Max Lucado Daily: RISE UP AND STEP OUT
Peter discovered the wonder of God’s second chance. One day Jesus preached from Peter’s boat, then he told Peter to take him fishing. The apostle-to-be had no interest. He was tired; he had fished all night. He was discouraged; he had caught nothing. He was dubious; what did Jesus know about catching fish? But Jesus insisted, and Peter relented. “At your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5).
This was a moment of truth for Peter. He was saying, “I will begin again, your way.” And when he did, the catch of fish was so great the boat nearly sank. Sometimes we just need to begin again with Christ in the boat. Don’t miss your opportunity by inaction. It’s time to rise up and step out. God has not forgotten you. Keep your head up — you never know what good awaits you.
Zechariah 2
Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure
I looked up and was surprised to see
a man holding a tape measure in his hand.
I said, “What are you up to?”
“I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,
to measure its width and length.”
Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out
met another angel coming in and said,
“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—
bursting with people, bursting with animals.
And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire
around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’”
* * *
6-7 “Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.
“Return from your far exile.
I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.
“Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”
* * *
8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.
* * *
10 “Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!
I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”
God’s Decree.
* * *
11-12 Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.
* * *
13 Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 29, 2021
Read: Deuteronomy 5:12–15
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
INSIGHT
When Moses taught God’s commandments in Deuteronomy 5, it was a “reissue” of the Ten Commandments first delivered in Exodus 20. In fact, Deuteronomy means “second law” because it was the second time Moses taught the law to the people. But when we compare the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, we notice some subtle differences. For instance, the commandment to keep the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5:12–15 is grounded on God’s act of redemption when He rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (v. 15). But the commandment in Exodus 20:8–11 is grounded on God’s rest on the seventh day from His work of creation (v. 11). Putting both passages together, we see that God’s intention in creation and redemption is our blessed rest. This culminates in Jesus’ words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Out of Breath By Sheridan Voysey
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 5:13–14
There’s a home-improvement store near me that has a big green button in one of its departments. If no assistant is present, you push the button, which starts a timer. If you’re not served within a minute, you get a discount on your purchase.
We like being the customer in this scenario who enjoys the speedy service. But the demand for fast service often takes a toll when we’re the one expected to deliver it. So many of us today feel rushed doing our jobs, working long hours, checking email multiple times a day, and feeling pressured to meet tighter and tighter deadlines. The customer service tactics of the home-improvement store have seeped into all our lives, creating a culture of rush.
When God told the Israelites to keep a Sabbath, He added an important reason: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 5:15). There they’d been forced to work ceaselessly under Pharaoh’s excessive time constraints (Exodus 5:6–9). Now freed, they were to give themselves a whole day each week to ensure they and those who served them could rest (Deuteronomy 5:14). Under God’s rule, there were to be no flush-faced, out-of-breath people.
How often do you work to the point of exhaustion or get impatient with people who keep you waiting? Let’s give ourselves and each other a break. A culture of rush is Pharaoh’s doing, not God’s.
How can you resist the urge to overwork? How will you be patient this week with people who keep you waiting?
God of the Sabbath, thank You for commanding me to rest so I can be whole.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 29, 2021
How Could Someone Be So Ignorant!
Who are You, Lord? —Acts 26:15
“The Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand…” (Isaiah 8:11). There is no escape when our Lord speaks. He always comes using His authority and taking hold of our understanding. Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken to you. God speaks in the language you know best— not through your ears, but through your circumstances.
God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. We say, “I know that this is what I should do” — and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We show our ignorance of Him in the very way we decide to serve Him. We serve Jesus in a spirit that is not His, and hurt Him by our defense of Him. We push His claims in the spirit of the devil; our words sound all right, but the spirit is that of an enemy. “He…rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of’ ” (Luke 9:55). The spirit of our Lord in His followers is described in 1 Corinthians 13.
Have I been persecuting Jesus by an eager determination to serve Him in my own way? If I feel I have done my duty, yet have hurt Him in the process, I can be sure that this was not my duty. My way will not be to foster a meek and quiet spirit, only the spirit of self-satisfaction. We presume that whatever is unpleasant is our duty! Is that anything like the spirit of our Lord— “I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Psalm 40:8).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. Conformed to His Image, 357 R
Bible in a Year: Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 29, 2021
The Ghosts of the Past - #8885
I don't believe in ghosts - for the most part. There's one kind of ghosts that are all too real. They talked about those "ghosts" in the movie, "Amazing Grace." That movie told the story of the 18th Century British political leader, William Wilberforce. He's really more than any other man, responsible for the abolishing of slavery in the British Empire. And that was at a time when African slaves played a critical role in the British economy and slave-owning interests controlled a lot of members of Parliament. The battle took 20 years, but ultimately thousands of slaves went free. Wilberforce's spiritual mentor was actually the man who wrote America's most beloved hymn, "Amazing Grace." In his early years, John Newton had been a slave trader, capturing and carrying thousands of Africans to slavery in Britain and the islands. Conditions were so brutal that many didn't even survive the voyage. Then John Newton discovered how Jesus Christ could forgive and change a man. In the movie, John Newton is going blind but he's still pastoring his church in London. And he believed in "ghosts" you might say. As he dictates what he calls "My Confession" to a scribe, he says, "I have lived for years with the company of 20,000 ghosts - those I made into slaves. Their blood is on my hands."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Ghosts of the Past."
We all understand the kind of ghosts John Newton was talking about. They're not departed spirits. They're the memories and the regrets of the things that we wish we had not done. The guilt and the shame we feel because of the people we've hurt, the damage we've done, the dark things we've done.
But remember the words that old slave trader, John Newton, wrote in the hymn that's become one of the most recognizable songs in the world: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind but now I see." As John Newton dictates his confession in the movie, he reaches a conclusion that I found deeply moving: "Although my memory is fading, I remember two things clearly. I am a great sinner...and Christ is a great Savior."
Well, that's my hope; that's your hope of being delivered from the ghosts of your past. Realizing we're great sinners, and realizing that Christ is a great Savior. There's awesome hope for all of us rebels against God. In Psalm 130:3-4, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, "If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness."
Here is a holy, sinless God whose rule of our life we've defied by doing what we wanted time after time. We deserve the eternal death penalty the Bible says that sin carries. But God loves you so much He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to give His life in exchange for yours; to do the dying for all the sinning you've ever done. And the Bible says, "Everyone who believes in (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins through His name."
That's what He wants to do for you today. To erase every sin of your past from God's book forever. To become your personal Savior from the guilt and the penalty of your sin. To cancel the hell that you deserve for a heaven you could never deserve. All that becomes yours the day you open your heart to Jesus and tell Him you're turning from your sin and you're going to put all your trust in Him. He's your Rescuer. You're the dying person. When you grab Him, you're saved.
This could be your day to experience God's amazing grace for yourself. It's more than a song. It's a life-saving miracle that banishes the ghosts of your past. If you want to make the "great Savior" your Savior, I invite you to visit our website. There's a simple explanation there of just how your relationship with Him can begin. That's ANewStory.com.
Tonight, as you hit the pillow, you could have a new song: "I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see."
From my daily reading of the bible, Our Daily Bread Devotionals, My Utmost for His Highest and Ron Hutchcraft "A Word with You" and occasionally others.