Max Lucado Daily: Providential Hope - January 20, 2022
Abused and rejected by his brothers, Joseph, the son of Jacob, suffered servitude and prison. Why did God allow Joseph’s suffering? Why does God permit challenges to come our way? Wouldn’t an almighty God prevent them?
Not if they serve his higher purpose. When Pharaoh was troubled by his dreams, the butler mentioned Joseph to Pharaoh. And as fast as you can say providence, Joseph went from prison to palace to prime minister. He saved not just the Egyptians but also the family of Jacob.
Years later Joseph would tell his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish…the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). What was intended as harm became good. Why? Because Joseph viewed the sufferings of his life through the lens of divine providence. Can I urge you to do the same?
Mark 15:1-25
At dawn’s first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate.
2-3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
He answered, “If you say so.” The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations.
4-5 Pilate asked again, “Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.” Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.
6-10 It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for. There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome. As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner, Pilate anticipated them: “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him.
11-12 But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas. Pilate came back, “So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?”
13 They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”
14 Pilate objected, “But for what crime?”
But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”
15 Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.
16-20 The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
The Crucifixion
21 There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus’ cross.
22-24 The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning “Skull Hill.” They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn’t take it. And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them.
25-30 They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning. The charge against him—the king of the jews—was scrawled across a sign. Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Today's Scripture
Proverbs 1:1–7
(NIV)
Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbsa of Solomonb son of David, king of Israel:c
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,a d
knowledge and discretione to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,f
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,g
the sayings and riddlesh of the wise.b i
7 The fear of the Lordj is the beginning of knowledge,
but foolsc despise wisdomk and instruction.
Insight
A prominent characteristic of Hebrew poetry is parallelism. A second line either mirrors the first or contrasts it. In the case of Proverbs 1:5, the second line mirrors and develops the idea introduced in the first, which is called “synthetic” parallelism.
The first line of the couplet, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning,” says wisdom isn’t a once-and-done endeavor. The wise can always learn more. But the second line develops the idea further: “and let the discerning get guidance.” The word for “guidance” comes from the nautical world where shipmen would pull on ropes to steer a boat. In context, “guidance” has the sense of practical steering through life. The parallelism in the proverb highlights that continual learning is important, but also that it should lead to steering a better course through the waters of our lives.
Love of Learning
Let the wise listen and add to their learning.
Proverbs 1:5
When asked how he became a journalist, a man shared the story of his mother’s dedication to his pursuit of education. While traveling on the subway each day, she collected newspapers left behind on seats and gave them to him. While he especially enjoyed reading about sports, the papers also introduced him to knowledge about the world, which ultimately opened his mind to a vast range of interests.
Children are wired with natural curiosity and a love for learning, so introducing them to the Scriptures at an early age is of great value. They become intrigued by God’s extraordinary promises and exciting stories of biblical heroes. As their knowledge deepens, they can begin to comprehend the consequences of sin, their need of repentance, and the joy found in trusting God. The first chapter of Proverbs, for instance, is a great introduction to the benefits of wisdom (Proverbs 1:1–7). Nuggets of wisdom found here shine a light of understanding on real-life situations.
Developing a love of learning—especially about spiritual truths—helps us to grow stronger in our faith. And those who have walked in faith for decades can continue to pursue knowledge of God throughout their life. Proverbs 1:5 advises, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.” God will never stop teaching us if we’re willing to open our heart and mind to His guidance and instruction. By: Cindy Hess Kasper
Reflect & Pray
What fresh truth of Scripture have you added to your knowledge recently? How can you continually pursue a deeper understanding of God’s truth?
Father, please continue to open my mind and heart to grow in knowledge and wisdom as I read from the Scriptures.
Grow deeper in your understanding of faith, visit https://odbu.org/courses/st101/?utm_source=JANUARY+20+ODB+&utm_medium=EMAIL+AND+APP&utm_campaign=ST101+Theology+Basics.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Bible in a Year: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Designer Genes and Chromosomes - #9139
Years ago there was a Newsweek cover story that really caught my attention. It was about twins and my wife and I had several friends at that time that had twins. Occasionally we had expressed horror at the thought of having had any two of our kids at the same time! Fortunately, God knows who can handle these incredible assignments, and who can't, so he wisely sent our three children two years apart.
But that Newsweek article was intriguing, and it explained the great amounts of research being done regarding twins. And the article stated that the studies not only revealed a lot about twins, but about all of us. For example, there are the studies that have been done on twins that have been separated at birth, and then raised totally apart and then reunited as adults. It's amazing how alike they are in their temperament, the choices they've made, their likes or dislikes.
So, they're giving scientists new evidence in the debate over how much we're a product of our environment and how much we're a product of our genetic programming. These twins are telling us that there's a lot about us, more than we think, that we're born with. You know what? That should come as no surprise.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Designer Genes and Chromosomes."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God, Ephesians 2:10. I love this great verse, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God (get this now) prepared in advance for us to do." In other words, God has set you up uniquely for specific assignments that you are put on earth to do on a daily basis.
Now, the twins' research tells us that each person seems to be uniquely wired. Well, the Bible tells us that. You go to what David said in Psalm 139. In that great prayer he says, "God, You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Then he says, "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."
See, from conception, God's designed you to carry out a unique plan. You're just the right height to do what He's prepared for you to do. You've got just the right hair. You've got just the right voice. You have just the right basic temperament. You've got the right skills and talents. He's even given you certain limitations to help you be sensitive and dependant, and compassionate, and He put you in the right family too.
It's true a sinful environment has corrupted the purity of God's programming, but the basic you is a God's one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Oh, you may be missing the point of how right you are, because you've done too much comparing with other people or with the things that society says are important. How can you be compared? You're uniquely wired for unique assignments. You're a category all by yourself. There's no one we can compare you to. You're the only one like you.
When are you going to start celebrating what you are instead of focusing on what you aren't? You were made right! You're wired for daily contributions only you can make. And ultimately we can only discover the answer to the question, "Why am I here?" by belonging to the God who put us here; who designed us. That's why the Bible says, "All things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). We were supposed to revolve our life around our Creator, and in so doing find our destiny, our identity, our reason to be.
Unfortunately, we found another reason to be; living for ourselves, which the Bible calls sin...middle letter "I." It's a terrible thing to be away from God, because it means a life without meaning, It means an eternity without hope. That's why Jesus came. He came to bring us together and to unite us with the God who has the plan.
Maybe it's time for you to say, "I'm not wasting another day with a "me run" life. Jesus, I'm turning it over to you. I'm yours. You died for me, I'm yours." Listen, our website is there to help you get started in this relationship. I hope you go there today. It's ANewStory.com.
You can belong to the Designing Genius who made you. You're a product of His never wrong, always right designing genius.
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.