Max Lucado Daily: A PRAYER OF REPENTANCE - August 26, 2022
I’m wondering if you’d be willing to join me in a prayer of repentance—repentance from arrogance. What have we done that God didn’t first do? What do we have that God didn’t first give us? Have any of us ever built anything that God could not destroy? Have we ever created any monument that the master of the stars can’t reduce to dust?
God asked this question through the prophet Isaiah. “‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah 40:25-26).
Let’s humble ourselves before the hand of God. The Bible reminds us that those who walk in pride, God is able to humble. And we don’t want him to humble us, do we?
I’m wondering if you’d be willing to join me in a prayer of repentance—repentance from arrogance. What have we done that God didn’t first do? What do we have that God didn’t first give us? Have any of us ever built anything that God could not destroy? Have we ever created any monument that the master of the stars can’t reduce to dust?
God asked this question through the prophet Isaiah. “‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah 40:25-26).
Let’s humble ourselves before the hand of God. The Bible reminds us that those who walk in pride, God is able to humble. And we don’t want him to humble us, do we?
2 Samuel 15
As time went on, Absalom took to riding in a horse-drawn chariot, with fifty men running in front of him. Early each morning he would take up his post beside the road at the city gate. When anyone showed up with a case to bring to the king for a decision, Absalom would call him over and say, “Where do you hail from?”
And the answer would come, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3-6 Then Absalom would say, “Look, you’ve got a strong case; but the king isn’t going to listen to you.” Then he’d say, “Why doesn’t someone make me a judge for this country? Anybody with a case could bring it to me and I’d settle things fair and square.” Whenever someone would treat him with special honor, he’d shrug it off and treat him like an equal, making him feel important. Absalom did this to everyone who came to do business with the king and stole the hearts of everyone in Israel.
7-8 After four years of this, Absalom spoke to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to pay a vow that I made to God. Your servant made a vow when I was living in Geshur in Aram saying, ‘If God will bring me back to Jerusalem, I’ll serve him with my life.’”
9 The king said, “Go with my blessing.” And he got up and set off for Hebron.
10-12 Then Absalom sent undercover agents to all the tribes of Israel with the message, “When you hear the blast of the ram’s horn trumpet, that’s your signal: Shout, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’” Two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem. But they had been called together knowing nothing of the plot and made the trip innocently. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he managed also to involve Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s advisor, calling him away from his hometown of Giloh. The conspiracy grew powerful and Absalom’s supporters multiplied.
13 Someone came to David with the report, “The whole country has taken up with Absalom!”
14 “Up and out of here!” called David to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem. “We’ve got to run for our lives or none of us will escape Absalom! Hurry, he’s about to pull the city down around our ears and slaughter us all!”
15 The king’s servants said, “Whatever our master, the king, says, we’ll do; we’re with you all the way!”
16-18 So the king and his entire household escaped on foot. The king left ten concubines behind to tend to the palace. And so they left, step by step by step, and then paused at the last house as the whole army passed by him—all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and the six hundred Gittites who had marched with him from Gath, went past.
19-20 The king called out to Ittai the Gittite, “What are you doing here? Go back with King Absalom. You’re a stranger here and freshly uprooted from your own country. You arrived only yesterday, and am I going to let you take your chances with us as I live on the road like a gypsy? Go back, and take your family with you. And God’s grace and truth go with you!”
21 But Ittai answered, “As God lives and my master the king lives, where my master is, that’s where I’ll be—whether it means life or death.”
22 “All right,” said David, “go ahead.” And they went on, Ittai the Gittite with all his men and all the children he had with him.
23-24 The whole country was weeping in loud lament as all the people passed by. As the king crossed the Brook Kidron, the army headed for the road to the wilderness. Zadok was also there, the Levites with him, carrying God’s Chest of the Covenant. They set the Chest of God down, Abiathar standing by, until all the people had evacuated the city.
25-26 Then the king ordered Zadok, “Take the Chest back to the city. If I get back in God’s good graces, he’ll bring me back and show me where the Chest has been set down. But if he says, ‘I’m not pleased with you’—well, he can then do with me whatever he pleases.”
27-30 The king directed Zadok the priest, “Here’s the plan: Return to the city peacefully, with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, with you. I’ll wait at a spot in the wilderness across the river, until I get word from you telling us what’s up.” So Zadok and Abiathar took the Chest of God back to Jerusalem and placed it there, while David went up the Mount of Olives weeping, head covered but barefooted, and the whole army was with him, heads covered and weeping as they ascended.
31 David was told, “Ahithophel has joined the conspirators with Absalom.” He prayed, “Oh, God—turn Ahithophel’s counsel to foolishness.”
32-36 As David approached the top of the hill where God was worshiped, Hushai the Arkite, clothes ripped to shreds and dirt on his head, was there waiting for him. David said, “If you come with me, you’ll be just one more piece of luggage. Go back to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I’m ready to be your servant, O King; I used to be your father’s servant, now I’m your servant.’ Do that and you’ll be able to confuse Ahithophel’s counsel for me. The priests Zadok and Abiathar are already there; whatever information you pick up in the palace, tell them. Their two sons—Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan—are there with them—anything you pick up can be sent to me by them.”
