Max Lucado Daily: MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE
We all ask the question, “Am I somebody important?” It’s easy to feel anything but important when your ex takes your energy, or old age takes your dignity. Somebody important? Hardly. But remember this promise of God: you were created by God, in God’s image, for God’s glory.
God spoke, “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature, so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth” (Genesis 1:26 MSG).
God never declared, “Let us make oceans in our image,” or “birds in our likeness.” The heavens above reflect the glory of God, but they are not made in the image of God. Yet you are! And because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!
2 Chronicles 8
At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments. He had:
built The Temple of God and his own palace;
rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and colonized them with Israelites;
marched on Hamath Zobah and took it;
fortified Tadmor in the desert and all the store-cities he had founded in Hamath;
built the fortress cities Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, complete with walls, gates, and bars;
built Baalath and store-cities;
built chariot-cities for his horses.
Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly—whenever a whim took him. And in Jerusalem, in Lebanon—wherever he fancied.
7-10 The remnants from the original inhabitants of the land (Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites—all non-Israelites), survivors of the holy wars, were rounded up by Solomon for his gangs of slave labor. The policy is in effect today. But true Israelites were not treated this way; they were used in his army and administration—government leaders and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the project managers responsible for Solomon’s building operations—250 in all in charge of the workforce.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a house built especially for her, “Because,” he said, “my wife cannot live in the house of David king of Israel, for the areas in which the Chest of God has entered are sacred.”
12-13 Then Solomon offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God on the Altar of God that he had built in front of The Temple porch. He kept to the regular schedule of worship set down by Moses: Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual feasts of Unraised Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths.
14-15 He followed the practice of his father David in setting up groups of priests carrying out the work of worship, with the Levites assigned to lead the sacred music for praising God and to assist the priests in the daily worship; he assigned security guards to be on duty at each gate—that’s what David the man of God had ordered. The king’s directions to the priests and Levites and financial stewards were kept right down to the fine print—no innovations—including the treasuries.
16 All that Solomon set out to do, from the groundbreaking of The Temple of God to its finish, was now complete.
17-18 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. Hiram sent him ships and with them veteran sailors. Joined by Solomon’s men they sailed to Ophir (in east Africa), loaded on fifteen tons of gold, and brought it back to King Solomon.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Colossians 3:12–17
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselvesu with compassion, kindness, humility,v gentleness and patience.w 13 Bear with each otherx and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.y 14 And over all these virtues put on love,z which binds them all together in perfect unity.a
15 Let the peace of Christb rule in your hearts, since as members of one bodyc you were called to peace.d And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christe dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdomf through psalms,g hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.h 17 And whatever you do,i whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanksj to God the Father through him.
Insight
It appears that the faith community in Colossae was a sister church to the church at nearby Laodicea (the same Laodicea Jesus so strongly challenged in Revelation 3:14–22). Paul writes to the church at Colossae: “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). Not only were these cities close geographically, but there was a solid relationship between them—even to the point of sharing their letters with one another. Additionally, the church at Colossae received a letter written to one of its leaders, Philemon. The Colossians would have had the benefit of no less than three letters from the apostle Paul. By: Bill Crowder
Does What We Do Matter?
Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
I dropped my forehead to my hand with a sigh, “I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done.” My friend’s voice crackled through the phone: “You have to give yourself some credit. You’re doing a lot.” He then listed the things I was trying to do—maintain a healthy lifestyle, work, do well in graduate school, write, and attend a Bible study. I wanted to do all these things for God, but instead I was more focused on what I was doing than how I was doing it—or that perhaps I was trying to do too much.
Paul reminded the church in Colossae that they were to live in a way that glorified God. Ultimately, what they specifically did on a day-to-day basis was not as important as how they did it. They were to do their work with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12), to be forgiving, and above all to love (vv. 13–14) and to “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 17). Their work wasn’t to be separated from Christlike living.
What we do matters, but how we do it, why, and who we do it for matters more. Each day we can choose to work in a stressed-out way or in a way that honors God and seeks out the meaning Jesus adds to our work. When we pursue the latter, we find satisfaction. By: Julie Schwab
Reflect & Pray
In what ways do you do things out of need or obligation rather than for God’s glory? How do you think meaning is found in Christ rather than accomplishments?
Jesus, forgive me for the times I stress over what I’m trying to accomplish. Help me to instead seek to accomplish things for Your glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 07, 2020
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 07, 2020
A Father's Greatest Gift - #8630
Okay, so it was one of those times when our kids were going crazy that my wife would love to repeat one of her favorite sayings, "The apple falls not far from the tree." I never did hear her say that when they did something good. Actually, I have been credited or blamed for a number of things as their father. Supposedly, my daughter has her father's nose, and some people think she got some writing ability from me. My sons have been accused of having my sense of humor, which is totally scary. I wish I could find out who has their father's hair; more and more of it is missing. Well, if you're a father, your children do have a lot of you in them, let's face it. I hope they've inherited what really matters from you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Father's Greatest Gift."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 3:6. Moses is at the crossroads of his life. He is about to be directed by God to lead God's people out of slavery in Egypt. This is huge! God is making this awesome personal appearance to him, and He tells Moses how to approach this holy ground. And then, in a sense, He introduces Himself to this overwhelmed servant of God. Here's what the Bible says, "Then He said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'" Now that last part of God's signature was a title He used often in Old Testament times. But what's distinctive was that God begins by telling Moses he was the God of his father.
Deep inside Moses was this buried treasure that God was opening at the burning bush - a lifetime of knowing Jehovah God. Moses had lived in pagan affluence, he'd lived in a wilderness, but no matter where he went, he carried this spiritual treasure. And who put it there? His father!
But then, a lot of our attitude toward God comes from the kind of man Dad is. After all, God has asked us to call Him Father. And when we hear about God, we tend to call up our feelings about our earthly father. Sadly, those feelings are pretty painful and negative in some young people. I've often had to remind them that God is not the father you had on earth, but he's the father you always wished you had.
As a father, you have a lot of important roles, but none is so cosmic, so eternal as planting God in your son or daughter. Our culture has this idea that spiritual stuff is a mom's business, but that's dead wrong. God didn't introduce Himself as the God of your mother, even though she was a godly woman. In Ephesians 6:4, when God gives the New Testament instruction to raise your children in the Lord, it is introduced to fathers! The spiritual buck stops with the man!
Your child is learning how important this Heavenly Father is from your teaching or how unimportant He seems to be from your silence. Your son or daughter is learning about God from how you treat them. Is "father" forgiving or unforgiving; attentive or inattentive; affectionate or detached; pure or profane; truthful or untrustworthy. Is he fair or arbitrary? Is he there for you or not there for you?
What if God were to appear to your child in their moment of crisis and say, "I am the God of your father." What kind of God would they think He is? There was a five-year-old boy in a New York hospital who was dying of leukemia. One night his father was getting ready to leave, and the boy said, "Daddy, what is God like?" The father cleared his throat a couple of times and fumbled around for an answer. The little guy could tell his dad was uncomfortable, so he just said, "Daddy, that's OK. If God's like you, then I'm not afraid." Wow!
Dad, show them that kind of God. And if you can't because you don't know Him
yourself, maybe it's time to make God your Father by trusting Jesus to be your Savior. If you want to know how to have that relationship with Him, Dad, go to our website. It's ANewStory.com.
And make sure daily you give your precious son or daughter more of God, because all a child can get from a father, that is His greatest gift of all.