Max Lucado Daily: You Can Trust Jesus - March 11, 2022
Denalyn and I have been married more than 35 years. We no longer converse; we communicate in code. She walks into the kitchen while I’m making a sandwich. “Denalyn?” I ask. “No, I don’t want one,” she says. I’ll open the refrigerator and stare for a few moments. “Denalyn?” She’ll answer, “Mayo on the top shelf. Pickles on the door.” She knows me better than anyone. She is the authority on Max.
How much more does Jesus know God! And when Jesus says, “You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31), you can trust him. He knows the value of every creature. When Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2), count on it. He knows. He has walked them. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish” (John 3:16). Trust Him.
Deuteronomy 20
When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; God, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He’ll say, “Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you’re going to do battle with your enemies. Don’t waver in resolve. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate. Don’t panic. God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.”
5-7 Then let the officers step up and speak to the troops: “Is there a man here who has built a new house but hasn’t yet dedicated it? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man dedicate it. And is there a man here who has planted a vineyard but hasn’t yet enjoyed the grapes? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man enjoy the grapes. Is there a man here engaged to marry who hasn’t yet taken his wife? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man take her.”
8 The officers will then continue, “And is there a man here who is wavering in resolve and afraid? Let him go home right now so that he doesn’t infect his fellows with his timidity and cowardly spirit.”
9 When the officers have finished speaking to the troops, let them appoint commanders of the troops who shall muster them by units.
10-15 When you come up against a city to attack it, call out, “Peace?” If they answer, “Yes, peace!” and open the city to you, then everyone found there will be conscripted as forced laborers and work for you. But if they don’t settle for peace and insist on war, then go ahead and attack. God, your God, will give them to you. Kill all the men with your swords. But don’t kill the women and children and animals. Everything inside the town you can take as plunder for you to use and eat—God, your God, gives it to you. This is the way you deal with the distant towns, the towns that don’t belong to the nations at hand.
16-18 But with the towns of the people that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, it’s different: don’t leave anyone alive. Consign them to holy destruction: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, obeying the command of God, your God. This is so there won’t be any of them left to teach you to practice the abominations that they engage in with their gods and you end up sinning against God, your God.
19-20 When you mount an attack on a town and the siege goes on a long time, don’t start cutting down the trees, swinging your axes against them. Those trees are your future food; don’t cut them down. Are trees soldiers who come against you with weapons? The exception can be those trees which don’t produce food; you can chop them down and use the timbers to build siege engines against the town that is resisting you until it falls.
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Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 11, 2022
Today's Scripture
Proverbs 3:5–8
(NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. 6Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. 7*Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. 8If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains.
Insight
The main purpose of the book of Proverbs is to impart wisdom for godly living. In these wise sayings, we see a variety of topics, including youth, discipline, family life, resisting temptation, and our speech. The key to wisdom in all areas is found in Proverbs 3:5: wholeheartedly trusting in God, the only true source of wisdom. As Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” We gain wisdom and by implication live wisely when we have a relationship with God. In 2:6 we read that “the Lord gives wisdom,” but we’re also to “search for it as for hidden treasure” (v. 4). In other words, God gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek it. Other helps on the road to wisdom include not being a “companion of fools” (13:20), seeking the counsel of godly advisers (15:22), and listening to advice and accepting discipline (19:20). By: Alyson Kieda
Tackling Indecision
In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6
We live in a world that offers a wide range of choices—from paper towels to life insurance. In 2004, psychologist Barry Schwartz wrote a book titled The Paradox of Choice in which he argued that while freedom of choice is important to our well-being, too many choices can lead to overload and indecision. While the stakes are certainly lower when deciding on which paper towel to buy, indecision can become debilitating when making major decisions that impact the course of our lives. So how can we overcome indecision and move forward confidently in living for Jesus?
As believers in Christ, seeking God’s wisdom helps us as we face difficult decisions. When we’re deciding on anything in life, large or small, the Scriptures instruct us to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). When we rely on our own judgment, we can become confused and worry about missing an important detail or making the wrong choice. When we look to God for the answers, however, He’ll “make [our] paths straight” (v. 6). He’ll give us clarity and peace as we make decisions in our day-to-day lives.
God doesn’t want us to be paralyzed or overwhelmed by the weight of our decisions. We can find peace in the wisdom and direction He provides when we bring our concerns to Him in prayer. By: Kimya Loder
Reflect & Pray
What major decisions have you been considering lately? How will you seek God’s wisdom in prayer, the Scriptures, and the godly counsel of other believers?
Heavenly Father, I know You hold the answers to all the choices I face. As I seek Your wisdom, please give me clarity and the strength to boldly move forward with You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 11, 2022
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 11, 2022
The Power of Broken - #9175
It's kind of hard to think of any good news when you just broke your hand, but there can be some. Yeah. My wife learned that when she was in an accident in our car with two of our children. They were rear-ended. Somebody slammed into the back of them, and the result for my wife was a broken hand and six weeks in a cast. Well, she was unable to use her working hand; her writing hand even for about a month and a half.
Now, when we learned that, we got the family together and had a little pep rally and it was led by cheerleader Dad. And I said, "Hey, you know what? We finally have an opportunity here to give back to Mom some of what she's been giving to us. We can really help her like we don't usually do." So, my wife had a very interesting experience. She found out that when something is broken, you could have resources to help that you don't normally have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Broken."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is in Psalm 51:16-17. Speaking of broken, David says to the Lord, "You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it." Wait a minute! That's the highest religious thing you could do if you were a Jew. But He goes on to say, "You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." So God's most prized gift from us is not some religious activity or office we hold or a big gift we give. He says "the greatest gift you can give Me is your brokenness."
Ironically, guess what we don't want to be? We don't want to be broken; we want to be together. But God blesses brokenness. He uses brokenness. And what's happening in your life right now just might be part of God's plan to melt you, to mold you, to soften you, and yes to break you. Not to destroy you; that's not His purpose.
My wife found that because she had a break, she found reserves from her family to help her because of what was broken. Now, when you reach the end of you and you're broken, God's power can finally go to work on your behalf as He's wanted to all along. You're out of the way, and you've never quite experienced His power like you do in those broken moments. You finally release God's omnipotence - His all powerfulness - because there's no you left to do it.
Only when you're broken are you going to repent fully and deal with those sinful strongholds. "God, I'm so desperate! I'll even let this go." You'll worship lavishly when you're broken. Like that lady who broke open her perfume and poured it out for the Lord. It's only when you're broken that you can be used mightily. Don't be afraid of this softening process that God's bringing you through right now. It's not because He doesn't love you; it's because He does. It's not because He's finished with you. It's because He's starting something brand new. The beginning of the answers you seek may be that very moment when you prostrate yourself before God and say, "God, I'm empty. I'm desperate. I have no answers. I have no strength. I have no resources."
That flips a power switch in heaven that can now do something supernatural for your life and through your life. That is the power of broken. And maybe God's allowed you to be broken so you could finally be healed; to finally see that you really do need Him, to be forgiven by Him, to have a personal relationship with Him, to actually take personally for yourself what Jesus did on the cross to tear down the wall between you and God. It takes being broken so often before we see that He was broken on a cross by His choice for you and me. At the Lord's Supper - the Eucharist - the communion, He said, "This is My body which was broken for you."
Today, maybe at the end of your brokenness, you'll finally find the Savior who could put your life together like it's never been before. This could be the beginning of that relationship. Go to our website ANewStory.com. All you need to know about how to be sure you belong to Him.
"All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful out of my life." He'll do that for you beginning today.
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.