37 Hushai, David’s friend, arrived at the same time Absalom was entering Jerusalem.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 26, 2022
Today's Scripture
Philippians 4:4–7
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6–7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Insight
At this point in his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul begins a somewhat lengthy conclusion. Despite the admonishment he’s just given to the two quarreling church members, Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2), his tone remains warm and relational. The crux of the passage is this: “The Lord is near” (v. 5). The reason we can rejoice in any situation (v. 4), the reason we can “let [our] gentleness be evident to all,” the reason we can obey Paul’s exhortation not to “be anxious about anything” (v. 6) is because Jesus is near. Scholars debate whether this means His return is near or if Paul means He’s close to us. Either interpretation should have a similar effect for our understanding. He’s with us via the Holy Spirit, and He promises to return for us (John 14:3).
By: Tim Gustafson
Just Ask!
You do not have because you do not ask God.
James 4:2
The gleeful shouts arising from our basement came from my wife, Shirley. For hours she’d wrestled with a newsletter project, and she was ready to be done with it. In her anxiety and uncertainty about how to move forward, she prayed for God’s help. She also reached out to Facebook friends and soon the project was completed—a team effort.
While a newsletter project is a little thing in life, small (and not so small) things can bring about worry or anxiousness. Perhaps you’re a parent walking through the stages of childrearing for the first time; a student facing newfound academic challenges; a person grieving the loss of a loved one; or someone experiencing a home, work, or ministry challenge. Sometimes we’re needlessly on edge because we don’t ask God for help (James 4:2).
Paul pointed the followers of Jesus in Philippi and us to our first line of defense in times of need: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When life gets complicated, we need reminders like the one from the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”:
Oh what peace we often forfeit,
oh what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry,
everything to God in prayer.
And perhaps in our asking God for help, He’ll lead us to ask people who can assist us.
By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What situations challenge you that you can bring to God in prayer? Why do you hesitate to ask Him or others for help?
Dear God, forgive me for not bringing my burdens to You in prayer. Help me to reach out to others and ask for help too.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 26, 2022
Are You Ever Troubled?
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… —John 14:27
There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “…My peace I give to you…”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.
Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.
With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:27).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
Bible in a Year: Psalms 119:89-176; 1 Corinthians 8
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 26, 2022
IT STARTS AT A CROSS - #9295
I'm used to turning on the news and hearing about bullets or ballots or budgets. But the Bible? On newscast after newscast a while back, the Bible was one of the lead stories. I mean, actually "The Bible." It was the ten-hour History Channel mini-series. It stunned everybody with blockbuster ratings, especially among young viewers. There were epic moments from Noah's Ark to the parting of the Red Sea, and of course David decking Goliath.
But the last night is what so many people were talking about; particularly the one scene that literally they said "lit up" social networks like Twitter - the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. All over the cyber-universe, people said they were in tears watching Jesus die. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was like in so many conversations.
For those of us who belong to this Jesus, there's a message in all of this that could change eternities. That message could be summed up in four little words, "It's all about Jesus."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It Starts at a Cross."
This heartfelt response to the portrayal of Jesus on the cross, I think it's a wakeup call - for those who don't know Him and for those who do. For those who don't, the choice that actually determines your destiny is what you do with what Jesus did on that cross for you. For those who do know Him, that cross and that miraculous resurrection is our message - unencumbered by anything else.
The famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon, called the cross of Jesus "that magnificent magnet." It really is. Over and over, I've seen that when you can get someone to that cross, their hearts are stolen away. So why do we Christians spend so much time on detours that distract from that destination? Like expounding on what we're against, or promoting our church, or arguing about politics or religion.
What that series "The Bible" did in its final episode was strip away 2,000 years of Christianity and bring us back to the heartbeat of God; His Son dying on a cross for us. In our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul said, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
Before there were churches, before there were "Christians," before there were creeds, there was a cross. That's the Good News that we have for our friend, our neighbor, our family member, our coworker. Not a church to go to. Not a religion to join. Not some belief to sign up for. Not an indictment of how they're living.
But a Savior, hanging on that cross, paying the awful price for all the junk of our life. It's not just how Jesus died that's so heart-rending. It's the reason He died. The Bible says, "He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped and we were healed! The Lord laid on Him the guilt and sins of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6 - NLB).
It's not about Christians. It's not about Christianity. It's about the living Christ who loved you enough to die for you; a love that would pay any price not to lose you. That's the Good News we're commanded to share. No more. No less.
Jesus' repeated invitation was simply, "Follow Me." Not My followers, not My religion, not My rules. Just "follow Me." Jesus made it all about Jesus. We should, too. Bring people up Skull Hill with you. Stand them at the foot of that old rugged cross and whisper two words, "For you. This was for you."
Maybe you've never done that for yourself. You've never made personal what Jesus did on that cross for you. Would you let this be the day you get it done for yourself? It's at that moment when you make personal what Jesus did on the cross; that's what changes everything. It changes the rest of your life. It changes your eternity!
This is the time you should go to our website. If you're not sure you belong to Him, it will help you be sure - ANewStory.com. You can get this settled today, my friend, once and for all.