Max Lucado Daily: God’s Chosen Children - April 28, 2022
There is something in you that God loves. Not just appreciates or approves, but loves. You cause God’s eyes to widen, his heart to beat faster. He loves you and accepts you. Don’t we yearn to know this? God, do you know who I am? In the great scheme of things, we ask, do I count for anything?
So many messages tell us we don’t. We get laid off at work, turned away by the school. Everything from acne to Alzheimer’s leaves us feeling like the girl with no date to the prom. We react, we validate our existence with a flurry of activity. We do more, buy more, achieve more. Always wrestling with the question, “Do I matter?”
All of grace, I believe, is God’s definitive reply: “Be blessed, my child. I accept you. I have adopted you into my family.” Adopted children are chosen children. Trust God’s love for you.
Joshua 21
Cities for the Levites
The ancestral heads of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the other tribes of the People of Israel. This took place at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They said, “God commanded through Moses that you give us cities to live in with access to pastures for our cattle.”
3 So the People of Israel, out of their own inheritance, gave the Levites, just as God commanded, the following cities and pastures:
4-5 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites this way: Levites descended from Aaron the priest received by lot thirteen cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the Kohathites received by lot ten cities from the families of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The Gershonites received by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The families of the Merarites received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 So the People of Israel gave these cities with their pastures to the Levites just as God had ordered through Moses, that is, by lot.
Cities for the Descendants of Aaron
9-10 They assigned from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin the following towns, here named individually (these were for the descendants of Aaron who were from the families of the Kohathite branch of Levi because the first lot fell to them):
11-12 Kiriath Arba (Arba was the ancestor of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hills of Judah, with access to the pastures around it. The fields of the city and its open lands they had already given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13-16 To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (the asylum-city for the unconvicted killers), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, all with their accompanying pastures—nine towns from these two tribes.
17-18 And from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, together with their pastures—four towns.
19 The total for the cities and pastures for the priests descended from Aaron came to thirteen.
20-22 The rest of the Kohathite families from the tribe of Levi were assigned their cities by lot from the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (the asylum-city for the unconvicted killer) in the hills of Ephraim, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, with their pastures—four towns.
23-24 From the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, all with their pastures—four towns.
25 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon with their pastures—two towns.
26 All told, ten cities with their pastures went to the remaining Kohathite families.
27 The Gershonite families of the tribe of Levi were given from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), and Be Eshtarah, with their pastures—two cities.
28-29 And from the tribe of Issachar: Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En Gannim, with their pastures—four towns.
30-31 From the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, with their pastures—four towns.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, with their pastures—three towns.
33 For the Gershonites and their families: thirteen towns with their pastures.
34-35 The Merari families, the remaining Levites, were given from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their pastures—four cities.
36-37 From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, with their pastures—four towns.
38-39 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, with their pastures—a total of four towns.
40 All these towns were assigned by lot to the Merarites, the remaining Levites—twelve towns.
41-42 The Levites held forty-eight towns with their accompanying pastures within the territory of the People of Israel. Each of these towns had pastures surrounding it—this was the case for all these towns.
* * *
43-44 And so God gave Israel the entire land that he had solemnly vowed to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and made themselves at home in it. And God gave them rest on all sides, as he had also solemnly vowed to their ancestors. Not a single one of their enemies was able to stand up to them—God handed over all their enemies to them.
45 Not one word failed from all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right.
* * *
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Today's Scripture
James 1:2–4
Faith Under Pressure
2–4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
Insight
The letter of James emphasizes the calling of believers in Jesus to grow in wisdom, uniting Jesus’ teachings and other wisdom teachings in Scripture to paint a picture of living wisely and faithfully. The Greek word teleios, translated “mature” in verse 4, is a key word in the book of James (also vv. 17, 25; 3:2). It’s a word that in the original language emphasizes wholeness and integrity. To be “mature” is to live a life in which our daily actions flow harmoniously from our beliefs. Conversely, to live foolishly, in ways that are inconsistent with what we say we believe, is to live a fractured and divided life. Throughout his letter, James draws attention to any behavior that stands in stark contrast to what true faith in Christ demands, urging believers to reject any such inconsistencies for the wholeness found in Jesus. By: Monica La Rose
Growing in Faith
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James? ?1:4
At the beginning of my gardening journey, I’d wake up early and run to my vegetable garden to see if anything had sprouted. Nothing. After an internet search for “fast garden growth,” I learned that the seedling stage is the most important phase of a plant’s lifespan. Knowing now that this process couldn’t be rushed, I came to appreciate the strength of small sprouts fighting their way through the soil toward the sun and their resilience to temperamental weather. After waiting patiently for a few weeks, I was finally greeted by bursts of green sprouts creeping through the soil.
