Max Lucado Daily: YOUR SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE - August 16, 2022
Let’s talk about our inheritance. As a child of God, you have one, you know. You aren’t merely a slave, servant, or saint of God. No, you have legal right to the family business and fortune of heaven. The will has been executed, the courts have been satisfied, your spiritual account has been funded. He “has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).
Need more patience? It’s yours. Need more joy? Request it. Running low on wisdom? God has plenty. And you will never exhaust his resources. At no time does he wave away your prayer with “Oh, I’m tired; I’m weary; I’m depleted.”
God is wealthy in love, in hope, and overflowing in wisdom. “No one has ever seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!
Let’s talk about our inheritance. As a child of God, you have one, you know. You aren’t merely a slave, servant, or saint of God. No, you have legal right to the family business and fortune of heaven. The will has been executed, the courts have been satisfied, your spiritual account has been funded. He “has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).
Need more patience? It’s yours. Need more joy? Request it. Running low on wisdom? God has plenty. And you will never exhaust his resources. At no time does he wave away your prayer with “Oh, I’m tired; I’m weary; I’m depleted.”
God is wealthy in love, in hope, and overflowing in wisdom. “No one has ever seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!
2 Samuel 10
Sometime after this, the king of the Ammonites died and Hanun, his son, succeeded him as king. David said, “I’d like to show some kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash—treat him as well and as kindly as his father treated me.” So David sent Hanun condolences regarding his father.
2-3 But when David’s servants got to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite leaders warned Hanun, their head delegate, “Do you for a minute suppose that David is honoring your father by sending you comforters? Don’t you think it’s because he wants to snoop around the city and size it up that David has sent his emissaries to you?”
4 So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half their beards, cut off their robes halfway up their buttocks, and sent them packing.
5 When all this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, for they were seriously humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow out. Only then come back.”
6 When it dawned on the Ammonites that as far as David was concerned they stunk to high heaven, they hired Aramean soldiers from Beth-Rehob and Zobah—twenty thousand infantry—and a thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 When David heard of this, he dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force.
8-12 The Ammonites marched out and arranged themselves in battle formation at the city gate. The Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah took up a position out in the open fields. When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans. The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to confront the Ammonites. Then he said, “If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me. And if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I’ll come and help you. Courage! We’ll fight tooth and nail for our people and for the cities of our God. And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!”
13-14 But when Joab and his soldiers moved in to fight the Arameans, they ran off in full retreat. Then the Ammonites, seeing the Arameans run for dear life, took to their heels from Abishai and went into the city.
So Joab left off fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
15-17 When the Arameans saw how badly they’d been beaten by Israel, they picked up the pieces and regrouped. Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who were across the River. They came to Helam. Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, led them. All this was reported to David.
17-19 So David mustered Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans went into battle formation, ready for David, and the fight was on. But the Arameans again scattered before Israel. David killed seven hundred chariot drivers and forty thousand cavalry. And he mortally wounded Shobach, the army commander, who died on the battlefield. When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace and became Israel’s vassals. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again.
Sometime after this, the king of the Ammonites died and Hanun, his son, succeeded him as king. David said, “I’d like to show some kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash—treat him as well and as kindly as his father treated me.” So David sent Hanun condolences regarding his father.
2-3 But when David’s servants got to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite leaders warned Hanun, their head delegate, “Do you for a minute suppose that David is honoring your father by sending you comforters? Don’t you think it’s because he wants to snoop around the city and size it up that David has sent his emissaries to you?”
4 So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half their beards, cut off their robes halfway up their buttocks, and sent them packing.
5 When all this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, for they were seriously humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow out. Only then come back.”
6 When it dawned on the Ammonites that as far as David was concerned they stunk to high heaven, they hired Aramean soldiers from Beth-Rehob and Zobah—twenty thousand infantry—and a thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 When David heard of this, he dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force.
8-12 The Ammonites marched out and arranged themselves in battle formation at the city gate. The Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah took up a position out in the open fields. When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans. The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to confront the Ammonites. Then he said, “If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me. And if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I’ll come and help you. Courage! We’ll fight tooth and nail for our people and for the cities of our God. And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!”
13-14 But when Joab and his soldiers moved in to fight the Arameans, they ran off in full retreat. Then the Ammonites, seeing the Arameans run for dear life, took to their heels from Abishai and went into the city.
So Joab left off fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
15-17 When the Arameans saw how badly they’d been beaten by Israel, they picked up the pieces and regrouped. Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who were across the River. They came to Helam. Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, led them. All this was reported to David.
