Max Lucado Daily: AN OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN AGAIN
God knows the way forward. No matter what kind of disappointment or grief or trouble or heartache you’ve encountered, God offers an opportunity to begin again. In his plan prodigals get a new robe, the weary find new strength, and the lonely find a friend.
Your current circumstances will not get the final say in your life. To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a glimpse of hope, God proclaims, “Yes!” And he comes—he comes as a dove, he comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of promise that he can make all things new. By God’s grace you can find your way to dry land, you can watch the waters subside, you can step out on fresh soil. With God as your guide, you, yes you, can begin again.
Ezekiel 39
Call the Wild Animals!
“Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Say, ‘A Message of God, the Master: I’m against you, Gog, head of Meshech and Tubal. I’m going to turn you around and drag you out, drag you out of the far north and down on the mountains of Israel. Then I’ll knock your bow out of your left hand and your arrows from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you’ll be slaughtered, you and all your troops and the people with you. I’ll serve you up as a meal to carrion birds and scavenging animals. You’ll be killed in the open field. I’ve given my word. Decree of God, the Master.’
6 “I’ll set fire to Magog and the far-off islands, where people are so seemingly secure. And they’ll realize that I am God.
7 “I’ll reveal my holy name among my people Israel. Never again will I let my holy name be dragged in the mud. Then the nations will realize that I, God, am The Holy in Israel.
8 “It’s coming! Yes, it will happen! This is the day I’ve been telling you about.
9-10 “People will come out of the cities of Israel and make a huge bonfire of the weapons of war, piling on shields large and small, bows and arrows, clubs and spears, a fire they’ll keep going for seven years. They won’t need to go into the woods to get fuel for the fire. There’ll be plenty of weapons to keep it going. They’ll strip those who stripped them. They’ll rob those who robbed them. Decree of God, the Master.
11 “At that time I’ll set aside a burial ground for Gog in Israel at Traveler’s Rest, just east of the sea. It will obstruct the route of travelers, blocking their way, the mass grave of Gog and his mob of an army. They’ll call the place Gog’s Mob.
12-16 “Israel will bury the corpses in order to clean up the land. It will take them seven months. All the people will turn out to help with the burials. It will be a big day for the people when it’s all done and I’m given my due. Men will be hired full-time for the cleanup burial operation and will go through the country looking for defiling, decomposing corpses. At the end of seven months, there’ll be an all-out final search. Anyone who sees a bone will mark the place with a stick so the buriers can get it and bury it in the mass burial site, Gog’s Mob. (A town nearby is called Mobville, or Hamonah.) That’s how they’ll clean up the land.
17-20 “Son of man, God, the Master, says: Call the birds! Call the wild animals! Call out, ‘Gather and come, gather around my sacrificial meal that I’m preparing for you on the mountains of Israel. You’ll eat meat and drink blood. You’ll eat off the bodies of great heroes and drink the blood of famous princes as if they were so many rams and lambs, goats and bulls, the choicest grain-fed animals of Bashan. At the sacrificial meal I’m fixing for you, you’ll eat fat till you’re stuffed and drink blood till you’re drunk. At the table I set for you, you’ll stuff yourselves with horses and riders, heroes and fighters of every kind.’ Decree of God, the Master.
21-24 “I’ll put my glory on display among the nations and they’ll all see the judgment I execute, see me at work handing out judgment. From that day on, Israel will realize that I am their God. And the nations will get the message that it was because of their sins that Israel went into exile. They were disloyal to me and I turned away from them. I turned them over to their enemies and they were all killed. I treated them as their polluted and sin-sated lives deserved. I turned away from them, refused to look at them.
25-29 “But now I will return Jacob back from exile, I’ll be compassionate with all the people of Israel, and I’ll be zealous for my holy name. Eventually the memory will fade, the memory of their shame over their betrayals of me when they lived securely in their own land, safe and unafraid. Once I’ve brought them back from foreign parts, gathered them in from enemy territories, I’ll use them to demonstrate my holiness with all the nations watching. Then they’ll realize for sure that I am their God, for even though I sent them off into exile, I will gather them back to their own land, leaving not one soul behind. After I’ve poured my Spirit on Israel, filled them with my life, I’ll no longer turn away. I’ll look them full in the face. Decree of God, the Master.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 04, 2021
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Footnotes
Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
Insight
While worship of God may include joyful praise and thanksgiving, as Psalm 100 describes, the biblical concept of worship is much broader. The Hebrew word translated “worship” (‘bd) in Psalm 100:2 is more often translated “serve” or “work.” For example, Adam was to “work” (same Hebrew word) the ground in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). Later this word became associated with the “service” of God in the tabernacle and temple (see Numbers 3:7). Because tabernacle and temple service involved praise of God, offering sacrifices, and other religious practices, the word came to mean “worship” as we understand it today. But the concept really has to do with serving God more than singing praises and offering thanksgiving. These expressions of worship are just some ways we can serve God. As Paul says, believers are to offer their whole bodies and minds to God as an act of spiritual worship (Romans 12:1–2).
