Max Lucado Daily: ASK YOUR FATHER FOR HELP
In his fine book, The Dance of Hope, Bill Frey remembers the day he tried to pull a stump out of the Georgia dirt. One of his chores as a twelve-year-old was to search for stumps of pine trees that had been cut down and chop them into kindling. But there was one root system he just couldn’t pull out of the ground. He was still struggling when his father came over to watch.
“I think I see your problem,” the dad said. “What’s that?” the son asked. “You’re not using all your strength.” Bill exploded and told him how hard he’d been working. “No,” the dad said, “You’re not using all your strength.” When Bill cooled down he asked what his father meant, and the dad said, “You haven’t asked me to help you.” You don’t have to do it alone, friend. Present the challenge to your Father, and ask for help. Will he solve the issue? Yes, he will.
Isaiah 25
God, you are my God.
I celebrate you. I praise you.
You’ve done your share of miracle-wonders,
well-thought-out plans, solid and sure.
Here you’ve reduced the city to rubble,
the strong city to a pile of stones.
The enemy Big City is a non-city,
never to be a city again.
Superpowers will see it and honor you,
brutal oppressors bow in worshipful reverence.
They’ll see that you take care of the poor,
that you take care of poor people in trouble,
Provide a warm, dry place in bad weather,
provide a cool place when it’s hot.
Brutal oppressors are like a winter blizzard
and vicious foreigners like high noon in the desert.
But you, shelter from the storm and shade from the sun,
shut the mouths of the big-mouthed bullies.
6-8 But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
Yes! God says so!
9-10 Also at that time, people will say,
“Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
God’s hand rests on this mountain!”
10-12 As for the Moabites, they’ll be treated like refuse,
waste shoveled into a cesspool.
Thrash away as they will,
like swimmers trying to stay afloat,
They’ll sink in the sewage.
Their pride will pull them under.
Their famous fortifications will crumble to nothing,
those mighty walls reduced to dust.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 104:10–18, 24–26
He makes springss pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
11 They give watert to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeysu quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the skyv nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.w
13 He waters the mountainsx from his upper chambers;y
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.z
14 He makes grass growa for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth foodb from the earth:
15 winec that gladdens human hearts,
oild to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustainse their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lordf are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanong that he planted.
17 There the birdsh make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;i
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.j
How many are your works,u Lord!
In wisdom you madev them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.w
25 There is the sea,x vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.y
26 There the shipsz go to and fro,
and Leviathan,a which you formed to frolicb there.
Insight
Though the psalmist in Psalm 104 makes reference to various creatures in the earth, sky, and sea, only one creature is referenced using its proper name—Leviathan (v. 26). This is one of five times that Leviathan is mentioned in Scripture (see also Job 3:8; 41:1–34; Psalm 74:14; Isaiah 27:1). Who or what was Leviathan? All biblical references are in poetic passages, and Leviathan is cast in both literal and figurative roles. In Psalm 104, Leviathan is a sea creature: “There is the sea . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there” (vv. 25–26). Similarly, in Job 41 Leviathan is depicted as a large, intimidating sea animal (vv. 31–34). On the other hand, references like Psalm 74:14 and Isaiah 27:1 figuratively depict Leviathan as being a threat to God’s people and being marked for overthrow by the Almighty.
A World of Provision
There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number. Psalm 104:25
It’s 2 a.m. when Nadia, a farmer of sea cucumbers, walks into a roped-off pen in the ocean shallows near her Madagascar village to harvest her “crop.” The early hour doesn’t bother her. “Life was very hard before I started farming,” she says. “I didn’t have any source of income.” Now, as a member of a marine-protection program called Velondriake, meaning “to live with the sea,” Nadia sees her income growing and stabilizing. “We thank God that this project appeared,” she adds.
It appeared in large part because God’s creation provided what their project needs—a natural supply of sea life. In praise of our providing God, the psalmist wrote, “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate” (Psalm 104:14). As well, “there is the sea . . . teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small” (v. 25).
It’s a wonder, indeed, how God’s wondrous creation also provides for us. The humble sea cucumber, for example, helps form a healthy marine food chain. Careful harvesting of sea cucumbers, in turn, grants Nadia and her neighbors a living wage.
Nothing is random in God’s creation. He uses it all for His glory and our good. Thus, “I will sing to the Lord all my life,” says the psalmist (v. 33). We too can praise Him today as we ponder all that He provides. By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
In what ways does God provide for you through His creation? How can you thank Him for that today?
O Creator God, we’re humbled by Your vast creation and all the ways You provide for our needs.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
The Light That Never Fails
We all, with unveiled face, beholding…the glory of the Lord… —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “…no one stood with me, but all forsook me….But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— “…Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Exodus 34:29).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 14-15; Luke 17:1-19
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Why Your World's Being Shaken - #8683
You learn a lot about eagles when you spend time with Native Americans. Like how their babies learn to fly. When Mama builds their nest, she lays a foundation of rocks and sticks - then covers it with leaves and feathers and foliage. And the baby eaglets love hanging out there.
Until one day Mama starts pulling all that soft stuff out of the nest. Oh, it's not comfy anymore. Why? Because she wants those little eagles to learn to fly! Which requires getting them out of the nest. Which requires messing with the nest, making it not comfortable. But fear not, junior eagles! This isn't a bad thing. You weren't made to stay in a comfy little nest. You were born to fly! Uh...so were you!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your World's Being Shaken"
Right now, everybody's nest is being shaken! By what I call the coronaquake - the fiercely contagious virus that has caused our schools to close, the stock market to tank, major world events to be cancelled, the economy to explode, futures to be rewritten...basically, it's just rocked our world - or our nest - as never before.
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God in Deuteronomy 32, beginning with verse 10. God's referring to His people here simply as "him." But this isn't about just one guy - it's about God's people. For me, it's really shed light on the bigger picture behind all these life-changing events we're trying to navigate.
"He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye." Okay, cool. You and I are being shielded, cared for, and guarded by the Most High God in the middle of all this mayhem.
Now here's where it gets really interesting. "Like an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft...He made him ride on the heights of the land."
Let's look at all the shaking things going on in our lives right now through this Biblical lens. God is using it to disturb the comfort and complacency of our status quo - so we'll take some steps we'd never otherwise take... Not so we'll crash, but so we'll finally fulfill our destiny and touch the sky! Which we might never do if He didn't "stir up the nest."
So, here's a peek behind the curtain at the life-enlarging ways of God. God shakes us up to wake us up to take us up higher than we've ever flown before!
Proverbs 19:21 says: "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." All those plans we had - they're somewhere between doubtful to devastated, right? But not the Lord's purpose in all of this. His purposes are untouched and unhindered by all the upheaval in our world right now.
But sometimes He needs to hit the brakes hard to get our attention and turn our hearts totally - even desperately to Him. So, what might some of His purposes be?
To bring us closer together
To prune things we really don't need in our life
To expose our idols - the things in our life that have become more important than Him
To rearrange our priorities - so the things that really matter become our focus
To open hearts to Jesus.
Maybe that's what He's doing in your life. Suddenly your security isn't secure. Your "go to's" have gotten up and gone. Your heart is fearful and searching. You need an anchor that no storm can move. That's Jesus. Who loved you enough to die for your sin. Who's powerful enough to walk out of His grave. He's waiting for you to open the door of your heart and let Him come in today.
If you want to finally put your life in the only truly safe hands there are, tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And check out our website - ANewStory.com - to find the information there that will help you be sure you belong to Him. Check it out today!
You have nothing to fear from your future when Jesus takes the wheel!
