Max Lucado Daily: A PROMISED LAND LIFE - April 27, 2021
God spoke, Joshua listened, and Israel’s glory days began. The Jordan River opened up and Jericho’s walls fell down and evil was booted and hope rebooted. Joshua 21:43-44 says, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it…The Lord gave them rest all around. Not a man of all their enemies stood against them.”
Perhaps you need a new season. You don’t need to cross the Jordan River, but you need to get through the week. And you aren’t facing Jericho, but you’re facing rejection or heartache. The story of Joshua dares us to believe God has a Promised Land for us to take. It’s not real estate, but a real state of the heart and mind: a Promised Land. A Promised Land life.
Matthew 1
The family tree of Jesus Christ, David’s son, Abraham’s son:
2-6 Abraham had Isaac,
Isaac had Jacob,
Jacob had Judah and his brothers,
Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),
Perez had Hezron,
Hezron had Aram,
Aram had Amminadab,
Amminadab had Nahshon,
Nahshon had Salmon,
Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
Obed had Jesse,
Jesse had David,
and David became king.
6-11 David had Solomon (Uriah’s wife was the mother),
Solomon had Rehoboam,
Rehoboam had Abijah,
Abijah had Asa,
Asa had Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat had Joram,
Joram had Uzziah,
Uzziah had Jotham,
Jotham had Ahaz,
Ahaz had Hezekiah,
Hezekiah had Manasseh,
Manasseh had Amon,
Amon had Josiah,
Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers,
and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile.
12-16 When the Babylonian exile ended,
Jeconiah had Shealtiel,
Shealtiel had Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel had Abiud,
Abiud had Eliakim,
Eliakim had Azor,
Azor had Zadok,
Zadok had Achim,
Achim had Eliud,
Eliud had Eleazar,
Eleazar had Matthan,
Matthan had Jacob,
Jacob had Joseph, Mary’s husband,
the Mary who gave birth to Jesus,
the Jesus who was called Christ.
17 There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David,
another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile,
and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ.
The Birth of Jesus
18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they enjoyed their wedding night, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Read: Ecclesiastes 10:1–14
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.
3 Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone how stupid they are.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
6 Fools are put in many high positions,
while the rich occupy the low ones.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
but skill will bring success.
11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the charmer receives no fee.
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but fools are consumed by their own lips.
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
INSIGHT
In Ecclesiastes, wisdom and folly are often set in sharp contrast. Folly (or the fool) is tied to wickedness (7:17; 10:12) and is the opposite of wisdom (2:19). As Michael Eaton in his commentary on Ecclesiastes states, “[Folly] results from an inner deficiency of the personality (10:2) which becomes obvious to observers (v. 3), especially in the fool’s speech (v. 14).” In Jeremiah we read that the foolish are “skilled in doing evil” (4:22) and lack moral sensitivity: They’re “senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear” (5:21).
By Con Campbell
Learning from Foolishness
The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense. Ecclesiastes 10:2–3
A man walked into a convenience store in Wollongong, Australia, put a $20 bill on the counter and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer? Fifteen dollars.
We all act foolishly at times—even if, unlike this thief, we’re trying to do the right thing. The key is how we learn from our foolish behavior. Without correction, our poor choices can become habits, which will negatively shape our character. We’ll become “fools . . . [who] lack sense” (Ecclesiastes 10:3).
Sometimes it’s hard to admit our foolishness because of the extra work it requires. Perhaps we need to reflect on a particular character flaw, and that’s painful. Or maybe we need to admit that a decision was made hastily and next time we should take more care. Whatever the reason, it never pays to ignore our foolish ways.
Thankfully, God can use our foolishness to discipline and shape us. Discipline isn’t “pleasant at the time,” but its training yields good fruit in the long run (Hebrews 12:11). Let’s accept our Father’s discipline for our foolish behavior and ask Him to make us more like the sons and daughters He intends us to be.
What’s a recent foolish choice you’ve made? What do you think God wants you to learn from it?
Thank You, Father, for using my foolishness to train me. May I accept Your discipline graciously as You continue to work in me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
What Do You Want?
Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you.
If you have only come as far as asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on your own terms. You protest, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly God puts His finger on the reason– you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him.
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:28-48
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Paper Trunks and Permanent Wardrobe - #8947
I think it had to be one of the most like insecure afternoons of my life. Our committee had been meeting for two days at this hotel. Two days straight! We had a slave-driving chairman, and finally he said, "All right, guys, how about a couple of hours in the pool?" "All right! The pool! The sauna! We deserve a break today."
There was this one problem. My best friend and me? We had come totally unprepared; we had no swimwear whatsoever. And we really didn't want to pass up the pool and the sun and all that good stuff. So I went down to the gift shop and I said, "Do you have any swim trucks here?" And the lady said, "Well, I have some paper trunks." She said, "Yeah, they're reinforced and they're paper trunks. It's only $2." Yeah. Well, it was my only choice, so I went for it. I mean, I guess I could spend $2 on it.
I want to tell you, it was an insecure afternoon sitting there in those paper trunks in the sauna. Now, I'm happy to report there was... well, no modesty crisis... no wardrobe malfunction, but I did not keep them to wear for other occasions. No, I used them, and believe me, I threw them away. Because I know there's a difference between what you wear for a little while and what you're going to be wearing for a long time. Paper trunks may be worth $2, probably not much more.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Paper Trunks and Permanent Wardrobe."
Now, there are a lot of things you can base your identity on, but most of those roles, I would call them "paper trunks" you wear a little while and then you throw them away. There is one identity that is your permanent wardrobe; only one identity that you will always be, that is if you've ever made a commitment of your life to Jesus Christ. Paul talks about it in Ephesians 1, where we find our word for today from the Word of God. I'll begin at verse 11.
Notice the two words that are repeated four times in this passage. "In Christ we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory and you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth - the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Christ with the seal - the promised Holy Spirit."
Okay, unless you dozed off, you probably know where your identity is supposed to be from those repeated two words, "In Christ." Yeah, that's your location. Where are you? You're in Christ. There are a lot of identities where you might say, "I'm in something or other." You're in high school, or "I'm in college." You could say, "Man, is there life after high school?" You're in college at one period in your life. I know guys who are in professional football and they'll say, "Is there life after football?" Is there life after whatever company or organization you work for, after retirement, after you lose your mate or your parents?
See, life is a series of new starts. What happens after the children are gone? Those new starts last from starting kindergarten, to college, to marriage, the empty nest, job changes, retirement, the funeral. And we wear those identities for a period of time. But if you're ever going to find personal security, you need a transcendent identity - someone you can be forever. And Paul gave it to us, "In Christ." You will always belong to Jesus Christ after high school, when college is a memory, when you're single, when you're married, when you're widowed, when you're raising kids, after the kids leave.
But here's the problem: We tend to pay a very high price for our temporary identities; our paper trunks. You'll never see most of your high school friends again, but we compromise. We hide our eternal relationship with Christ because we're scared of them. We play by whatever rules we have to play to be accepted in school, in the dorm, in our job, and we sacrifice our loyalty to Christ in the process.
Look, you'll belong to Christ forever. Why not really be what you'll always be? Don't waste a lot of your life on paper trunks. Put your best into the permanent wardrobe that you will never risk losing - who you will be for all eternity - "In Christ."
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.