Max Lucado Daily: WHEN YOU SPEAK, GOD LISTENS
You may find yourself in an impossible situation; outnumbered and outmaneuvered. You want to quit. Could I implore you to memorize this promise and ask God to bring it to mind? Write it where you’ll find it. Tattoo it, if not on your skin, at least on your heart…“When a believing person prays, great things happen” (James 5:16).
If you’ve taken on the name of Christ, you have clout with the most powerful being in the universe. When you speak, God listens. Jesus said, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action” (Matthew 18:19).
Prayer is just the first step! God has power you’ve never seen, strength you’ve never known; and he delights in answering prayer! And… because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable.
2 Chronicles 21
Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the family cemetery in the City of David. Jehoram his son was the next king.
2-4 Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah—the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Their father had lavished them with gifts—silver, gold, and other valuables, plus the fortress cities in Judah. But Jehoram was his firstborn son and he gave him the kingdom of Judah. But when Jehoram had taken over his father’s kingdom and had secured his position, he killed all his brothers along with some of the government officials.
5-7 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. He imitated Israel’s kings and married into the Ahab dynasty. God considered him an evil man. But despite that, because of his covenant with David, God was not yet ready to destroy the descendants of David; he had, after all, promised to keep a light burning for David and his sons.
8-9 During Jehoram’s reign, Edom revolted from Judah’s rule and set up their own king. Jehoram responded by setting out with his officers and chariots. Edom surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke through the lines and hit Edom hard.
10-11 Edom continues in revolt against Judah right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time. The evidence accumulated: Since Jehoram had abandoned God, the God of his ancestors, God was abandoning him. He even went so far as to build pagan sacred shrines in the mountains of Judah. He brazenly led Jerusalem away from God, seducing the whole country.
12-15 One day he got a letter from Elijah the prophet. It read, “From God, the God of your ancestor David—a message: Because you have not kept to the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and Asa your grandfather, kings of Judah, but have taken up with the ways of the kings of Israel in the north, leading Judah and Jerusalem away from God, going step by step down the apostate path of Ahab and his crew—why, you even killed your own brothers, all of them better men than you!—God is going to afflict your people, your wives, your sons, and everything you have with a terrible plague. And you are going to come down with a terrible disease of the colon, painful and humiliating.”
16-20 The trouble started with an invasion. God incited the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to attack Jehoram. They came to the borders of Judah, forced their way in, and plundered the place—robbing the royal palace of everything in it including his wives and sons. One son, his youngest, Ahaziah, was left behind. The terrible and fatal disease in his colon followed. After about two years he was totally incontinent and died writhing in pain. His people didn’t honor him by lighting a great bonfire, as was customary with his ancestors. He was thirty-two years old when he became king and reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. There were no tears shed when he died—it was good riddance!—and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Philippians 4:4–9
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!o 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.p 6 Do not be anxious about anything,q but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.r 7 And the peace of God,s which transcends all understanding,t will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.u And the God of peacev will be with you.
Insight
Unlike many of Paul’s other epistles, his letter to the Philippians doesn’t seem to be a response to a serious crisis or conflict within the congregation (only one relational conflict is mentioned in 4:2). Instead, Paul’s primary motivation seems to be to express his deep gratitude for the support of the Philippian believers (vv. 14–18) as well as to rejoice with and encourage a greatly loved community of faith. The tone of the letter conveys that he shares a unique spirit of comradery and trust with this faith community, which he describes as his “joy and crown” (v. 1). Paul senses with these believers a deep unity as those who “share in God’s grace” (1:7). Instead of focusing on addressing weaknesses within the congregation, he’s able to joyfully encourage them to go deeper in their walk with Christ (v. 27), learning to experience joy in Christ even when suffering (v. 29). By: Monica La Rose
Thoughts of Joy
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4
In What We Keep, a collection of interviews by Bill Shapiro, each person tells of a single item that holds such importance and joy that he or she would never part with it.
