Max Lucado Daily: A DIVINE GPS - October 4, 2022
In a furiously fast turn of events, Pharaoh set the Hebrew people free. Centuries of slavery in Egypt were behind them; a new future was ahead of them. The promised land beckoned. Yet on their own they stood no chance of survival. For that reason, “The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21 NIV).
Can you imagine the blessing of this divine GPS? On any given day God told them where to go. We can thank Isaiah the prophet for telling us the name of the force within the cloud and fire. “Who is he who set his Holy Spirit among them…” (Isaiah 63:11 NIV). Who led the ex-slaves through the wilderness? The Holy Spirit. And who leads the children of God today? The Holy Spirit!
In a furiously fast turn of events, Pharaoh set the Hebrew people free. Centuries of slavery in Egypt were behind them; a new future was ahead of them. The promised land beckoned. Yet on their own they stood no chance of survival. For that reason, “The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21 NIV).
Can you imagine the blessing of this divine GPS? On any given day God told them where to go. We can thank Isaiah the prophet for telling us the name of the force within the cloud and fire. “Who is he who set his Holy Spirit among them…” (Isaiah 63:11 NIV). Who led the ex-slaves through the wilderness? The Holy Spirit. And who leads the children of God today? The Holy Spirit!
Psalm 16
Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Today's Scripture
Psalm 63
A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you
in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
2 So I look for you in the holy place
to see your power and your glory.
3 My lips will praise you
because your mercy is better than life ?itself?.
4 So I will thank you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands ?to pray? in your name.
5 You satisfy my soul with the richest foods.
My mouth will sing ?your? praise with joyful lips.
6 As I lie on my bed, I remember you.
Through the long hours of the night, I think about you.
7 You have been my help.
In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand supports me.
9 But those who try to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be cut down by swords.
Their dead bodies will be left as food for jackals.
11 But the king will find joy in God.
Everyone who takes an oath by God will brag,
but the mouths of liars will be shut.
Insight
Though the superscription (information about authorship, occasion, and musical or liturgical instruction) of Psalm 63 includes the name of the songwriter, “David,” and the setting, “the Desert of Judah” (wilderness), we aren’t given the circumstances under which this psalm was written. The most likely situation was when David fled to the wilderness from his rebellious son Absalom (2 Samuel 15–18). “The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness” (15:23; see vv. 27–29; 16:2; 17:16, 29). David was on the run from a son he loved dearly (13:37–39) and for whom, upon his death, he would weep bitterly and mourn deeply (18:31–19:4). Whatever the occasion, during a time of deep difficulty, David found strength to call upon and cling to God (Psalm 63:1, 8).
By: Arthur Jackson
Our Heart’s True Home
My whole being longs for you.
Psalm 63:1
“Bobbie the Wonder Dog” was a collie mix separated from his family while they were on a summer vacation together more than 2,200 miles from home. The family searched everywhere for their beloved pet but returned heartbroken without him.
Six months later, toward the end of winter, a scraggly but determined Bobbie showed up at their door in Silverton, Oregon. Bobbie somehow made the long and dangerous trek, crossing rivers, desert, and snow-covered mountains to find his way home to those he loved.
Bobbie’s quest inspired books, movies, and a mural in his hometown. His devotion strikes a chord within, perhaps because God has placed an even deeper longing in our hearts. Ancient theologian Augustine described it this way: “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” This same longing was desperately yet eloquently expressed by David in a prayer as he hid from his pursuers in Judah’s wilderness: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
David praised God because His “love is better than life” (v. 3). Nothing compares with knowing Him! Through Jesus, God has sought us out and made the way for us to come home to His perfect love—regardless of how distant we once were. As we turn to Him, we find our heart’s true home.
By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What do you look forward to most about one day seeing Jesus? In what ways will you seek Him today?
Jesus, thank You for making the way for me to come to You through Your life, death on the cross, and resurrection.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
The Vision and The Reality
…to those who are…called to be saints… —1 Corinthians 1:2
Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God? The beatings will always come in the most common, everyday ways and through common, everyday people.
