Max Lucado Daily: SEE THE NEED
He sat near a gate called Beautiful. The man, however, was anything but. He couldn’t walk but had to drag himself about on his knees. “Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us!’” (Acts 3:4 NCV).
The thick, meaty hand of the fisherman reached for the frail, thin one of the beggar. Peter lifted the man toward himself. The cripple stood and began to shout, and passersby began to stop. Peter explained that faith in Christ leads to a clean slate with God. What Jesus did for the legs of the cripple, he does for our soul. We’re made brand-new!
An honest look led to a helping hand that led to a conversation about eternity. Works done in God’s name long outlive our earthly life. Let’s be the people who stop at the gate. Let’s look at the face until we see the person.
1 Chronicles 25
Next David and the worship leaders selected some from the family of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun for special service in preaching and music. Here is the roster of names and assignments: From the family of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah; they were supervised by Asaph, who spoke for God backed up by the king’s authority. From the family of Jeduthun there were six sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah; they were supervised by their father Jeduthun, who preached and accompanied himself with the zither—he was responsible for leading the thanks and praise to God. From the family of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. These were the sons of Heman the king’s seer; they supported and assisted him in his divinely appointed work. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. Under their father’s supervision they were in charge of leading the singing and providing musical accompaniment in the work of worship in the sanctuary of God (Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman took their orders directly from the king). They were well-trained in the sacred music, all of them masters. There were 288 of them.
8 They drew names at random to see who would do what. Nobody, whether young or old, teacher or student, was given preference or advantage over another.
9-31 The first name from Asaph’s family was Joseph and his twelve sons and brothers; second, Gedaliah and his twelve sons and brothers; third, Zaccur and his twelve sons and brothers; fourth, Izri and his twelve sons and brothers; fifth, Nethaniah and his twelve sons and brothers; sixth, Bukkiah and his twelve sons and brothers; seventh, Jesarelah and his twelve sons and brothers; eighth, Jeshaiah and his twelve sons and brothers; ninth, Mattaniah and his twelve sons and brothers; tenth, Shimei and his twelve sons and brothers; eleventh, Azarel and his twelve sons and brothers; twelfth, Hashabiah and his twelve sons and brothers; thirteenth, Shubael and his twelve sons and brothers; fourteenth, Mattithiah and his twelve sons and brothers; fifteenth, Jerimoth and his twelve sons and brothers; sixteenth, Hananiah and his twelve sons and brothers; seventeenth, Joshbekashah and his twelve sons and brothers; eighteenth, Hanani and his twelve sons and brothers; nineteenth, Mallothi and his twelve sons and brothers; twentieth, Eliathah and his twelve sons and brothers; twenty-first, Hothir and his twelve sons and brothers; twenty-second, Giddalti and his twelve sons and brothers; twenty-third, Mahazioth and his twelve sons and brothers; twenty-fourth, Romamti-Ezer and his twelve sons and brothers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 12:1–14
Nathan Rebukes David
The Lord sent Nathanh to David.i When he came to him,j he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 Davidk burned with angerl against the manm and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,n the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over,o because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!p This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointedq your king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you,s and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despiset the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck downu Uriahv the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killedw him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the swordx will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own householdy I am going to bring calamity on you.z Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.a 12 You did it in secret,b but I will do this thing in broad daylightc before all Israel.’ ”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinnedd against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken awaye your sin.f You are not going to die.g 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt fora the Lord,h the son born to you will die.”
Insight
David committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11) and assumed that as king he was answerable to no one. A year later, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him about his wickedness (ch. 12). After confessing and repenting of his sins, David wrote Psalm 51, and many believe this is also the context for Psalm 32. Though forgiven, David had to face the consequences of his sin. His son conceived with Bathsheba died (2 Samuel 12:13–18). And just as Uriah was killed by the sword (vv. 9–10), three of David’s other sons—Amnon (13:28–29), Absalom (18:14–15), and Adonijah (1 King 2:23–25)—died by the sword.
Where Are You Headed?
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” 2 Samuel 12:7
In northern Thailand, the Wild Boars youth soccer team decided to explore a cave together. After an hour they turned to go back and found that the entrance to the cave was flooded. Rising water pushed them deeper into the cave, day after day, until they were finally trapped more than two miles (four kilometers) inside. When they were heroically rescued two weeks later, many wondered how they had become so hopelessly trapped. Answer: one step at a time.
