Max Lucado Daily: God Can Use You
If God chose only righteous people to change the world, you could count them all on one finger—Jesus! Instead he included others in his plan—sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect. God used and uses people to change the world. People! Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all!
If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used, and take heart. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God can use you. Because you’re imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes. Because you’re a sinner, you can speak of forgiveness. God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength. And when the world sees the ungodly turn godly, they know God must love them too.
God can use you, my friend!
From Max on Life
1 Chronicles 18
In the days that followed, David struck hard at the Philistines, bringing them to their knees, captured Gath, and took control of the surrounding countryside.
2 He also fought and defeated Moab. The Moabites came under David’s rule and paid regular tribute.
3-4 On his way to restore his sovereignty at the Euphrates River, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah (over toward Hamath). David captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand infantry from him. He hamstrung all the chariot horses, but saved back a hundred.
5-6 When the Arameans from Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. David set up a puppet government in Aram-Damascus. The Arameans became subjects of David and were forced to bring tribute. God gave victory to David wherever he marched.
7-8 David plundered the gold shields that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. He also looted Tebah and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, of a huge quantity of bronze that Solomon later used to make the Great Bronze Sea, the Pillars, and bronze equipment in The Temple.
9-11 Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah. He sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. Tou and Hadadezer were old enemies. Hadoram brought David various things made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David consecrated these things along with the silver and gold that he had plundered from other nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
12-13 Abishai son of Zeruiah fought and defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt—eighteen thousand of them. He set up a puppet government in Edom and the Edomites became subjects under David.
God gave David victory wherever he marched.
14-17 Thus David ruled over all of Israel. He ruled well, fair and evenhanded in all his duties and relationships.
Joab son of Zeruiah was head of the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of public records;
Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests;
Shavsha was secretary;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the special forces, the Kerethites and Pelethites;
And David’s sons held high positions, close to the king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord.a
Praise the Lord,x my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;y
I will sing praisez to my God as long as I live.a
3 Do not put your trust in princes,b
in human beings,c who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;d
on that very day their plans come to nothing.e
5 Blessed are thosef whose helpg is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heavenh and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithfuli forever.
7 He upholdsj the cause of the oppressedk
and gives food to the hungry.l
The Lord sets prisoners free,m
8 the Lord gives sightn to the blind,o
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,p
the Lord loves the righteous.q
9 The Lord watches over the foreignerr
and sustains the fatherlesss and the widow,t
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reignsu forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Insight
Psalm 146 doesn’t include a superscription, which means we don’t have information about the author’s identity or the circumstances surrounding the song’s composition. What we do know, however, is how Psalm 146 was viewed by the religious community. While many scholars believe Psalm 1 was intentionally written to open the book of Psalms, Psalms 145–150 were praise songs selected to close the Hebrew hymnal. This closing flourish of praise has been called by one writer “the endless hallelujah.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary agrees, stating that these songs are “the grand doxology of the entire collection, for praise plays a greater part of Psalms 145–150 than in most of the others. The word ‘praise’ occurs 46 times in these six psalms.” By: Bill Crowder
A Lifestyle of Praise
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Psalm 146:2
Wallace Stegner’s mother died at the age of fifty. When Wallace was eighty, he finally wrote her a note—“Letter, Much Too Late”—in which he praised the virtues of a woman who grew up, married, and raised two sons in the harshness of the early Western United States. She was the kind of wife and mother who was an encourager, even to those that were less than desirable. Wallace remembered the strength his mother displayed by way of her voice. Stegner wrote: “You never lost an opportunity to sing.” As long as she lived, Stegner’s mother sang, grateful for blessings large and small.
The psalmist too took opportunities to sing. He sang when the days were good, and when they weren’t so good. The songs were not forced or coerced, but a natural response to the “Maker of heaven and earth” (146:6) and how He “gives food to the hungry” (v. 7) and “gives sight to the blind” (v. 8) and “sustains the fatherless and the widow” (v. 9). This is really a lifestyle of singing, one that builds strength over time as daily trust is placed in “the God of Jacob” who “remains faithful forever” (vv. 5–6).
The quality of our voices isn’t the point, but our response to God’s sustaining goodness—a lifestyle of praise. As the old hymn puts it: “There’s within my heart a melody.” By: John Blase
Reflect & Pray
How can you make singing praises to God a regular part of your day? What’s your favorite song of praise? Tell us why on our Facebook page.
Maker of heaven and earth, when I pause and reflect, Your provision for and protection of me is overwhelming. May my life be a continuous song of praise to You for as long as I live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R