Max Lucado Daily: WE ARE WEARY
We are weary. Weary from relationships that don’t work or careers that don’t satisfy or bodies that refuse to heal. Weary from too many trips to the cemetery, therapist, or happy hours that are anything but. Our shoulders slump. Our eyelids droop. We are tired. A tired generation.
Blame it on the “reach for the moon” work ethic. We saddle up the horse called “go get ’em” and do exactly that. Blame our weariness on the Internet revolution. We’re never unplugged. Blame our exhaustion on a peculiar pride we have in margin-less living. We are proud of our long hours and late flights. The consequence? A society of exhaustion.
Are you among them? You don’t have to be. Jesus has an invitation for you: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Zechariah 10
God’s Work of Rebuilding
Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain—
to God, the rainmaker,
Spring thunderstorm maker,
maker of grain and barley.
2-3 “Store-bought gods babble gibberish.
Religious experts spout rubbish.
They pontificate hot air.
Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke.
And so the people wander like lost sheep,
poor lost sheep without a shepherd.
I’m furious with the so-called shepherds.
They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”
* * *
3-5 God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in
and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He’ll revive their spirits,
make them proud to be on God’s side.
God will use them in his work of rebuilding,
use them as foundations and pillars,
Use them as tools and instruments,
use them to oversee his work.
They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one,
their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,
Courageous and vigorous because God is with them,
undeterred by the world’s thugs.
* * *
6-12 “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah;
I’ll save the people of Joseph.
I know their pain and will make them good as new.
They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened.
And why? Because I am their very own God,
I’ll do what needs to be done for them.
The people of Ephraim will be famous,
their lives brimming with joy.
Their children will get in on it, too—
oh, let them feel blessed by God!
I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running.
I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish!
Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth,
they’ll remember me in the faraway places.
They’ll keep the story alive in their children,
and they will come back.
I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west
and round them up from the Assyrian east.
I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead,
back to leafy Lebanon.
Every square foot of land
will be marked by homecoming.
They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves.
Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle.
Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare,
bully Egypt exposed as a fraud.
But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong!
and they’ll live my way.” God says so!
* * *
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 08, 2021
Read: John 12:25–33, 35–36
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[a] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
INSIGHT
The Greek word f?? phos (light) is used five times in John 12:35–36, and is one of the apostle John’s favorite words. Jesus’ references to Himself as light in John include His words in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” As light, Jesus is the true source of radiance, illumination, and revelation. Those who truly believe in Him (12:36) become children of light—they become His disciples and a part of the light force in the world (Matthew 5:14).
Trust the Light -By John Blase
Believe in the light . . . so that you may become children of light. John 12:36
The weather forecast said bomb cyclone. That’s what happens when a winter storm rapidly intensifies as the atmospheric pressure drops. By the time night fell, the blizzard conditions made the highway to the Denver airport almost impossible to see. Almost. But when it’s your daughter who’s flying home to visit, you do what you have to do. You pack extra clothes and water (just in case you get stranded on the highway), drive very slowly, pray without ceasing, and last but not least, trust your headlights. And sometimes you can achieve the almost impossible.
Jesus foretold of a storm on the horizon, one that would involve His death (John 12:31–33), and one that would challenge His followers to stay faithful and serve (v. 26). It was going to get dark and be almost impossible to see. Almost. So what did Jesus tell them to do? Believe, or trust, the Light (v. 36). That was the only way they could keep going forward and stay faithful.
Jesus would only be with them a little while longer. But believers have His Spirit as our constant guide to light the way. We too will face dark times when it’s almost impossible to see the way ahead. Almost. But by believing, or trusting in the Light, we can press on.
What dark season have you been through lately? How did Jesus, the Light, help you keep going?
Jesus, thank You for being the light in my darkness. Help me to trust and keep going.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 08, 2021
The Cost of Sanctification
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. Biblical Psychology, 189 L
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 4-5; Matthew 24:29-51
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 08, 2021
When You've Been Hurt By Friendly Fire - #8891
Stonewall Jackson was one of the South's greatest generals in the Civil War, and he died on the battlefield - shot by mistake by his own men. He's possibly the most famous victim of one of war's greatest tragedies. They call it friendly fire. It's bad enough that a fellow soldier is killed by enemy fire, but the heartbreak is compounded when someone is shot by their own.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You've Been Hurt By Friendly Fire."
It happens in God's army; people who are deeply wounded, shot by their own. Hurt, betrayed, disappointed by church folks, by people who claim to be Christians. You might be one of those. You know the disillusionment that can cause, the cynicism about anything Christian, the desire to distance yourself from Christian things like you'd keep away from a dog that had bitten you. If you've been spiritually wounded by friendly fire, you're on my heart today. More importantly, you're on God's heart; whether He's on your heart or not.
When you're physically wounded, you find medical help so you can recover. How do you recover from the spiritual and emotional wounds of friendly fire? Let me suggest four steps to spiritual recovery. I don't think you want to keep living with the negativity, and self-pity, and resentment, the withdrawal of those who've been wounded; that stuff that eats you up inside. I think you might be ready for some steps to recovery.
They focus on seven little words in Hebrews 12:1-2, our word for today from the Word of God. These verses are about how to finish as a winner in the spiritual race that we run here during our time on earth. It calls us to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." I wish you could say these four words out loud a few times, "It's all about Jesus." Get your eyes off Christians. Get your eyes off churches. Remember who got you started spiritually and who will be at the finish line. It's Jesus.
Recovery step number one is to realize it wasn't Jesus who hurt you. Maybe you've been withdrawing from Christians. Whatever you do, don't withdraw from Jesus. You've never needed Him more. Recovery step number 2: Defy Satan's strategy to isolate you so he can have you. The Bible says, "The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him" (1 Peter 5:8-9).
In Africa, lions try to catch a gazelle that's away from the herd. If they're alone, the lion can have them. If they're with the others, they're usually safe. God never designed for us to try to live for Christ alone. If you're holding back from getting close to some of your brothers and sisters in Christ, you're setting yourself up to be a lion lunch.
So, the third recovery step is this: Realize that God's people are where home is. That's why the Bible warns us not to "give up meeting together" (Hebrews 10:25). There are many believers who don't shoot their own, who are imperfect but genuinely loving people. You've got to risk finding a church like that; you need them. They need you. One other recovery step: Let go of the resentment instead of letting it grow. Ask the God who has forgiven you so much to give you His grace to forgive those who've hurt you. The feelings you harbor aren't hurting them at all, but they're killing you!
Above all, don't let Christians make you miss Jesus! Jesus never said, "Follow My followers" or "Follow My leaders." He said, "Follow Me." It's all about Jesus - the One who died for your sins so you don't have to. It's ultimately Christ you accept or reject, not Christians. It's the cross you have to decide about, not the church. And it's Jesus you'll meet when you've taken your last breath. All that's going to matter is what you've done with Jesus.
If you've never given yourself fully to Him as your only hope, don't let anything or anyone keep you from Him one more day! Tell Him today, "Jesus, I am Yours." I'd be very grateful if we could help you know you really belong to Him. And that's what our website is there for. So I urge you to go there today. It's ANewStory.com.
Jesus is waiting, as He has been for a long, long time, with arms wide open to love you.
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.