Max Lucado Daily: NO EVIL IS BEYOND GOD’S REACH
See the cross on the hill? Can you hear the soldiers pound the nails? Jesus’ enemies smirk. “This time,” Satan whispers, “this time I will win.” For a sad Friday and a silent Saturday it appeared he had. What Satan intended as the ultimate evil God used for the ultimate good. God rolled the rock away, and Jesus walked out on Sunday morning. If you look closely, you can see Satan scampering from the cemetery with his forked tail between his legs. “Will I ever win?“ he grumbles. No, he won’t.
Do you believe no evil is beyond God’s reach? That He can redeem every pit, including one in which you find yourself? Trust God. He’ll get you through this. Will it be easy or quick? I hope so, but it seldom is. Yet God will make good out of this mess. That’s His job.
Micah 5
A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel’s ruler
on the cheek with a rod.
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans[e] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace
when the Assyrians invade our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,
6 who will rule[f] the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.[g]
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders.
7 The remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles as it goes,
and no one can rescue.
9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.
13 I will destroy your idols
and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[h]
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ecclesiastes 3:1–14
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Insight
The book of Ecclesiastes is a book for a postmodern world. The “Preacher,” whom many believe was Solomon, speaks of the frustrations and disappointments of life. Two key phrases in the book are “everything is meaningless” (1:1) and “under the sun” (v. 3). The phrase “everything is meaningless” speaks of life lived on human terms and according to the values of this world, which is described by the phrase “under the sun.” In the end, the Preacher says that the answer to this meaninglessness is to look beyond this world and “remember your Creator” (12:1), who is the only source of true meaning in this life.
To learn more about the book of Ecclesiastes, visit go.odb.org/Ecclesiastes.
Treasure the Moments
[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Su Dongpo (also known as Su Shi) was one of China’s greatest poets and essayists. While in exile and gazing upon a full moon, he wrote a poem to describe how much he missed his brother. “We rejoice and grieve, gather and leave, while the moon waxes and wanes. Since times of old, nothing remains perfect,” he writes. “May our loved ones live long, beholding this beautiful scene together though thousands of miles apart.”
His poem carries themes found in the book of Ecclesiastes. The author, known as the Teacher (1:1), observed that there’s “a time to weep and a time to laugh . . . a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing” (3:4–5). By pairing two contrasting activities, the Teacher, like Su Dongpo, seems to suggest that all good things must inevitably come to an end.
As Su Dongpo saw the waxing and waning of the moon as another sign that nothing remains perfect, the Teacher also saw in creation God’s providential ordering of the world He’d made. God oversees the course of events, and “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (v. 11).
Life may be unpredictable and sometimes filled with painful separations, but we can take heart that everything takes place under God’s gaze. We can enjoy life and treasure the moments—the good and the bad—for our loving God is with us. By: Poh Fang Chia
Reflect & Pray
What are some things you’re afraid to try because of life’s unpredictability? How can you lean on Jesus as you step forward in courage to forge new friendships and deepen relationships?
Thank You, loving Father, for watching over all seasons of my life. Help me to trust in You and enjoy the life You’ve given me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians… —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R
Bible in a Year: Psalms 13-15; Acts 19:21-41
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
The Name That Says It All - #8742
My parents didn't put much thought into what they named me. They decided on the way to the hospital when they saw "Ronnie's Used Car Lot" along the way. Come on! "So could I interest you in a little '95 Chevy with low mileage?" It was just driven by a little old lady...never mind. Well, my wife and I, and then our children, have put a little more thought into the names of our kids. Sometimes we pick names that reflect something about the child's heritage. We buy those books that tell you the meanings of thousands of names. We'd pick one that says something. You know? For example, our daughter's name means "consecrated to God," which she really is. Sometimes a person's name is more than just a name; it's actually a statement!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Name That Says It All."
There is no name in the world like this name - Jesus - as in Jesus, the Christ. If you know what that name means, you respond accordingly, it will change your life forever. It will change where you spend your eternity.
Mary and Joseph, Jesus' earthly parents, did not pick His name. God did. In Matthew 1:21, our word for today from the Word of God, the angel of the Lord is explaining to Joseph that his virgin fiancee is going to have a miracle baby, the Son of God, come to earth in a human form. And here are the angel's instructions to Joseph: "You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
The name of Jesus means something. It means "Jehovah saves." Or, to use a word we understand very well these days, "Jehovah Rescues." We see it over and over again on the news - rescue stories after a disaster. Of course, the ultimate example might be the World Trade Center on September 11, and the men who risked everything to bring out the people trapped alive there - the rescuers. God doesn't ever want us to forget who Jesus is and why He came to "save," to "rescue His people from their sins." Which clearly implies that we will die because of our sins unless there's a rescue.
There's no way to get yourself out of the rubble, out of the death penalty for hijacking the control of your life from your Creator and, as a result, repeatedly breaking His laws and putting bricks in the wall between Him and you. No amount of religion, no good deeds, no spirituality, no Christian activity is enough to dig you out. Your only hope is the one whose name is "Jehovah Rescues." And unless and until you abandon all other hopes and cling completely to God's Rescuer, Jesus, you are headed for hell's eternal punishment. But see, Jesus already took your punishment when He gave His life for you on the cross. What you have to do is reach out in faith and take for yourself what He did for you there.
So every time you speak Jesus' name, you speak why He came. It's what His life is all about - rescuing the dying. It's what our life should be all about if we belong to Him. Philippians 2 tells us that "at the name of (Jehovah Rescues) Jesus, every knee will bow." John 1:12 says, "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." To believe in His name is to believe that this One named "Jehovah Rescues" is your only hope.
Has there ever been a time when you've done that? There is no other kind of relationship with Jesus that will get you to heaven; not Jesus as your teacher, not Jesus as your religion, not Jesus as your example, not Jesus as your belief. But Jesus as your rescuer from your sin. If you've never really thrown your arms around God's rescuer and said, "Save me, Lord," don't wait another day to do that.
It would be my great joy to help you do that if I can. And that would be through our website ANewStory.com where many have found out how to begin a relationship with Him. I encourage you to go there today.
This could be the day of your rescue! This could be the day you trade death for life, because life has a name - one name. The name you need to call on - Jesus.