This caused me to reflect on the possessions that mean the most to me and bring me joy. One is a simple forty-year-old recipe card in my mom’s handwriting. Another is one of my grandma’s pink teacups. Other people may value treasured memories—a compliment that encouraged them, a grandchild’s giggle, or a special insight they gleaned from Scripture.
What we often keep stashed away in our hearts, though, are things that have brought us great unhappiness: Anxiety—hidden, but easily retrieved. Anger—below the surface, but ready to strike. Resentment—silently corroding the core of our thoughts.
The apostle Paul addressed a more positive way to “think” in a letter to the church at Philippi. He encouraged the people of the church to always rejoice, to be gentle, and to bring everything to God in prayer (Philippians 4:4–9).
Paul’s uplifting words on what to think about helps us see that it’s possible to push out dark thoughts and allow the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (v. 7). It’s when the thoughts that fill up our minds are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy that we keep His peace in our hearts (v. 8). By: Cindy Hess Kasper
Reflect & Pray
What unwelcome thoughts have stubbornly taken residence in my mind and heart? What’s one way I can daily fill up my mind with good things?
Guide my thoughts this day, O God, as You hold my heart and life in Your care.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Our Misgivings About Jesus
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep." —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Challenger's Challenge For Us - #8643
It still sickens me to see it on a news replay. Those plumes of smoke over Cape Canaveral - the awful trail from what had been the Space Shuttle "Challenger." Teacher Christa McCauliffe and six other crew members were gone before our eyes. Hard to believe it was so many years ago. Hard to believe the memories and the feelings are still so vivid.
Once we had mourned those devastating losses, the national outcry was, "What happened? How could something like this happen?" The answer was found by an investigative commission, and it seemed so simple it was almost surreal. The shuttle blew up and seven American heroes died because a little "O-ring" seal on the solid-fuel rocket failed. An O-ring did this???
According to the commission report, it turns out that space officials had ignored warnings about the possible flaws in that seal. And so, something very small caused a disaster that was very big.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Challenger's Challenge For Us."
That happens a lot in our personal lives where something very small can cause a very big disaster. The life of a family, a church, a business, a ministry. You ignore a small problem, and ultimately everything blows up. A little "innocent" flirtation today becomes the betrayal of adultery you could never have imagined. You let the "sun go down on your anger" as Ephesians 4:27 says. Just tonight. Never dreaming that "stuffed" bitterness will grow into a bomb that can shatter your marriage. You put off dealing with a "small" problem until it morphs into a conflict that can ruin everything. Under pressure, you make a couple of small compromises in telling the truth, in doing everything with integrity - and later you drink the bitter cup of the trust you lost.
It's just so easy to bury it or ignore it because it seems so small. After all, you're on a mission, and who's got time for little malfunctions? You can be sure that ultimately you'll have time for it - when it's a raging inferno. When it's too big to ignore, maybe too big to fix.
So in our word for today from the Word of God in Song of Solomon 2:15, the Bible says it is "the little foxes that ruin the vineyards." So today would be a good day for me to look at my anchor relationships, my work, my personal walk with God and ask myself, "Is there a small problem that I've put off dealing with? It's not going to go away just because I ignore it." It will never be smaller than it is today. It will never be easier to deal than it is today. I don't need any more explosions from what I could have fixed when it was small.
I think about the people who have Jesus in the category of "something I'll deal with later." People who consider the sin-wall between us and God something that just doesn't seem as important as today's screaming agenda. You know, in reality, we have nothing more important to get settled than getting right with God. Nothing more urgent than facing Jesus and saying, "You died for me. I'm Yours."
And maybe all the hurriedness and the busyness and the trivia of life have kept you from getting eternity settled with Jesus. Would you do that today? He died for you. He rose again from the dead to show you He can guarantee you heaven. Today, say, "Jesus, I'm finally dealing with the most important thing in the whole world - You. And I'm yours."
Our website will help you do that. That's why it's there. It's ANewStory.com, and I urge you to go there today.
The bill for putting things off is unthinkably high. Especially if you're putting off God.