Max Lucado Daily: The Wicked Will Not Win - November 16, 2021
Haman is the villain in the book of Esther. He lived inside a one-person world. Everyone else existed to bow down to him. Yet, his reign of terror came to an end in the dining hall of Xerxes.
The king asked Queen Esther what she desired. He’d asked this question before, and Esther had deferred. But now Esther said, “…grant me my life…And spare my people. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated” (Esther 7:3-4). The king asked who had done such a thing. Esther replied, “Our enemy and foe is this wicked Haman” (Esther 7:6)! The guards hooded Haman’s head and took him into custody.
Our God is a just God. Nothing escapes him. No one escapes him. The wicked will not win.
Leviticus 1
Whole-Burnt-Offering
God called Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When anyone presents an offering to God, present an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3-9 “If the offering is a Whole-Burnt-Offering from the herd, present a male without a defect at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting that it may be accepted by God. Lay your hand on the head of the Whole-Burnt-Offering so that it may be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. Slaughter the bull in God’s presence. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will make an offering of the blood by splashing it against all sides of the Altar that stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Next, skin the Whole-Burnt-Offering and cut it up. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will prepare a fire on the Altar, carefully laying out the wood, and then arrange the body parts, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for the fire on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will burn it all on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
10-13 “If the Whole-Burnt-Offering comes from the flock, whether sheep or goat, present a male without defect. Slaughter it on the north side of the Altar in God’s presence. The sons of Aaron, the priests, will throw the blood against all sides of the Altar. Cut it up and the priest will arrange the pieces, including the head and the suet, on the wood prepared for burning on the Altar. Scrub the entrails and legs clean. The priest will offer it all, burning it on the Altar: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
14-17 “If a bird is presented to God for the Whole-Burnt-Offering it can be either a dove or a pigeon. The priest will bring it to the Altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the Altar. But he will first drain the blood on the side of the Altar, remove the gizzard and its contents, and throw them on the east side of the Altar where the ashes are piled. Then rip it open by its wings but leave it in one piece and burn it on the Altar on the wood prepared for the fire: a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Today's Scripture
Luke 5:1–11
(NIV)
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,a the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.v 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.w
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”x
5 Simon answered, “Master,y we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.z But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.a 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”b 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid;c from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him
Insight
Luke 5:1–11 contains the first of two similar fishing stories that frame Jesus’ earthly interaction with Simon Peter. In this account, Peter immediately recognized he’d encountered someone holy (v. 8). It’s also the moment Jesus called Peter as a disciple (v. 10). Three years later, Peter betrayed Christ (22:54–62). Believing everything was over, he returned to his old life as a fisherman. Then a second miraculous catch of fish took place. Again, Peter realized it was Jesus (John 21:1–7). The first miracle was God’s call on Peter’s life; the second brought restoration and a reaffirmation of that call (vv. 15–19). By: Tim Gustafson
Our True Identity
Jesus said . . . , “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
Luke 5:10
First, the man selected a tackle box. Standing in his town’s small bait shop, he then filled a shopping cart with hooks, lures, bobbers, line, and weights. Finally, he added live bait and selected a new rod and reel. “Ever fished before?” the shop owner asked. The man said no. “Better add this,” said the owner. It was a first-aid kit. The man agreed and paid, then headed off to a day of not catching a thing—except snags on his fingers from his hooks and gear.
That wasn’t Simon Peter’s problem. An experienced fisherman, he was surprised one dawn when Jesus told him to push his boat into deep water and “let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). Despite a long night of catching nothing, Simon and his crew let down their nets and “caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.” In fact, his two boats started to sink from the haul (v. 6).
Seeing this, Simon Peter “fell at Jesus’ knees,” urging Him to “go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (v. 8). Jesus, however, knew Simon’s true identity. He told His disciple, “From now on you will fish for people.” Hearing that, Simon “left everything and followed” Christ (vv. 10–11). When we follow Him, He helps us learn who we are and what we’re called to do as His own. By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
Outside of Jesus, what’s your identity or role in life? When you follow Him, how does your identity change?
Father, when I struggle to know my true identity, remind me to follow You to discover in You my true self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Still Human!
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.
Not Knowing Whither
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Nuisance Or Need? - #9092
Life has a lot of disrupting sounds, huh? And you can learn to tune a lot of them out: sirens screaming, telephones ringing, TVs blaring, trains rumbling. But there's one sound almost impossible to ignore - a baby's crying. If there's a baby in your house and he starts crying, what should you do? Just yell, "Nuisance!" and shut the door? Turn up the music? Yell back? Not unless you're a hopeless rookie at handling babies. No, you know the crying isn't the problem. It's what's causing the crying. Pointing at the baby and saying, "Stop that!" probably isn't going to make a lot of difference. See, the crying isn't going to stop until their little tummy is filled ... or until he gets the relief that only a good burp can give ... or until you get the baby out of that mess. Yep, the crying is a nuisance, but the need behind the crying - that's the real issue.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nuisance Or Need?"
Our Word for today comes from the Word of God from Luke 18:35. "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting at the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' He called out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!'"
"Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 'Lord, I want to see,' he replied." The Bible goes on to tell us that he received his sight and he followed Jesus. And all the people who had been trying to get this nuisance to shut up, started praising God for what He had done.
When the people of Jericho saw this blind man, they saw a nuisance, and they told him, "Stop crying, man!" You and I are surrounded by people who are crying, not with the howls of a baby, but they cry with their actions, with their attitude. Frankly, some of the people in our world, even in our family, seem like a nuisance sometimes, don't they?
But where others see a nuisance, Jesus sees a need! He goes to the need behind the blind man's crying. Now, in your life there are obnoxious people, right? There are mean people, folks who demand a lot of your time and attention; complainers; problem people. Honestly, there are people, who for one reason or another, well, you'd just like to close the door on like almost everyone else has.
And you will unless you see them through the eyes of Jesus. Then you'll see the need behind the deeds, like a mother who looks past a baby's crying to find out where it hurts. Usually, a person is a nuisance because he or she has needs no one has ever stopped to meet. Would you do what Jesus did for this annoying blind man? Would you stop for that person?
They may need someone who takes time to listen to them, someone who makes them feel safe, who praises the good in them, someone to notice them and treat them like they matter. They're crying out for someone who will reach inside and find out what's making them bleed, who will include them. That crying person is a hurting person - a wounded person, but you can be part of God's healing in that person's life.
God's put us here to do what Jesus would do if He were in that situation. He's assigned you to a place where there are some hurting people, people who are crying because they need someone to get at the need that's been making them cry maybe for a long time. Would you be their Jesus-person? When others see a nuisance, you look for the need and you stop to heal them like your Jesus.