In Israel, Nathan confronted David for killing his loyal soldier, Uriah. How did the man “after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) become guilty of murder? One step at a time. David didn’t go from zero to murder in one afternoon. He warmed up to it, over time, as one bad decision bled into others. It started with a second glance that turned into a lustful stare. He abused his kingly power by sending for Bathsheba, then tried to cover up her pregnancy by calling her husband home from the front. When Uriah refused to visit his wife while his comrades were at war, David decided he would have to die.
We may not be guilty of murder or trapped in a cave of our own making, but we’re either moving toward Jesus or toward trouble. Big problems don’t develop overnight. They break upon us gradually, one step at a time. By: Mike Wittmer
Reflect & Pray
What decision can you make right now to move toward Jesus and away from trouble? What must you do to confirm this decision?
Jesus, I’m running to You!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Recall What God Remembers
Thus says the Lord: "I remember…the kindness of your youth…" —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember…the love of your betrothal…” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance…” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Knowing Before the Day - #8617
Graduation day was a suspenseful day for our younger son. He wasn't totally sure what was going to be inside that diploma that the college President handed him. See, he had been informed several days before graduation that no one would know for sure that they were actually going to receive their diploma until they returned to their seat and looked inside the cover. The seniors didn't know their final grades, and if there were any unpaid fees they weren't going to know that either, until they opened their diploma cover and found a bill instead of a diploma.
Well, our son's name was called and he did that long march across that stage, he took what the President gave him, and returned to the bleachers. A moment later he looked my way, flashed a big smile and nodded his head, yes! Whoa! He made it! But it sure would have been nice to know that in advance, wouldn't it?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Knowing Before the Day."
Now, you may have all your schooling behind you, but you've still got one more graduation day, and so do I. It's the day we graduate from this life to whatever is beyond this life. Jesus talks about the only document that will matter that day when our heart beats for the last time - the day eternity begins for us.
In Luke 10:20 He says, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Really? Written where? Well, our word today from the Word of God, Revelation 21:23, 25 describe heaven a little bit. It talks about a city that "does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the Glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb (that's Jesus, the Lamb of God) is its lamp...On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there." And then verse 27 says, "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." That's the deciding document on the day you and I keep our appointment with God. It's the Lamb's Book of Life.
Now, if Jesus said to rejoice because you're in it, obviously we can know in advance, right? That contradicts the usual conception that we don't know until we die if we're headed for heaven or hell, which by the way, Jesus presented frequently. And always as literal real places. Apparently, either your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life or it isn't. If it isn't, you can't enter heaven.
Now, my son didn't know until his graduation day if he made it or not. According to Jesus it doesn't have to be that way for us when it comes to that graduation day that matters forever. So, how can you know your name is in His book - the one that records all those who are going to have life forever? See, the reason we think we can't know until graduation day is because we have the wrong idea about what gets a person into heaven. Most folks think it will be based on whether our good deeds outweighed our bad deeds, and we couldn't know then until we die and get God's verdict. That's totally contrary to what God says. He says He saved us, "not because of the righteous things we had done (this is the Bible), but because of His mercy." That mercy is described a few verses earlier in Titus 2:14, "Jesus Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness."
The only thing that's going to keep us out of heaven will be our sin; all the choices of our lives that we've done our way instead of God's way. There've been a ton of them! Our sin carries a death penalty which Jesus, the Lamb of God, paid as our substitute when He died on the cross. And it's the Lamb's Book of Life. First John 5:12, "He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life." So, is your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? It all depends what you've done with Jesus. The only way to heaven is to put your total trust in the One who died so you can live.
You could open your heart to Him right now, right where you are, and know before this day is over that you will graduate to heaven. If there has never been a time when you've made Jesus your personal Savior, your name isn't there. But it could be beginning today and lasting forever.
If you want to make sure you belong to Him and get this nailed down once and for all, go to our website. I think it will really help. It's ANewStory.com.
Jesus is waiting to hear your prayer of total trust in Him and He's waiting to enter your name.
