting” to pray, Paul’s instruction to his young missionary friend Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). The phrase “first of all” indicates highest priority. Our prayers matter, Paul explains, because God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” about Jesus (v. 4).
God moves through faithful prayer in countless ways to encourage others and draw them near to Himself. We may not know someone’s circumstances when they come to mind, but God does. And He’ll help that person as we pray! By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Who comes to mind that needs your prayers in this new year? How can you remind yourself to pray for them often?
Loving God, please help me to pray often and to make a lasting difference in others’ lives through my intercession for them.
To learn more about prayer, visit https://bit.ly/2kTeSVt.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Let Us Keep to the Point
"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." —Philippians 1:20
My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
When Daddy's On Deck - #8603
I've never been in a storm at sea and that's fine! I've heard the stories. You remember the ship, some years ago, that was making this transatlantic voyage from Liverpool to New York. One night, at a time when most of the passengers were asleep, the ship was hit by this "mega" Atlantic storm. The wind and the waves were so violent at one point they actually tipped the ship almost on its side, and down below, the passengers were thrown out of their beds. They're freaking out! I mean, this is a rude awakening! Now in this one cabin, a little girl was thrown out of her bed like everybody else and her mother was already awake from the intensity of the storm. But there was one thing different about this particular passenger. See, her daddy was the captain! While she was all bleary eyed, she asked her mom the only thing she really wanted to know about the situation, "Is daddy on deck?" Her mom said, "Well yes he is, honey." The little girl's response was right to the point, "Then I'm going back to bed."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Daddy's On Deck."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 8, beginning in verse 5. "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him asking for help. 'Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.' Jesus said to him, 'I will go and heal him.' The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed, for I, myself, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go!", and he goes, and that one, "Come!", and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this", and he does it.' When Jesus heard this He was astonished, and said to those following Him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'"
Verse 13 tells us the conclusion of it all: "Then Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go! It will be done just as you believed it would,' and his servant was healed at that very hour." Now in this story there is a powerful insight into the kind of faith that Jesus loves - and it gets things done! It says He was astonished. I mean, this is the faith that amazes Jesus! He calls it great faith.
Now further on in the chapter, He says to the men who are with Him constantly, "You of little faith!" During the storm when they were freaking out, just before He "Got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and it was completely calm." Astonished! Why? Because he finally found a man who understood the connection between faith and authority. The centurion said, "I say something to my servants and they do it. I have total authority over them. But Jesus, someone I care about is in a crisis I can't handle but you have total authority over this illness. Whatever You say to this illness, it will do." Wow!
You see, faith is acknowledging the total authority of Jesus over this situation. That's what the disciples could not do in their storm. They acted as if Jesus didn't have authority over the storm, but He did! He spoke to it like a parent would speak to a child ... and "it was calm."
So the faith issue for you right now may very well be "who or what you believe" has the final authority in your situation. Will the company decide it? The economy? Is this disease going to have the final word? Your mate? Your kids? Your feelings? Or is everything in this situation totally under the authority of your Savior, Jesus Christ? Yes or no!
If it is, then you can make that your bottom line and the panic is over. The peace that defies logic is kicking in. There's an unexplainable sense of well-being and calm that comes when you settle where the final authority is in your situation. And the shield of faith will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, because Satan cannot touch something that you've completely given to Jesus.
Like that little girl blown around by a dangerous storm, all you need to know is if your "Father's On Deck." Because there's nothing He can't handle, so you might as well go back to bed. Your Lord is in charge!