Sometimes it’s easy to praise the victories and triumphs in our lives without similarly acknowledging that growth in our character often comes through time and struggle. James instructs us to “consider it pure joy” when we “face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). But what could possibly be delightful about trials?
God will sometimes allow us to go through challenges and hardships so that we can be molded into who He’s called us to be. He waits in anticipation for us to come out of the trials of life “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4). By staying grounded in Jesus, we can persevere through any challenge, growing stronger and ultimately allowing the fruit of the Spirit to blossom in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23). His wisdom gives us the nourishment we need to truly flourish each and every day (John 15:5). By: Kimya Loder
Reflect & Pray
What trials have you been working through recently? What lessons are these circumstances revealing to you?
Dear heavenly Father, sometimes the trials I face seem unbearable. Please give me the strength to persevere, and help me as I grow in faith and develop into the fruit-bearing believer that You’ve called me to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 28, 2022
What You Will Get
I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go. —Jeremiah 45:5
This is the firm and immovable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him– “I will give your life to you….” What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. “…your life…as a prize…” means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life and nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in exhibiting things for others to see, not showing off property and possessions, but our blessings. All these things that we so proudly show have to go. But there is something greater that can never go– the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
Are you prepared to let God take you into total oneness with Himself, paying no more attention to what you call the great things of life? Are you prepared to surrender totally and let go? The true test of abandonment or surrender is in refusing to say, “Well, what about this?” Beware of your own ideas and speculations. The moment you allow yourself to think, “What about this?” you show that you have not surrendered and that you do not really trust God. But once you do surrender, you will no longer think about what God is going to do. Abandonment means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you totally abandon yourself to God, He immediately says to you, “I will give your life to you as a prize….” The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything— they have not been given their life “as a prize.” The way to get out of that condition is to abandon yourself to God. And once you do get to the point of total surrender to Him, you will be the most surprised and delighted person on earth. God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, and He will have given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience in your life or your refusal to be simple enough.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 3-5; Luke 20:1-26
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 28, 2022
When You Don't Have Enough to Finish - #9209
A lot of my writing, including for these visits we have together, takes place while I'm on the road. There was a time my wife did a chunk of driving to some ministry events, and she did that often. So me and my little friend laptop could do some work. Now, I had about 12 hours of writing work to do and my computer battery lasted for maybe two or three hours. No problemo! Power strip that I can plug into the cigarette lighter, and when I plug Laptop into that, he's running on the power in the car, not just the power in himself. Which means there's basically no limit to what we can do together!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Don't Have Enough to Finish."
My problem with my laptop computer is that, well in itself, it has limited power which means limited accomplishment. But when it's plugged into a regular power source, it has basically unlimited power, which means unlimited possibilities.
Now, if you've been living for Jesus Christ very long, that power equation probably sounds familiar to you. Or it should. Your resources run out. That doesn't mean you're done - not if you plug into His. His resources never run out.
I've been running a lot on this tremendous promise in Hebrews 13:20-21. It happens to be our word for today from the Word of God. It says, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep" - now this is where you want to plug in your fading battery - "equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."
Well, there it is. The God of peace will equip you with everything good for doing His will. There's nothing you need to carry out and complete what He wants you to do that He is not going to provide. When you're out of strength, He's not. When you can't take another step, His strength carries you, so then you can keep going when you don't have anything else to go with!
When you need wisdom to carry out what He's given you to do, He's promised to give it to you liberally upon request (James 1:5). So many times - actually, many times a day - I have no idea what to say, how to respond, how to proceed. That's time to abandon the finite battery of what I know and plug it into the infinite power of what God knows. When you're out of creativity, you're out of ideas, again, plug into His. People often ask me, "Where do you get all those ideas for 'A Word with You'?" Literally, I do get the ideas from God. I mean, you'll never know the times I sit down to work on a program and I say, "That's it! I'm out of ideas." And I am, but God isn't. He continually amazes me with what He comes up with. When you're out of love, when you're out of answers, when you're out of patience, He's not, so you don't have to be.
So, weary mom or dad, depleted servant of the Lord, beat-up warrior, know that you can go on, you can win this because of the infinite resources of the God you belong to. Depend on your finite power - finite accomplishment. But plug into the infinite resources - unlimited possibilities. He's committed to give you everything you need to do and to finish what He's given you to do.
Like the hymn writer says, "When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed e'er the day is half done; when we've reached the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again."
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.