There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God. If we prefer to relax on the mountaintop and live in the memory of the vision, then we will be of no real use in the ordinary things of which human life is made. We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God. This means living the realities of our lives in the light of the vision until the truth of the vision is actually realized in us. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making His demands known.
Our little “I am” always sulks and pouts when God says do. Let your little “I am” be shriveled up in God’s wrath and indignation— “I AM WHO I AM…has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). He must dominate. Isn’t it piercing to realize that God not only knows where we live, but also knows the gutters into which we crawl! He will hunt us down as fast as a flash of lightning. No human being knows human beings as God does.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU COULD BE - #9322
I remember the time my daughter volunteered to clean the house, and it was a mess! No, it wasn't our house, it wasn't her house, it was the house that her college boyfriend and some other guys wanted to move into. Now when I use the word mess, that's charitable.
Well, after two years of those guys living there, you can imagine! Layers of dirt and trash everywhere, and holes in the walls. It was filthy! Well, I saw her at the end of a very hard-working day. She was beat, she was sweaty, but she was satisfied. I asked her, "What kept you going all those hours?" She said, "Well, Dad, it was really depressing to look at, but I kept seeing what it could be."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Who You Are, Who You Could Be."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in John 1:42. Andrew has just discovered who the Messiah is. He now knows it's Jesus Christ. So he decides to bring his big brother, Simon the fisherman, to Jesus. And it says, "He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas' (which, when translated, is Peter)." Let me go just one step beyond that verse and tell you what Peter means when it is translated. It means "the rock."
Now, a lot of people I think may have looked at Simon and they just saw John's son. He's this sort of unstable, brazen, loud mouth, sometimes just like an impulsive guy. But Jesus looked at him and said, "He's going to be a rock." Some other people might have said, "Well, that's funny! I see a flake! He's Simon the flake not Simon the rock." But Jesus has becoming eyes. He looks at you and He sees what you can become. Others look at who you are; Jesus looks at what you could be.
Remember the Apostle John? He was called Son of Thunder. Sounds like something that would be on the back of a black, leather jacket on a motorcycle doesn't it? He tried to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans that wouldn't let him come to their village, remember? That's a little over the top. He's an angry young man. But he becomes, when Jesus gets hold of him, the Apostle of Love of the New Testament church. He goes from Son of Thunder to Apostle of Love.
See, when Jesus looks at you, it's through His becoming eyes. Maybe you've lived most of your life not feeling highly valued by people. They've picked on your handicaps, they've emphasized your failures, and they've attacked your weaknesses. Maybe you think more about what you aren't than what you are.
I want to invite you today to look at yourself through Jesus' eyes. He's like my daughter walking into that dirty old house. She saw what could be. Maybe you're feeling like a nobody, but Jesus says, "You shall be a person who makes a difference in other people's lives." You say, "Well, I'm impatient." Jesus says, "You are, but I'm going to make you patient. I see a patient man that could be there." You say, "I'm pretty self-centered." Uh-huh. But Jesus said, "You shall be someone who puts other people first." You say, "Well, I've been a victim most of my life." He says, "Well, you're going to be a victor when I'm done with you."
See, the Bible makes this great promise in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It says, "If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old has gone; a new life has begun." This is what happens when you go to the cross where Jesus died to pay for the sin that warps and distorts what we were meant to be. And He forgives you, He cleans you up, He moves inside you and starts to make you what you were created to be.
I hope you've had that day when you've turned your life over to Him. One event, asking Christ in, changes everything. By the way, if you've never done that, let me invite you to join me at our website ANewStory.com. Let's get this taken care of today - ANewStory.com.
See, if you've pinned your hopes on Jesus, you're being re-built. You're being remodeled by the Master Carpenter. Maybe this catches you on a day when you're feeling discouraged, or defeated, or small. But Jesus is changing you. He isn't finished with you yet. He sees the mess, but He sees beyond it. Thank Him that He sees a rock. No matter what anyone else has seen, He's making something beautiful out of your life.