Job 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: QUIET SERVANTHOOD - June 7, 2021

In the hallway of my memory hangs a photograph. It’s a picture of two people—a man and a woman in the seventh decade of life. The man lies in a hospital bed in the living room, not in the hospital room. His body, for all practical purposes, is useless. Muscles have been ravaged by ALS. And even though his body is ineffective, his eyes scan the room for his partner, a woman whose age is concealed by her youthful vigor.

She willingly goes taking care of her husband. With unswerving loyalty she does what she’s been doing for the past two years: shave him, bathe him, feed him, comb his hair, and brush his teeth. On the day we buried my father I thanked my mom for modeling the servant spirit of Christ: quiet servanthood.


Job 11

Zophar’s Counsel
How Wisdom Looks from the Inside

 Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath:

“What a flood of words! Shouldn’t we put a stop to it?
    Should this kind of loose talk be permitted?
Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we’ll say nothing?
    That we’ll let you rail and mock and not step in?
You claim, ‘My doctrine is sound
    and my conduct impeccable.’
How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind,
    tell you what’s what!
I wish he’d show you how wisdom looks from the inside,
    for true wisdom is mostly ‘inside.’
But you can be sure of this,
    you haven’t gotten half of what you deserve.

7-12 “Do you think you can explain the mystery of God?
    Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?
God is far higher than you can imagine,
    far deeper than you can comprehend,
Stretching farther than earth’s horizons,
    far wider than the endless ocean.
If he happens along, throws you in jail
    then hauls you into court, can you do anything about it?
He sees through vain pretensions,
    spots evil a long way off—
    no one pulls the wool over his eyes!
Hollow men, hollow women, will wise up
    about the same time mules learn to talk.

Reach Out to God
13-20 “Still, if you set your heart on God
    and reach out to him,
If you scrub your hands of sin
    and refuse to entertain evil in your home,
You’ll be able to face the world unashamed
    and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.
You’ll forget your troubles;
    they’ll be like old, faded photographs.
Your world will be washed in sunshine,
    every shadow dispersed by dawn.
Full of hope, you’ll relax, confident again;
    you’ll look around, sit back, and take it easy.
Expansive, without a care in the world,
    you’ll be hunted out by many for your blessing.
But the wicked will see none of this.
    They’re headed down a dead-end road
    with nothing to look forward to—nothing.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, June 07, 2021
Read: Proverbs 14:1–3, 26–27, 33

The wise woman builds her house,
    but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

2 Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly,
    but those who despise him are devious in their ways.

3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
    but the lips of the wise protect them.

Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
    and for their children it will be a refuge.

27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
    turning a person from the snares of death.

Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
    and even among fools she lets herself be known.[a]

INSIGHT
The “wise woman” of Proverbs 14:1, who “builds her house” rather than tearing it down, finds a fuller description in Proverbs 31:10–31. This “wife of noble character” (v. 10) not only “speaks with wisdom” (v. 26) but manages her household and business affairs with skill and dignity and “opens her arms to the poor and . . . needy” (v. 20). The New Testament women Dorcas and Lydia seem to fit this description in many aspects. Dorcas (or Tabitha) was a disciple who “was always doing good and helping the poor” by making “robes and other clothing.” When she fell sick and died, Peter raised her from the dead (Acts 9:36–42). Lydia was a “dealer in purple cloth” and a “worshiper of God” who opened her home to Paul and his companions (16:13–15, 40). The key characteristic of the wise woman is that she “fears the Lord” (Proverbs 31:30).

By Linda Washington
A Wise Builder

The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1

Sojourner Truth, whose birth name was Isabella Baumfree, was born a slave in 1797 in Esopus, New York. Though nearly all her children were sold as slaves, she escaped to freedom in 1826 with one daughter and lived with a family who paid the money for her freedom. Instead of allowing an unjust system to keep her family apart, she took legal action to regain her small son Peter—an amazing feat for an African American woman in that day. Knowing she couldn’t raise her children without God’s help, she became a believer in Christ and later changed her name to Sojourner Truth to show that her life was built on the foundation of God’s truth.

