Max Lucado Daily: ANXIETY AIN’T FUN
Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs. The sky is falling, and it’s falling disproportionately on you. Anxiety ain’t fun!
One would think Christians would be exempt from anxiety, but we are not. It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing.”
Is that what he meant? Not exactly. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense— implying an ongoing state…as if to say Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst. The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.
Could you use some calm? Of course you could. We all could! We all could use a word of comfort. And God is ready to give it.
Isaiah 5
I’ll sing a ballad to the one I love,
a love ballad about his vineyard:
The one I love had a vineyard,
a fine, well-placed vineyard.
He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds,
and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress,
a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes,
but for all his pains he got junk grapes.
3-4 “Now listen to what I’m telling you,
you who live in Jerusalem and Judah.
What do you think is going on
between me and my vineyard?
Can you think of anything I could have done
to my vineyard that I didn’t do?
When I expected good grapes,
why did I get bitter grapes?
5-6 “Well now, let me tell you
what I’ll do to my vineyard:
I’ll tear down its fence
and let it go to ruin.
I’ll knock down the gate
and let it be trampled.
I’ll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for—
thistles and thorns will take over.
I’ll give orders to the clouds:
‘Don’t rain on that vineyard, ever!’”
7 Do you get it? The vineyard of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
is the country of Israel.
All the men and women of Judah
are the garden he was so proud of.
He looked for a crop of justice
and saw them murdering each other.
He looked for a harvest of righteousness
and heard only the moans of victims.
8-10 Doom to you who buy up all the houses
and grab all the land for yourselves—
Evicting the old owners,
posting no trespassing signs,
Taking over the country,
leaving everyone homeless and landless.
I overheard God-of-the-Angel-Armies say:
“Those mighty houses will end up empty.
Those extravagant estates will be deserted.
A ten-acre vineyard will produce a pint of wine,
a fifty-pound sack of seed, a quart of grain.”
11-17 Doom to those who get up early
and start drinking booze before breakfast,
Who stay up all hours of the night
drinking themselves into a stupor.
They make sure their banquets are well-furnished
with harps and flutes and plenty of wine,
But they’ll have nothing to do with the work of God,
pay no mind to what he is doing.
Therefore my people will end up in exile
because they don’t know the score.
Their “big men” will starve to death
and the common people die of thirst.
Sheol developed a huge appetite,
swallowing people nonstop!
Big people and little people alike
down that gullet, to say nothing of all the drunks.
The down-and-out on a par
with the high-and-mighty,
Windbag boasters crumpled,
flaccid as a punctured bladder.
But by working justice,
God-of-the-Angel-Armies will be a mountain.
By working righteousness,
Holy God will show what “holy” is.
And lambs will graze
as if they owned the place,
Kids and calves
right at home in the ruins.
18-19 Doom to you who use lies to sell evil,
who haul sin to market by the truckload,
Who say, “What’s God waiting for?
Let him get a move on so we can see it.
Whatever The Holy of Israel has cooked up,
we’d like to check it out.”
20 Doom to you who call evil good
and good evil,
Who put darkness in place of light
and light in place of darkness,
Who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21-23 Doom to you who think you’re so smart,
who hold such a high opinion of yourselves!
All you’re good at is drinking—champion boozers
who collect trophies from drinking bouts
And then line your pockets with bribes from the guilty
while you violate the rights of the innocent.
24 But they won’t get by with it. As fire eats stubble
and dry grass goes up in smoke,
Their souls will atrophy,
their achievements crumble into dust,
Because they said no to the revelation
of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
Would have nothing to do
with The Holy of Israel.
25-30 That’s why God flamed out in anger against his people,
reached out and knocked them down.
The mountains trembled
as their dead bodies piled up in the streets.
But even after that, he was still angry,
his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
He raises a flag, signaling a distant nation,
whistles for people at the ends of the earth.
And here they come—
on the run!
None drag their feet, no one stumbles,
no one sleeps or dawdles.
Shirts are on and pants buckled,
every boot is spit-polished and tied.
Their arrows are sharp,
bows strung,
The hooves of their horses shod,
chariot wheels greased.
Roaring like a pride of lions,
the full-throated roars of young lions,
They growl and seize their prey,
dragging it off—no rescue for that one!
They’ll roar and roar and roar on that Day,
like the roar of ocean billows.
Look as long and hard as you like at that land,
you’ll see nothing but darkness and trouble.
Every light in the sky
will be blacked out by the clouds.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 65:17–25
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.g
The former things will not be remembered,h
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoicei forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalemj to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoicek over Jerusalem
and take delightl in my people;
the sound of weeping and of cryingm
will be heard in it no more.
20 “Never again will there be in it
an infantn who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;o
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reacha a hundred
will be considered accursed.
21 They will build housesp and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.q
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,r
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,s
so will be the dayst of my people;
my chosenu ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,v
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;w
for they will be a people blessedx by the Lord,
they and their descendantsy with them.
24 Before they callz I will answer;a
while they are still speakingb I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lambc will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,d
and dust will be the serpent’se food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”f
says the Lord.
Insight
Although written to ancient Israel, Isaiah’s words anticipate a time we still await. The prophet writes, “The sound of weeping and crying will be heard in [the new Jerusalem] no more” (65:19). This matches well with John’s vision in Revelation 21, where John writes, “I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ ” (v. 1). In this future existence there “ ‘will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain” (v. 4).