17-19 So David mustered Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans went into battle formation, ready for David, and the fight was on. But the Arameans again scattered before Israel. David killed seven hundred chariot drivers and forty thousand cavalry. And he mortally wounded Shobach, the army commander, who died on the battlefield. When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace and became Israel’s vassals. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Today's Scripture
Psalm 51:10–17
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
16–17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Insight
The superscription to Psalm 51 reads: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” The backstory to this psalm can be found in 2 Samuel 11–12, where we read that David refused to confess his double sin of murdering Uriah and committing adultery with Bathsheba for almost a year. God then sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. After repenting from his sins, many scholars believe David penned Psalms 32 and 51. (Some scholars add Psalm 86 as well.) Psalm 51 is one of the seven “penitential psalms” (also Psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130, 143), so called because the writer, in repentant sorrow, confessed his sins and turned to God for His mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 51 has become a model prayer for believers in Jesus today as we seek God to forgive our sins.
By: K. T. Sim
Crushed and Beautiful
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Today's Scripture
Psalm 51:10–17
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
16–17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Insight
The superscription to Psalm 51 reads: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” The backstory to this psalm can be found in 2 Samuel 11–12, where we read that David refused to confess his double sin of murdering Uriah and committing adultery with Bathsheba for almost a year. God then sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. After repenting from his sins, many scholars believe David penned Psalms 32 and 51. (Some scholars add Psalm 86 as well.) Psalm 51 is one of the seven “penitential psalms” (also Psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130, 143), so called because the writer, in repentant sorrow, confessed his sins and turned to God for His mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 51 has become a model prayer for believers in Jesus today as we seek God to forgive our sins.
By: K. T. Sim
Crushed and Beautiful
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17
At first glance I dismissed the painting Consider the Lilies by Makoto Fujimura as a simple, monochromatic painting featuring a lily seemingly hiding in the background. However, the painting came alive when I learned it was actually painted with more than eighty layers of finely crushed minerals in a style of Japanese art known as Nihonga, a style Fujimura calls “slow art.” Looking closely reveals layers of complexity and beauty. Fujimura explains that he sees the gospel echoed in the technique of making “beauty through brokenness,” just as Jesus’ suffering brought the world wholeness and hope.
God loves to take aspects of our lives where we’ve been crushed and broken and create something new and beautiful. King David needed God’s help to repair the brokenness in his life caused by his own devastating actions. In Psalm 51, written after admitting to abusing his kingly power to take another man’s wife and arrange the murder of her husband, David offered God his “broken and contrite heart” (v. 17) and pleaded for mercy. The Hebrew word translated “contrite” is nidkeh, meaning “crushed.”
For God to refashion his heart (v. 10), David had to first offer Him the broken pieces. It was both an admission of sorrow and trust. David entrusted his heart to a faithful and forgiving God, who lovingly takes what’s been crushed and transforms it into something beautiful.
By: Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
What parts of your heart are crushed? How might you entrust your brokenness to God?
Dear God, I entrust my brokenness to You, believing that in Your time, You'll transform it into something truly beautiful.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Does He Know Me?
He calls his own…by name… —John 10:3
When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus….Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ ” (John 20:16).
When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29). Have I been doubting something about Jesus— maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). But Thomas doubted, saying, “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).
Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him— a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
Bible in a Year: Psalms 94-96; Romans 15:14-33
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Does He Know Me?
He calls his own…by name… —John 10:3
When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus….Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ ” (John 20:16).
When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29). Have I been doubting something about Jesus— maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). But Thomas doubted, saying, “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).
Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him— a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. So Send I You, 1330 L
Bible in a Year: Psalms 94-96; Romans 15:14-33
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
ANSWERS AT THE END OF YOUR ROPE - #9287
I was ten years old, and I had one of the most frightening moments of my life. I was out with some of my friends about my age in Lake Michigan. Some reason I panicked in the water and I started to go under. I can still remember it like it was today. I really, really felt like I was going to die. Now, unfortunately, my friends did not take my cries for help seriously. "Oh, there's Ron! He's clowning around again! He's goofing off!" I guess that's the price you pay for being a clown, which I guess I was...and I am. Well, I began to flail around; I was desperately trying to save myself. And someone, thank God, saw me. I mean, they saw I was really in trouble and they came to my rescue. And when they did, I quit thrashing, I quit trying to swim, and because I did they were able to rescue me obviously. You know why? I quit trying to rescue myself!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Answers at the End of Your Rope."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 5. I'll begin reading at verse 25, "And the woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, she'd spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I'll be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
Well, here's a lady who had spent years, you might say, thrashing around trying to save herself, and every time she goes under. Then when she ran out of human solutions and earthly resources, she almost literally lunged for Jesus. Here's a desperate woman grabbing His robe and she got the answer that had eluded her for all those years. You know what? That's probably the only way you'll get your answer.
