Max Lucado Daily: TOUCH THE HURT
Bzuneh Tulema lives in Ethiopia. Just a few years ago he and his wife were so consumed with alcohol that they farmed out their kids to neighbors and resigned themselves to a drunken demise.
But then someone saw them. A member of an area church shared Jesus with them. Then Meskerem Trango, a World Vision worker, arranged a loan through the World Vision microfinance department. Within a year Bzuneh had repaid the loan, built his house, and reclaimed his kids.
Could this be God’s strategy for human hurt? Kind eyes meet desperate ones, strong hands help weak ones, then the miracle of God. We do our small part, he does the big part, and life begins again.
1 Corinthians 14:26-40
So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three’s the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you’re saying. Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you’re also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches—no exceptions.
34-36 Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God’s Book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Do you—both women and men—imagine that you’re a sacred oracle determining what’s right and wrong? Do you think everything revolves around you?
37-38 If any one of you thinks God has something for you to say or has inspired you to do something, pay close attention to what I have written. This is the way the Master wants it. If you won’t play by these rules, God can’t use you. Sorry.
39-40 Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God’s truth, speak your heart out. Don’t tell people how they should or shouldn’t pray when they’re praying in tongues that you don’t understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Micah 7:18–20
Who is a Godv like you,
who pardons sinw and forgivesx the transgression
of the remnanty of his inheritance?z
You do not stay angrya forever
but delight to show mercy.b
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquitiesc into the depths of the sea.d
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,e
as you pledged on oath to our ancestorsf
in days long ago.g
Insight
The prophet Micah declares, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). However, Israel had not lived up to those requirements. In chapter 7, the author reviews the nation’s grim prospects because of their disobedience (vv. 1–6). But verse 7 of this final chapter signals a sudden change in tone, and the book’s last thirteen verses comprise a surprisingly triumphant hymn. Why is it triumphant? Because the prophet praises God’s character. Despite all the harsh (and deserved) pronouncements of judgment, God will be true to His word. He will redeem His people. And so Micah asks, “Who is a God like you?” (v. 18). Israel’s loving God will keep His covenant as He “pledged on oath . . . in days long ago” (v. 20). By: Tim Gustafson
Demonstrating Grace
You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19
“In moments where tragedy happens or even hurt, there are opportunities to demonstrate grace or to exact vengeance,” the recently bereaved man remarked. “I chose to demonstrate grace.” Pastor Erik Fitzgerald’s wife had been killed in a car accident caused by an exhausted firefighter who fell asleep while driving home, and legal prosecutors wanted to know whether he would seek the maximum sentence. The pastor chose to practice the forgiveness he often preached about. To the surprise of both him and the firefighter, the men eventually became friends.
Pastor Erik was living out of the grace he’d received from God, who’d forgiven him all of his sins. Through his actions he echoed the words of the prophet Micah, who praised God for pardoning sin and forgiving when we do wrong (Micah 7:18). The prophet uses wonderfully visual language to show just how far God goes in forgiving His people, saying that He will “tread our sins underfoot” and hurl our wrongdoings into the deep sea (v. 19). The firefighter received a gift of freedom that day, which brought him closer to God.
Whatever difficulty we face, we know that God reaches out to us with loving, open arms, welcoming us into His safe embrace. He “delights to show mercy” (v. 18). As we receive His love and grace, He gives us the strength to forgive those who hurt us—even as Pastor Erik did. By: Amy Boucher Pye
Reflect & Pray
How do you respond to this story of amazing forgiveness? Can you think of someone you need to forgive? If so, ask God to help you.
Father God, You love us without ceasing, and You delight to forgive us when we return to You. Envelop us with Your love, that we might demonstrate grace to those who hurt us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Am I Looking To God?
Look to Me, and be saved… —Isaiah 45:22
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me….”
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved….” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.
Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me….” Salvation is yours the moment you look.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
I'll Watch Your Back - #8618
I really hate to be viewed as a typical tourist. But when I went to South Africa a few years ago, I was Tommy Tourist. Yeah, I had my camera clicking everywhere. My friend, Ted, was kind enough to take me between the conferences where I was speaking to Kruger National Park; probably the finest natural game park in all the world. Of course, I was seeing things I'd never seen before. I'd see a giraffe, or a rhinoceros out in the wild or in my dream. I just wanted to see wild elephants, and I did. And I'd yell at Ted like Tommy Tourist, "Stop! Pull over the car!" I'd promptly jump out and start shooting pictures. And he patiently said to me, "Ron, move quickly, and I'll watch your back." I said, "Why?" I didn't think my back was that much fun to watch. He said, "Ron, you have to understand that in this tall grass, there may be lions." Well, he went on to tell me about the tourist that had been mauled while taking pictures in Kruger National Park recently. It's amazing how fast I could get back in the car, and what great pictures you can take out the window. I learned to take a lot of pictures from the car. You know it's great to know that there's someone watching your back when there might be a lion ready to pounce on you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "I'll Watch Your Back."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from perhaps one of the most beloved chapters in all the Bible, the great love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13. Let me read a little of it to you beginning in verse 5. "Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but always rejoices with the truth." Now, pay particular attention to verse 7, "Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Can I focus on three words today? Love always protects. See, we live in a world where people pounce on other people, like those lions in South Africa we pounce on each other all the time. There's so much vicious talk in school about other kids; a lot of vicious talk on the phone, on social media late at night. When you run out of things to talk about, you start talking about other people, maybe office gossip or church gossip. You know about it. It spreads bad news quickly. It spreads good news about people very slowly.
Even in your family, there could be some pretty destructive things said about another family member. And this kind of pouncing on each other is largely accepted. It's largely unchallenged. We tear people down, we spread rumors, we call names, we attack weaknesses. But Jesus proposes a radical kind of love that changes all that. Instead of, "I'll talk behind your back." He's calling for some people who will say, "I'll watch your back and make sure you're not attacked," people who are committed to the protection of other people's dignity, worth and reputation.
Think of how naturally, maybe you've gone with the flow when someone else is being criticized. Maybe you've started the flow. This is a call to commitment to the lifestyle of Jesus; a commitment to protecting lives. Just look what happens when you start to build a reputation of interrupting the bad talk about people. You start to say, "Hey, wait a minute! I don't want to be a part of this." Or, "Have you told him that? Have you told her that?"
Watch what happens when you become the person who turns the conversation from undermining the person to trying to understand why they're acting as they're acting; for helping people see the needs that are behind the deeds; for insisting that they go straight to that person. You'll become known as one of that rare breed; one of those people who makes other people feel safe.
Love always protects. Don't be one of those attackers in the underbrush. Commit yourself to the people in your world as a loving protector, and be remembered a
s the one who lived out love with this commitment, "I'll watch your back."
