Max Lucado Daily: PRAYERS OF A WEARY SOUL - September 19, 2022
There is often a gap between what we want from life and what we get in life. And during such times of weakness “we do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26 NKJV). What should the cancer patient request? Healing or deliverance into heaven? For what should the father of the prodigal pray? God’s patience for his son or a pigpen for his son? For what should the persecuted prisoner ask? Release from captivity or endurance in captivity?
We do not know how to pray as we ought. What if our prayers are too sparse to deserve an audience with God? What if he turns us away? Does heaven hear the enfeebled prayers of a weary soul? Thanks to our heavenly helper the answer is yes. “The Spirit himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26 NIV).
John 7:1-27
Later Jesus was going about his business in Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea because the Jews there were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.
3-5 His brothers said, “Why don’t you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you’re serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world.” His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn’t believe in him either.
6-8 Jesus came back at them, “Don’t pressure me. This isn’t my time. It’s your time—it’s always your time; you have nothing to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it’s up in arms against me. It’s against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up to the Feast. Don’t wait for me. I’m not ready. It’s not the right time for me.”
9-11 He said this and stayed on in Galilee. But later, after his family had gone up to the Feast, he also went. But he kept out of the way, careful not to draw attention to himself. The Jews were already out looking for him, asking around, “Where is that man?”
12-13 There was a lot of contentious talk about him circulating through the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” But others said, “Not so. He’s selling snake oil.” This kind of talk went on in guarded whispers because of the intimidating Jewish leaders.
Could It Be the Messiah?
14-15 With the Feast already half over, Jesus showed up in the Temple, teaching. The Jews were impressed, but puzzled: “How does he know so much without being schooled?”
16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The crowd said, “You’re crazy! Who’s trying to kill you? You’re demon-possessed.”
21-24 Jesus said, “I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be hypercritical; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.”
25-27 That’s when some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the one they were out to kill? And here he is out in the open, saying whatever he pleases, and no one is stopping him. Could it be that the rulers know that he is, in fact, the Messiah? And yet we know where this man came from. The Messiah is going to come out of nowhere. Nobody is going to know where he comes from.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 19, 2022
Today's Scripture
Isaiah 55:6–13
Turn to the Lord and pray to him,
now that he is near.
7 Let the wicked leave their way of life
and change their way of thinking.
Let them turn to the Lord, our God;
he is merciful and quick to forgive.
8 “My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours,
and my ways are different from yours.
9 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.
10* “My word is like the snow and the rain
that come down from the sky to water the earth.
They make the crops grow
and provide seed for sowing and food to eat.
11 So also will be the word that I speak—
it will not fail to do what I plan for it;
it will do everything I send it to do.
12 “You will leave Babylon with joy;
you will be led out of the city in peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into singing,
and the trees will shout for joy.
13 Cypress trees will grow where now there are briars;
myrtle trees will come up in place of thorns.
This will be a sign that will last for ever,
a reminder of what I, the Lord, have done.”
Insight
Reading the prophetic books can be challenging, because we must pay close attention to know who’s speaking. In Isaiah 55:1–5, God speaks; verses 6–7 mark a switch to Isaiah as the speaker. The prophet urges his listeners to heed God’s message. What’s that message? God invites everyone who is needy to “come, buy and eat!” (v. 1) and to “give ear and come to me” (v. 3). Isaiah reinforces this message by imploring the people to “seek the Lord while he may be found” (v. 6). This requires repentance: “Let the wicked forsake their ways,” including even “their thoughts” (v. 7). Left to ourselves, neither our actions nor our thoughts can please God (v. 8). For that, we need “the Holy One of Israel” (v. 5)—Jesus Himself.
By: Tim Gustafson
Imaginative Faith
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you.
Isaiah 55:12
“Look, Papa! Those trees are waving at God!” As we watched young birches bending in the wind before an oncoming storm, my grandson’s excited observation made me smile. It also made me ask myself, Do I have that kind of imaginative faith?
