Max Lucado Daily: Give Him What You Have - February 25, 2022
I remember the day that email entered the world. My computer illiteracy was so severe. I guess you could say I was overwhelmed. You know the paralyzing, deer-in-the-headlights fear that surfaces when the information is too much to learn, the change is too great to make, the grief is too deep to survive, or the crowd is too numerous to feed.
John 6:11 says, “Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” Before you count your money, bread, or fish, and before you count yourself out, turn and look at the one standing next to you. Count first on Christ. He can help you do the impossible. You simply need to give him what you have and watch him work.
Deuteronomy 10
God responded. He said, “Shape two slabs of stone similar to the first ones. Climb the mountain and meet me. Also make yourself a wooden chest. I will engrave the stone slabs with the words that were on the first ones, the ones you smashed. Then you will put them in the Chest.”
3-5 So I made a chest out of acacia wood, shaped two slabs of stone, just like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two slabs in my arms. He engraved the stone slabs the same as he had the first ones, the Ten Words that he addressed to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. Then God gave them to me. I turned around and came down the mountain. I put the stone slabs in the Chest that I made and they’ve been there ever since, just as God commanded me.
* * *
6-7 The People of Israel went from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried. His son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. From there they went to Gudgodah, and then to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.
8-9 That’s when God set apart the tribe of Levi to carry God’s Covenant Chest, to be on duty in the Presence of God, to serve him, and to bless in his name, as they continue to do today. And that’s why Levites don’t have a piece of inherited land as their kinsmen do. God is their inheritance, as God, your God, promised them.
10 I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights, just as I did the first time. And God listened to me, just as he did the first time: God decided not to destroy you.
11 God told me, “Now get going. Lead your people as they resume the journey to take possession of the land that I promised their ancestors that I’d give to them.”
12-13 So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.
14-18 Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.
19-21
You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—
remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.
Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,
back up your promises with the authority of his name.
He’s your praise! He’s your God!
He did all these tremendous, these staggering things
that you saw with your own eyes.
22 When your ancestors entered Egypt, they numbered a mere seventy souls. And now look at you—you look more like the stars in the night skies in number. And your God did it.
* * *
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 25, 2022
Today's Scripture
Proverbs 5:1–14
(NIV)
The Peril of Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
1Lend your ear to my understanding,
2 That you may 2preserve discretion,
And your lips amay keep knowledge.
3 bFor the lips of 3an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is csmoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death,
dHer steps lay hold of 4hell.
6 Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.
7 Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your 5honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your 6wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
Insight
The wisdom spoken of in the book of Proverbs is multi-faceted, so much so that in Proverbs 1:2–7 (which introduces the book) seven terms are used to reflect its breadth and brilliance: insight (v. 2)—the ability to see between issues; prudent behavior (v. 3)—wise dealing; prudence (v. 4)—good judgment or good sense; knowledge (vv. 4, 7); discretion (v. 4)—the ability to plan ahead and plot a course of action with foresight; learning and guidance (v. 5).
Another way of viewing these wisdom qualities is to see them as wisdom’s companions, similar to attendants at a wedding ceremony. Where wisdom goes, they go, for they are ever-connected to her. See Proverbs 8:12–14 for wisdom’s own testimony about some of her companions. By: Arthur Jackson
Avoid the Door
Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house.
Proverbs 5:8
The dormouse’s nose twitched. Something tasty was nearby. Sure enough, the scent led to a birdfeeder full of delicious seed. The dormouse climbed down the chain to the feeder, slipped through the door, and ate and ate all night. Only in the morning did he realize the trouble he was in. Birds now pecked at him through the feeder’s door, but having gorged on the seed, he was now twice his size and unable to escape.
Doors can lead us to wonderful places—or dangerous ones. A door features prominently in Solomon’s advice in Proverbs 5 on avoiding sexual temptation. While sexual sin may be enticing, he says, trouble awaits if it’s pursued (5:3–6). Best to stay far from it, for if you walk through that door you’ll be trapped, your honor lost, your wealth pecked away by strangers (vv. 7–11). Solomon counsels us to enjoy the intimacy of our own spouse instead (vv. 15–20). His advice can apply to sin more broadly too (vv. 21–23). Whether it’s the temptation to overeat, overspend, or something else, God can help us to avoid the door that leads to entrapment.
The dormouse must’ve been happy when the homeowner found him in her garden birdfeeder and freed him. Thankfully, God’s hand is also ready to free us when we’re trapped. But let’s call on His strength to avoid the door of entrapment in the first place. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What “door” leads to your greatest temptation? How will you avoid that door today?
Almighty God, help me avoid the door that leads to entrapment.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 25, 2022
The Destitution of Service
…though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. —2 Corinthians 12:15
Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
Bible in a Year: Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 25, 2022
Too Busy To Notice - #9165
One of the highlights of my life was the opportunity to visit Israel. I actually tacked it on to a return trip from South Africa. I hired a private guide, and I went by myself to some sites where I could, well you know, like that old song says, "walk where Jesus walked." Now, I have to tell you, no site meant more to me than the place where many believers believe Jesus was crucified - "Skull Hill" it's called in the Bible. This particular hill lives up to that name with rock formations on the side of it that look very much like the features of a human skull. As I stood atop that hill, I imagined that awful scene that Good Friday. Suddenly I was distracted by the noise below me at the foot of the hill. It turns out that the municipal bus depot is down there. And there, in the shadow of this holy ground, are these plumes of bus exhaust, the chaos of passengers hurrying to make their connections, the total busyness of a city coming and going. It's like people are totally oblivious to what Jesus did for them on Skull Hill.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Busy To Notice."
Actually, you know what? It was like that when Jesus died on the cross. Skull Hill was on a road that was busy back then, and people probably passed by oblivious to the fact that the only Son of God was pouring out His life so they wouldn't have to die for their sins. But, then, nothing has really changed.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Lamentations 1:12 and it asks a haunting question, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?" I was walking by a church on North LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago and suddenly I noticed a sculpture just above my head; it portrayed Jesus hanging on the cross. And as I watched the cars zooming by and the pedestrians hurrying past, I was moved by the inscription above Jesus' head, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
The truth is that many of us are moving at such a fast pace we become oblivious to what the Son of God did for us on the cross. Even those of us who at one time came to that cross with all our sin and all our guilt to make Christ our Savior from all that junk. Someone listening today, you've become too preoccupied to tell about what Jesus did when He died for us. Your life has become so taken over with the demands of your family, and your work, and your church responsibilities, that telling people that Jesus died for them has been crowded right out of your life. You've forgotten the cross and the life-or-death urgency of telling the people around you about it.
Or maybe you've become too preoccupied with your rat race to live in light of Jesus' cross. 1 Peter 2:24 says "(Christ) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we might die to sins." But you're living as if you've forgotten that. You're tolerating some of the very sins your Savior died to remove. It's time for you to remember His cross and why He died for you.
And most dangerous of all, maybe you've been so preoccupied you have never responded to what Jesus did on the cross for you. The Bible asks, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). You could miss heaven, not because you rejected Jesus, but because you neglected Jesus. You just never got around to making your spiritual trip to Skull Hill to have the sins of a lifetime finally forgiven by the Man who died for them - sins erased once and for all. Sins that will keep you out of heaven unless they're forgiven by the only One who can.
If you've never actually begun a personal relationship with Jesus, and you want that to change today, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, I'm yours." And then go check out our website, because there you'll find a very simple non-religious explanation of how to begin your relationship with Him. That website is ANewStory.com.
It's all too easy to run right past Jesus and right past His sacrifice for you, but that can cost you everything.
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.