King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs 14, declares, “The wise woman builds her house” (v. 1). In contrast, one without wisdom “tears hers down.” This building metaphor shows the wisdom God provides to those willing to listen. How does one build a house with wisdom? By saying “only what is helpful for building others up” (Ephesians 4:29; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:11). How does one tear down? Proverbs 14 gives the answer: “A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride” (v. 3).

Sojourner had a “secure fortress” (v. 26) in a turbulent time, thanks to the wisdom of God. You may never have to rescue your children from an injustice. But you can build your house on the same foundation Sojourner did—the wisdom of God.

What foundation is your house established upon? How will you build your house this week?

Father, I need Your wisdom to build a lasting legacy for Your glory.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 07, 2021
The Greatest Source of Power

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13

Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.

However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.


WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 28-29; John 17
 

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 07, 2021

No Name Like This Name - #8976

These days when parents are expecting a baby, they put some care usually into picking a name. And one of the places they go is to these books where you find hundreds and hundreds of names and what is the meaning of that child's name. Now, my parents, I don't know if they didn't have books like that or they didn't care. But, well, when they were on the way to the hospital, I guess they had a name picked out for a girl. They didn't think about a boy, but I was. So, as they're going, they go, "What if we have a boy? What should we name him?" And they passed - now, listen, I hate to tell you this, because you're going to use it against me someday. I know you are - here we go, Ronnie's Used Car Lot. Okay, go ahead, laugh. Get that over with. So they named me after a used car salesman (don't say it!). And some of you who listen all the time go, "The way you talk, I believe it. I understand it was predestination that you should be named after a used car salesman." Well, listen. Picking a name? Put some thought into it please. I'll tell you this, there was one name that God came up with, and it just so happens it became the most powerful word in the world.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Name Like This Name."

You may remember that when Jesus was born, actually before He was born, God appeared to Joseph and He said, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." And that name becomes, now, the most powerful word in the world.

Our word for today from the Word of God, Acts 4:12 says this: "There is salvation in no other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved."

Paul said, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power." Paul says, "When I come to you I'm going to talk about Jesus."

Now, the issue has always been, and continues to be today, the name of Jesus. All through the book of Acts the apostles insist on saying, "You need to come in the name of Jesus. That's where salvation is. There's no other name." And what did the religious leaders say? "You can talk all you want, just don't talk about the name of Jesus." See the Devil doesn't care if we talk about church, or religion, or God, or love. He hates the name of Jesus. Don't say Jesus! Why? Because it's the name by which people are saved. It's the name at which according to Philippians 2 every knee shall bow one day, including every demon.

But did you ever notice how hard it is to talk about Jesus? Oh yeah, God's okay, but Jesus seems to be the threshold where we have a hard time crossing. We don't want to say, "It's Jesus who changed my life." We choke on the name of Jesus. But see, for 2,000 years the order from hell has been, "Edit out Jesus." And He's trying to tell us to do that.

Now, the challenge is, will those who love the name of Jesus be as bold to speak that name as those who defile that name? See, they'll talk about Him openly, boldly. Unbelievers are bold; they'll talk about Jesus all day irreverently. Isn't it time we quit choking on that name? Jesus is a stranger in our world because we don't talk about Him; His love, His life, His personality, His death, His explosion in the graveyard when He blasted out of His grave. This is a time for boldness!

And I've got to tell you this: I am so glad that it's all about Jesus. Jesus said, "Follow Me." Paul said, "Nothing but Jesus and His cross." Maybe you've gotten confused along the way and you've rejected Jesus because you've gotten Him confused with Christians, or Christianity, or church. He's none of those. You've got a problem with Christians and with Christianity, with the church?

Okay, fine. Do you have a problem with Jesus? Because He's the One who died for you; He's the One you'll meet as soon as you die. He's the One God says, "What did you do with My Son?"

Maybe today you need to get things settled with Him, because there's no other name. Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com. Find out how to get started with Him. And if your hope for eternity is in anything other than Jesus, in anyone else, this is the day to pin your hopes on the only name that can get you to heaven.