Max Lucado Daily: Provision of Grace - April 25, 2022
“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” When John Newton penned this promise, he did so out of personal experience. His greatest test came the day he buried his wife, Mary. He’d loved her and prayed his death would precede hers. But his prayer was not answered.
Yet, on the day Mary Newton died, John Newton found strength to preach a Sunday sermon. The next day he visited church members. Later he officiated at his wife’s funeral. He grieved, but in his grief he found God’s provision. He later wrote, “The Bank of England is too poor to compensate for such a loss as mine. But the Lord, the all-sufficient God speaks, and it is done. Let those who know Him, and trust Him, be of good courage.”
My friend, disease, calamity, and trouble populate your world. But they do not control it. Grace does.
Luke 11:1-28
10-13 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing—you’re at least decent to your own children. And don’t you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?”
No Neutral Ground
14-16 Jesus delivered a man from a demon that had kept him speechless. The demon gone, the man started talking a blue streak, taking the crowd by complete surprise. But some from the crowd were cynical. “Black magic,” they said. “Some devil trick he’s pulled from his sleeve.” Others were skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself with a spectacular miracle.
17-20 Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling family falls to pieces. If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out demons, but if you’re slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks out devils, doesn’t the same mud stick to your own exorcists? But if it’s God’s finger I’m pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God’s kingdom is here for sure.
21-22 “When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he’s beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.
23 “This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.
24-26 “When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.”
27 While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: “Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
28 Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 25, 2022
Today's Scripture
2 Samuel 22:13–20
But his cloud-brightness burst through,
a grand comet of fireworks.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout.
God shot his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurled his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean were exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lay uncovered
The moment God roared in protest,
let loose his hurricane anger.
17–20 But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
Insight
Second Samuel 22:13–20 is a small portion of a larger song, or psalm, of David (vv. 2–51) that corresponds to the fifty verses of Psalm 18. In both, the sense is basically the same; only the wording differs slightly.
In this song of thanksgiving, David begins with a lengthy introduction detailing his past distress (including threats to his life). The psalmist then calls on “the Lord” (2 Samuel 22:7). The Lord appears in a theophany (a visible manifestation of God) in verses 8–16. God’s sudden appearance and actions are described in terms of what might be an erupting volcano with lightning and thunder or a similar catastrophe that results in a violent earthquake. The Lord swoops in as a mighty warrior. And in verses 17–20, David describes his deliverance, concluding with the words: “He rescued me because he delighted in me” (v. 20). By: Alyson Kieda
Pulled to Safety
He reached down from on high and took hold of me.
2 Samuel 22:17
A little girl waded in a shallow creek while her father watched. Her rubber boots reached her knees. As she sloshed downstream, the water deepened until it flowed over the top of her waders. When she couldn’t take another step, she yelled, “Daddy, I’m stuck!” In three strides, her father was at her side, pulling her to the grassy bank. She yanked her boots off and laughed as water poured onto the ground.
After God rescued the psalmist David from his enemies, he took a moment to sit down, “pull off his boots,” and allow the relief to flood his soul. He wrote a song to express his feelings. “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies,” he said (2 Samuel 22:4). He praised God as his rock, fortress, shield, and stronghold (vv. 2–3), and then went on to narrate a poetic response of God’s response: The earth trembled. God came down from heaven. Lightning bolts flew from His presence. His voice thundered, and He drew him out of deep water (vv. 8, 10, 13–15, 17).
Maybe today you feel opposition around you. Maybe you’re stuck in sin that makes it hard to advance spiritually. Reflect on how God has helped you in the past, and then praise Him and ask Him to do it again! Thank Him especially for rescuing you by bringing you into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13). By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
Why is it easy to overlook the good things God’s done for you in the past when you’re in the midst of trouble? How does praising God increase your faith in Him?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for coming to my aid so many times. Help me to know I can face any battle with You by my side.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 25, 2022
“Ready in Season”
Be ready in season and out of season. —2 Timothy 4:2
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to “be ready” only “out of season.” The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” In other words, we should “be ready” whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21-22; Luke 18:24-43
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 25, 2022
The Hug That Gets You Through The Night - #9206
It was a tough stretch for our two-year-old grandson. Mommy was expecting his soon-to-arrive baby brother, and she was sick with a respiratory infection. Normally, Mommy and Daddy were both in the room where my grandson slept. But for comfort and health reasons, Mommy had to sleep in another room for a few nights. My grandson never said anything about his mother not being there during the night, but it obviously affected him. He slept in the big bed with Daddy, but he didn't sleep much. Neither did his father of course. Every few minutes, he'd snuggle up against Daddy and just say two words until his father responded, "Daddy, hold."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hug That Gets You Through The Night."
There's not one of us who doesn't need that kind of hug sometimes, like my grandson missing his Mommy. We go through seasons when our security is shaken, we feel alone, and confused, and maybe uncertain about the future. That's when our heart wants to say "Daddy, hold" and know there will always be someone there to do just that.
Actually, we were created to have that kind of intimate love relationship with God himself. His is the hug that gets you through the night. He's supposed to be our rock, our stability, our fixed point, our one like "unloseable." But sadly, in God's own words in the Bible, "each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). So our sins have, again in God's words, "separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Now, we may have strong beliefs, and we might be very religious. But we can still tell that the Heavenly Father we need to hold us is kind of far away beyond our reach.
But that's why Jesus came! That's why Good Friday. Something mind-blowing happened on that cross - something almost inconceivable, but the only thing that could give us a chance at belonging to the One who created us. It's described in our word for today from the Word of God in Mark 15:33-34.
Jesus is nailed to a Roman cross. And though it is very difficult to speak; water filling a crucified man's lungs, Jesus speaks several times before He dies. There are four accounts of Jesus' death; one in each of the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. But only one thing Jesus said on the cross is reported in more than one of those accounts, and this is it: "At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Well, the answer is basically this: because God loves you more than you could ever imagine.
To put it simply, for God to hold you, He had to let go of His Son. Why? Because His Son was carrying all the guilt and all the hell of all the sinning you've ever done. And a holy God turned His back on His one and only Son because His Son was carrying your sin. God turned His back on His Son so He would never have to turn His back on you!
And now, God's asking you to give yourself to the One who died so you don't have to. He's ready to hold you today and every day of your life, and then hold you forever. But first the sins of your life have to be erased. And that can only happen by you telling Jesus you are putting all your trust in Him to tear down the wall between you and God. And He will.
Today, in your heart, would you stand at the foot of that cross and look at Jesus dying for what you've done, and give yourself to the One who loves you most? Don't you want to begin your relationship with Him? Tell Him that right now, and go to our website ANewStory.com. It's all there to help you be sure you belong to Him.
See, God is the Daddy that we've always wanted to have hold us. And His is the hug that will get you through every night. He's reaching for you. Reach for Him.