Before You Even Ask
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24
My friends Robert and Colleen have experienced a healthy marriage for decades, and I love watching them interact. One will pass the butter to the other at dinner before being asked for it. The other will refill a glass at the perfect moment. When they tell stories, they finish each other’s sentences. Sometimes it seems they can read each other’s mind.
It’s comforting that God knows and cares for us even more than any person we know and love. When the prophet Isaiah describes the relationship between God and His people in the coming kingdom, he describes a tender, intimate relationship. God says about His people, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).
But how can this be true? There are things I’ve prayed about for years without receiving a response. I believe that as we grow in intimacy with God, aligning our hearts with His, we can learn to trust in His timing and care. We can begin to desire what God desires. When we pray, we ask for—among other things—the things that are part of God’s kingdom as described in Isaiah 65: An end to sorrow (v. 19). Safe homes and full bellies and meaningful work for all people (vv. 21–23). Peace in the natural world (v. 25). When God’s kingdom comes in its fullness, God will answer these prayers completely. By: Amy Peterson
Reflect & Pray
How might you participate in bringing God’s kingdom to earth? What will you ask God for today?
God, thank You for always hearing my prayers. I trust that You love me and are working all things together for good for those whom You’ve called. Please transform my desires so that I want what You want.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
The Servant’s Primary Goal
We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. —2 Corinthians 5:9
“We make it our aim….” It requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only “to be well pleasing to Him.” It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal. At least once a week examine yourself before God to see if your life is measuring up to the standard He has for you. Paul was like a musician who gives no thought to audience approval, if he can only catch a look of approval from his Conductor.
Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15) may result in our rejection from further service for Him. When you discern where the goal leads, you will understand why it is so necessary to keep “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). Paul spoke of the importance of controlling his own body so that it would not take him in the wrong direction. He said, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest…I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
I must learn to relate everything to the primary goal, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 30-31; Mark 15:1-25
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
The Evidence You Are Loved - #8657
Most of us don't have a friendly neighborhood blacksmith anymore. Some of us city folks might never see one if they didn't have them at historic sites and some old-time American theme parks. I'm pretty sure the first blacksmith our three-year-old granddaughter ever saw was the one at the park we took her to. When we stopped by the blacksmith's shop, we were the only ones there. Our granddaughter was really interested in his fire and how he pounded those hot, shapeless metal things into useful objects. Later, as we started to leave, Mr. Blacksmith stopped us. Even though he does some pretty tough work, he's obviously a caring man. He caught up with us because he wanted to do something special for our little girl - he handed her a nail that he had just made. She wouldn't let go of that nail for most of the rest of the day. And last I knew, it was still one of her treasures.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Evidence You Are Loved."
Our granddaughter carried a reminder of a blacksmith who took a special interest in her - the evidence was a nail. It's hard for me to think about that without thinking of the man who demonstrated His love for me with the same kind of evidence - a nail. Actually, three nails - the two they drove through His hands and the one they drove through His feet when they hung Him on a cross.
Jesus brought back to heaven only one thing from His visit to earth - the nail prints in His hands and feet. They are the unarguable evidence of how very much Jesus loves you. I don't know what your experiences with love have been in your life. Maybe you've been blessed to have lots of love over the years. You can still be missing the love you were made for - the love on which your eternity depends - the love of Jesus Christ. Or maybe love - or the absence of it - has been the source of a lot of hurt and disappointment in your life. Because we tend to expect from God the same kind of treatment we got from humans. Well, it just might be hard for you to believe that the greatest person in the universe deeply loves you.
Consider the nails. Consider His wounds. It was, in fact, the sight of those wounds that drove a man named Thomas to throw open his life to Jesus. Thomas had followed Jesus for three years. He had heard all the sermons, seen all the miracles, but apparently he had withheld his total commitment. When Jesus came back from the grave and appeared to all the disciples but Thomas, Thomas said he would not believe that Jesus was alive unless he touched the wounds from His death on the cross. When Jesus appeared a second time with Thomas in the room, He invited the doubter to come and touch the holes the nails and the spear had left. All Thomas could do was fall on his knees and cry out, "My Lord and My God." (John 20:28).
The awful punishment that Jesus submitted Himself to was, in reality, the punishment for my sin and for your sin. And the worst punishment wasn't what people could see. It was the Son of God being totally cut off from God the Father as He carried all the horror and all the hell of all our sin.
The certainty of His love is powerfully expressed in Isaiah 49:15-16, our word for today from the Word of God: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." Every time Jesus looks at His hands, He thinks of you and me because His love for us is engraved there in the print of the nails.
That's why it's so unforgivable to reject His love. You may not mean to reject Him, but if a gift is offered to you and you just sit there, you've rejected both the gift and the giver. Jesus is holding out to you eternal life in heaven; the forgiving of every sin of your life. The greatest mistake a person can make is to fail to respond to this love of Jesus. If you've never actually given yourself to this Savior who gave His life for you, don't risk one more day without Him. Today, tell Him , "Jesus, I am Yours."
We've set up our website as a bridge where you can go and find the biblical information that will help you be sure you now belong to Jesus. That website is ANewStory.com.
Jesus has been reaching for you for a long time. Isn't it time you grabbed His hand?