Max Lucado Daily: Relief Is Coming - December 31, 2021
You know, despair can be a dangerous season. But it can also be a developing time. A time in which we learn to trust God, to lean into his Word, to rely on his ways. The choice is ours.
And to help us choose the wise path, God gave the story of Esther. For fear of the death of his people, Mordecai cries out to Esther to intervene. He said, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
Relief will come! This is God’s message for you. Feeling undone by the struggle? Then let God unleash the power within you to face it. Shift your focus away from the challenges. Ponder the power of your almighty God.
Numbers 5
The Purity of the Camp
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease[a] or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
Restitution for Wrongs
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way[b] and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty 7 and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer. 9 All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10 Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.’”
The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him 13 so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), 14 and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure— 15 then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah[c] of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder-offering to draw attention to wrongdoing.
16 “‘The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. 17 Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. 18 After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. 20 But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”— 21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[d] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. 22 May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”
“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”
23 “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. 25 The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial[e] offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse. 28 If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.
29 “‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and makes herself impure while married to her husband, 30 or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her. 31 The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 31, 2021
Today's Scripture
Philippians 3:15–21
(NIV)
Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are matures should take such a view of things.t And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.u 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example,v brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.w 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears,x many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.y 19 Their destinyz is destruction, their god is their stomach,a and their glory is in their shame.b Their mind is set on earthly things.c 20 But our citizenshipd is in heaven.e And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,f 21 who, by the powerg that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodiesh so that they will be like his glorious body.
Insight
Paul lived such an exemplary life that he asked the Philippian believers to imitate him—to use him as a model of living the life of a believer in Jesus (Philippians 3:17; see 1 Corinthians 4:16). They were to follow Paul’s mindset and actions. He dared to ask believers to follow his example because he himself had “[followed] the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul’s mindset and actions were that of Jesus’—self-denial, unquestioned obedience, and humble service (Philippians 2:5–11). They were to imitate Paul in his relentless pursuit of Christ and Christlikeness (3:7–14). In fact, the Philippian believers were encouraged not only to imitate Paul, but to imitate any believer whose life was undeniably modeled upon Christ’s (3:17). On the other hand, Paul warns of following the wrong models—those who profess faith but “live as enemies of the cross of Christ”; those who live a worldly and immoral life (vv. 18–19).
By: K. T. Sim
One Day Closer to Christmas
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20
“I can’t believe Christmas is over,” my dejected daughter said.
I know how she feels: The aftermath of Christmas can feel dreary. Presents have been opened. The tree and lights must come down. Listless January—and, for many, the need to shed holiday pounds—awaits. Christmas—and the breathless anticipation that comes with it—suddenly feels eons away.
A few years ago, as we were putting Christmas stuff away, I realized: no matter what the calendar says, we’re always one day closer to the next Christmas. It’s become something I say frequently.
But far more important than our temporal celebration of Christmas is the spiritual reality behind it: the salvation Jesus brought into our world and our hope for His return. Scripture talks repeatedly about watching, waiting, and longing for Christ’s second coming. I love what Paul says in Philippians 3:15–21. He contrasts the world’s way of living—with “mind[s] set on earthly things” (v. 19)—with a lifestyle shaped by hope in Jesus’ return: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 20).
The reality that our “citizenship is in heaven” changes everything, including what we hope for and how we live. That hope is fortified by the knowledge that with every passing day, we’re indeed one day closer to Jesus’ return. By: Adam Holz
Reflect & Pray
What are some of the things you hope for in this world? How do you think your hope in Jesus influences and affects the earthly things you long and hope for?
Father, thank You for the hope that I have in Jesus and in His return. When lesser hopes compete for my heart’s affection and attention, help me to lift my eyes to You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 31, 2021
Yesterday
You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
Bible in a Year: Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 31, 2021
Moving Toward That Door - #9125
I'd rather not have to use one of those carts to carry my groceries out to the parking lot. If you take it out there, you should be nice and return it to where it goes. Right? No, I'd rather use the mule approach, carrying every possible bag I can in my arms, my hands, hanging from my shoulders. So here I am, moving precariously toward the door of the store, with every appendage committed. Problem: how am I going to open that door that goes to the parking lot? If I start walking toward it, it remains closed, threatening my bodily welfare and my new treasures when I walk into the door. But if I just stand there, it won't open either. Well, thankfully, you know. Stores have automatic doors. The door remains closed, though, if I stand still, and it remains closed if I only walk part of the way toward it. But as I walk steadily toward it until I'm close to it - voila! - the door opens just before I need to go through it! What a world!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Moving Toward That Door."
Funniest thing - God opens doors the same way. To help us understand how His path opens up for us, He gave us that revealing story in our word for today from the Word of God. Joshua and the Israelites are camped on the east side of the Jordan River, looking across at Canaan, the rich land that God has promised to give them. But there's a major obstacle between them and what God wants to give them - the Jordan River at flood stage. There's no way they can get what God has for them without crossing that river, and apparently there's no way to do that.
Then, as recorded in Joshua 3, beginning with verse 8, God tells Joshua, "'Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'" Joshua then tells the people: "As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
The Bible goes on to show the amazing result of this step of total faith: "Now the Jordan is at flood stage during the harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing...so the people crossed over...the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on the dry ground in the middle of the Jordan." Wow!
There's an amazing scene here, but a dialog that has been, in essence, often repeated over the centuries as a child of God stands at their own Jordan River, facing a closed door or an impossible obstacle between them and what they knew God wanted them to do. And it might be one of those times in your life right now. Like the Jews of old, you're being told by God, "It's time to move out." He's leading you out of your comfort zone. He's leading you into something bigger, better, and yes, more challenging. You're standing at the river's edge, and you've gone as far as you can go safely; as far as you can go with what you can do.
If I were one of those priests with the ark, marching toward a river overflowing its banks, I think I'd say, "Lord, how about this? As soon as you part the water, I'll walk into it. How's that?" And He might be saying to you right now, "No, as soon as you walk into the water, I'll make a way."
Maybe you've been waiting for God to move before you do. But He's waiting for you to move in the direction He's leading, and then He'll part the waters, He'll open the door, He'll make a way for you. You move steadfastly in the direction of the impossible for one reason - God is going there and He's asking you to follow Him. And that's all you need to know.
That door isn't going to open until you start walking toward it. Don't just stand there any more. Get moving toward your miracle!