Reflecting on the story of Moses and the burning bush, the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote that “Earth’s crammed with heaven, / And every common bush afire with God; / But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.” God’s handiwork is evident all around us in the wonders of what He has made, and one day, when the earth is made new, we’ll see it like never before.
God tells us about this day when He proclaims through the prophet Isaiah, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). Singing mountains? Clapping trees? Why not? Paul noted that “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
Jesus once spoke of stones crying out (Luke 19:40), and His words echo Isaiah’s prophecy about what lies ahead for those who come to Him for salvation. When we look to Him with faith that imagines what only God can do, we'll see His wonders continue forever!
By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What do you imagine the new earth will be like in God’s forever kingdom? How will you serve Him with imagination today?
Loving God, I praise You that no one is more creative than You are! I look forward to seeing the wonder of all that You are and all that You can do!
For further study, read All Creation Sings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 19, 2022
Are You Going on With Jesus?
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. —Luke 22:28
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 1-3; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 19, 2022
LOOKING CHRISTIAN, REALLY NOT - #9311
I had to stop at a convenience store on Halloween night. I was not "trick or treating." I was just trying to pay for the gas I put in my car. That's when I saw this interesting sign they had posted; it was a sign I had never seen anywhere else. It simply said, "Please remove your mask before you enter." I wasn't wearing one. But for one unhappy moment, I did remember what they used to tell me in school long after Halloween, "Hey, Ron, Halloween's over! Take off your mask." I wasn't wearing one then either. But the sign was no joke. Obviously, they didn't want someone to try to pull off a Halloween heist, wearing a mask that would conceal their identity from the security cameras. Honestly, I didn't see anyone in the store that night with a mask.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Christian, Really Not."
I can almost imagine a sign like that one at the store, being displayed at the entrance to the Throne Room of Almighty God. And that's what we enter when we pray. Can you imagine a sign there, "Please remove your mask before you enter"? See, God isn't impressed by our religious words or our religious image. He doesn't want to hear a recitation of the same tired old prayer script that we often repeat without thinking. He insists that we come as we really are - totally unmasked. The real God can only help the real you.
The futility of pretending or masquerading before God is abundantly clear in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Hebrews 4, beginning with verse 13. It says: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." So it's useless to come before God pretending we feel how we're "supposed" to feel instead of how we really do feel. It's a waste of time to come with our rationalizations, our cover-ups. We are laid bare before Him.
There's no point in putting on a tie when you're spiritually and emotionally naked before Him. Tell it all. Let it go. Be real with Him. He won't love you less. He already knows what's behind the mask that you show everybody else. You won't shock Him. You won't surprise Him, but God operates on an invitation basis. He comes into a part of your life when you open it up to Him. So He's asking you to check your mask at the door of His Throne Room and come, as the hymn says, "Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me."
This passage goes on to tell us that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." So, come in with your burdens and leave with His grace, which is always greater than the burdens. But come honestly.
Maybe you've prayed many times, acting as if you really belong to God, as if He's really your Father, when in fact, you've never really put all your trust in His Son, Jesus. You've never trusted Jesus to be your personal rescuer from the death penalty for your sins. You've never turned your back on the sin that killed Jesus and said, "Jesus, You're my only hope of having my sins forgiven." So while everyone around you may think you really know Him, even though you may have fooled them and maybe even yourself, for years, Jesus knows there's never been that moment of personal surrender to Him.
He may be in your head, but not in your heart. This very day; this is the only day you're sure you'll have, you need to "remove your mask before entering." All that Christianity, that religion, leave it at the door and let God know you're just in desperate need of His Son to be your Savior. I'd love to help you with that. Just go to our website. It's ANewStory.com.
When you come to God honestly, and you admit your need, you can begin your relationship with Him. Well, you know what? You will enter His presence lost. But you'll leave there found, and you will finally know that you belong to Jesus for real.