A Lifestyle of Worship
Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.Psalm 100:2
As I waited in the breakfast buffet line at a Christian conference center, a group of women entered the dining hall. I smiled, saying hello to a woman who stepped into the line behind me. Returning my greeting, she said, “I know you.” We scooped scrambled eggs onto our plates and tried to figure out where we’d met. But I was pretty sure she’d mistaken me for someone else.
When we returned for lunch, the woman approached me. “Do you drive a white car?”
I shrugged. “I used to. A few years ago.”
She laughed. “We stopped at the same traffic light by the elementary school almost every morning,” she said. “You’d always be lifting your hands, singing joyfully. I thought you were worshiping God. That made me want to join in, even on tough days.”
Praising God, we prayed together, hugged, and enjoyed lunch.
My new friend affirmed that people notice how Jesus’ followers behave, even when we think no one is watching. As we embrace a lifestyle of joyful worship, we can come before our Creator anytime and anywhere. Acknowledging His enduring love and faithfulness, we can enjoy intimate communion with Him and thank Him for His ongoing care (Psalm 100). Whether we’re singing praises in our cars, praying in public, or spreading God’s love through kind acts, we can inspire others to “praise his name” (v. 4). Worshiping God is more than a Sunday morning event. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
In what ways can you joyfully worship God throughout the day? When has someone else's worship led to your own?
Almighty God, please help me live to worship You with contagious joy and gratitude.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 04, 2021
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them. Workmen of God, 1341 L
Bible in a Year: Genesis 10-12; Matthew 4
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 04, 2021
God's Gerbils - #8866
Gerbils are pretty funny and they're extremely predictable. At least, the one our kids had. He sure was fun. He was a pet. When I checked on him in his little cage upstairs, he was almost always doing the same thing - the wheel. There he was, chugging away, running on his gerbil wheel. If you went back a few hours later…the wheel. If I had spoken "Gerbilese," I would have pointed out that even though he was expending a lot of energy, he wasn't going anywhere. But I think I know what his response would be. He would just run faster on the wheel that was going nowhere!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Gerbils."
These next few moments are dedicated to a special group of people - really busy Christians. Many of whom are, unknowingly, spiritual gerbils running faster and faster on a wheel, but often really not going anywhere because they're doing a lot of the right things for a lot of the wrong reasons.
The right reason to be serving is plainly spelled out in our word for today from the Word of God, where Jesus asks what is probably the most important question He ever asked. After Peter's triple denial of his Lord and Jesus' resurrection from the dead, Jesus calls him aside for a man-to-man talk in John 21, beginning in verse 15. And there's the question.
"Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon...do you truly love Me more than these?' 'Yes, Lord,' he said, 'you know that I love You.' Jesus said, 'Feed My lambs.'" Jesus goes on to ask His question a second time, and then again. "Jesus said, 'Simon...do you love Me?' Peter said, 'Lord...You know that I love You.' Jesus said, 'Feed My sheep.'"
Notice, Jesus didn't ask, "Why did you fail Me?" or "Will you work for Me?" All He wanted to know was "Do you love Me?" That's all He wants to know from you - do you love Him? Notice that the assignment, "Feed My sheep," comes only after Jesus is sure, and Peter is sure, that he's doing it for love.
Which leads to the inevitable question about your spiritual service. What are you doing it for? Basically, there are three reasons people do Christian things: duty, recognition, or love. And the first two don't count. Maybe you've been busy for God mostly out of a sense of duty. That's why you're easily frustrated, you're often depleted, you're way too stressed. It's a spiritual gerbil wheel, isn't it? You're Martha, fulfilling all your responsibilities, but you're neglecting your relationship with Jesus. And the relationship matters way more to Him than the responsibilities.
Maybe you're doing it for recognition - Gerbil wheel. Not to mention glory-stealing - using only what God should be getting glory for to get glory for yourself. Doing the work of the Lord for duty or for recognition is inevitably going to feel hollow, unsatisfying, exhausting, and frustrating, because you're supposed to be doing it as an overflow of your love for Jesus.
And chances are good it used to be, it was because you loved Him. But now what's supposed to be a joy has become a gerbil wheel because your reasons for doing it got mixed up. Maybe it's time to say, "Jesus, I repent of doing the right things for the wrong reasons. I just want to spend the time with You that I need to spend to fall in love with You again." When you do, then all your spiritual service becomes simply loving Jesus in front of people. It's all for Him! And then the results don't matter...the recognition doesn't matter, just as long as you know that Jesus is smiling.
The longer you do it for yourself, the more miserable it grows. But the longer you do it for Jesus, the sweeter He grows.