See, there's a condition that God can do the most with. It's called desperation. When I'm out of answers, I'm willing to admit I'm out of answers. At that point, you can choose to go to the Lord broken and powerless. But you know what? We usually have to be driven there. But there's no condition God can do more with than powerlessness. It's the most powerful position you could be in. See, we already are powerless; we don't have the resources. We just have to get to the point where we know it and we'll admit it.
Why do we wait until we're driven to the edge? We North American Christians have so many other resources we can trust in. Other believers in other parts of the world only have God. Actually that's all we have too.
Maybe you've been trying to plan an answer, or engineer an answer, politic it, manipulate it, talk an answer, work an answer, you prayed but not in desperation. You still have other things you're depending on. God's using this need to teach you one of life's sweetest lessons: Jesus is enough. He's the source. You learn that, not when you casually approach Him to help you, but when you lunge for Him, cry out for Him, come broken to Him, and grab His robe. It's only when you realize when Jesus died on the cross to become your Rescuer from your sin, because there was nothing you could do to rescue yourself, that's when you finally change your eternal destination from hell to heaven. That's where you finally experience having every sin of your life forgiven. That's where you get this peace of knowing that when you die you will be in heaven with Him.
Maybe this is that day for you - your day of personal rescue. Take it from a boy who almost drowned, thrashing around getting nowhere. As long as I was flailing around I was pretty hard to rescue. So are you. Your religion, your goodness, it will never get you to heaven. It can't possibly pay the death penalty for your sin.
I'd love to show you the way to begin that relationship with Him. That's what our website's for. Would you go there? It's ANewStory.com. When you know you're going down for the third time and you grab your Savior, you will finally be safe in those arms that have wanted to carry you all along.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
ANSWERS AT THE END OF YOUR ROPE - #9287
I was ten years old, and I had one of the most frightening moments of my life. I was out with some of my friends about my age in Lake Michigan. Some reason I panicked in the water and I started to go under. I can still remember it like it was today. I really, really felt like I was going to die. Now, unfortunately, my friends did not take my cries for help seriously. "Oh, there's Ron! He's clowning around again! He's goofing off!" I guess that's the price you pay for being a clown, which I guess I was...and I am. Well, I began to flail around; I was desperately trying to save myself. And someone, thank God, saw me. I mean, they saw I was really in trouble and they came to my rescue. And when they did, I quit thrashing, I quit trying to swim, and because I did they were able to rescue me obviously. You know why? I quit trying to rescue myself!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Answers at the End of Your Rope."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 5. I'll begin reading at verse 25, "And the woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, she'd spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I'll be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
Well, here's a lady who had spent years, you might say, thrashing around trying to save herself, and every time she goes under. Then when she ran out of human solutions and earthly resources, she almost literally lunged for Jesus. Here's a desperate woman grabbing His robe and she got the answer that had eluded her for all those years. You know what? That's probably the only way you'll get your answer.
See, there's a condition that God can do the most with. It's called desperation. When I'm out of answers, I'm willing to admit I'm out of answers. At that point, you can choose to go to the Lord broken and powerless. But you know what? We usually have to be driven there. But there's no condition God can do more with than powerlessness. It's the most powerful position you could be in. See, we already are powerless; we don't have the resources. We just have to get to the point where we know it and we'll admit it.
Why do we wait until we're driven to the edge? We North American Christians have so many other resources we can trust in. Other believers in other parts of the world only have God. Actually that's all we have too.
Maybe you've been trying to plan an answer, or engineer an answer, politic it, manipulate it, talk an answer, work an answer, you prayed but not in desperation. You still have other things you're depending on. God's using this need to teach you one of life's sweetest lessons: Jesus is enough. He's the source. You learn that, not when you casually approach Him to help you, but when you lunge for Him, cry out for Him, come broken to Him, and grab His robe. It's only when you realize when Jesus died on the cross to become your Rescuer from your sin, because there was nothing you could do to rescue yourself, that's when you finally change your eternal destination from hell to heaven. That's where you finally experience having every sin of your life forgiven. That's where you get this peace of knowing that when you die you will be in heaven with Him.
Maybe this is that day for you - your day of personal rescue. Take it from a boy who almost drowned, thrashing around getting nowhere. As long as I was flailing around I was pretty hard to rescue. So are you. Your religion, your goodness, it will never get you to heaven. It can't possibly pay the death penalty for your sin.
I'd love to show you the way to begin that relationship with Him. That's what our website's for. Would you go there? It's ANewStory.com. When you know you're going down for the third time and you grab your Savior, you will finally be safe in those arms that have wanted to carry you all along.