Max Lucado Daily: EVIDENCE OF GOD - January 20, 2023
Everything in creation gives evidence of God’s existence. The intricacy of snowflakes, the roar of a thunderstorm, the bubbling of a cool mountain stream. These miracles and a million more give testimony to the existence of a brilliant, wise, and tireless God. The facts lead to a wonderful conclusion. God is…and God is knowable.
“Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20 NKJV). He promises success to all who search for him. Of course, we will never know him entirely. Our God is knowable, but he is incomprehensible. The mark of a saint is that he or she is growing in the knowledge of God. Our highest pursuit is the pursuit of our Maker. And he will make himself known to all who seek him.
Song of Solomon 4
The Man
You’re so beautiful, my darling,
so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled
By your hair as it flows and shimmers,
like a flock of goats in the distance
streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red,
your mouth elegant and inviting,
your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!
Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
6-7 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,
the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.
8-15 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Leave Lebanon behind, and come.
Leave your high mountain hideaway.
Abandon your wilderness seclusion,
Where you keep company with lions
and panthers guard your safety.
You’ve captured my heart, dear friend.
You looked at me, and I fell in love.
One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!
How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend—
far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine,
your fragrance more exotic than select spices.
The kisses of your lips are honey, my love,
every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor.
Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors,
the fresh scent of high mountains.
Dear lover and friend, you’re a secret garden,
a private and pure fountain.
Body and soul, you are paradise,
a whole orchard of succulent fruits—
Ripe apricots and peaches,
oranges and pears;
Nut trees and cinnamon,
and all scented woods;
Mint and lavender,
and all herbs aromatic;
A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing,
fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.
The Woman
16 Wake up, North Wind,
get moving, South Wind!
Breathe on my garden,
fill the air with spice fragrance.
Oh, let my lover enter his garden!
Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 20, 2023
Today's Scripture
Song of Songs 8:5–7
The Chorus
5 Who is this I see coming up from the country,
arm in arm with her lover?
The Man
I found you under the apricot tree,
and woke you up to love.
Your mother went into labor under that tree,
and under that very tree she bore you.
The Woman
6-8 Hang my locket around your neck,
wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.
The fire of love stops at nothing—
it sweeps everything before it.
Flood waters can’t drown love,
torrents of rain can’t put it out.
Love can’t be bought, love can’t be sold—
it’s not to be found in the marketplace.
My brothers used to worry about me:
8-9 “Our little sister has no breasts.
What shall we do with our little sister
when men come asking for her?
She’s a virgin and vulnerable,
and we’ll protect her.
If they think she’s a wall, we’ll top it with barbed wire.
If they think she’s a door, we’ll barricade it.”
Insight
Scholars have long had difficulty interpreting Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon). Perhaps uncomfortable with its theme of intimate love, many have attempted to turn the book’s storyline into allegory. Most scholars today, however, view the song as a description of physical love between a man and a woman. In today’s reading (8:5–7), the woman initiates the intimacy. Her reference to the “seal over your heart” (v. 6) represents her desire to claim mutual ownership of her beloved. She has exclusive rights to him and all that he has, as he also has those rights with her.
The book can also be viewed as symbolic in representing genuine marital love as a complete commitment to each other. This comprises an apt representation of the church as the bride of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:2).
By: Tim Gustafson
Love like Blazing Fire
[Love] burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Song of Songs 8:6
Poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake enjoyed a forty-five-year marriage with his wife, Catherine. From their wedding day until his death in 1827, they worked side by side. Catherine added color to William’s sketches, and their devotion endured years of poverty and other challenges. Even in his final weeks as his health failed, Blake kept at his art, and his final sketch was his wife’s face. Four years later, Catherine died clutching one of her husband’s pencils in her hand.
The Blakes’ vibrant love offers a reflection of the love discovered in the Song of Songs. And while the Song’s description of love certainly has implications for marriage, early believers in Jesus believed it also points to Jesus’ unquenchable love for all His followers. The Song describes a love “as strong as death,” which is a remarkable metaphor since death is as final and unescapable a reality as humans will ever know (8:6). This strong love “burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (v. 6). And unlike fires we’re familiar with, these flames can’t be doused, not even by a deluge. “Many waters cannot quench love,” the Song insists (v. 7).
Who among us doesn’t desire true love? The Song reminds us that whenever we encounter genuine love, God is the ultimate source. And in Jesus, each of us can know a profound and undying love—one that burns like a blazing fire. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
Where have you encountered strong love? How does Jesus’ love encourage you?
Dear God, please help me to receive Your love and share it with others.
For further study, read How God Loves Us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 20, 2023
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
Bible in a Year: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 20, 2023
HANDING LOVE BACK - #9400
Ah, Laurie. She may have been my first romantic crush. It was 7th grade. I was insecure - that's a synonym for 7th grade - and I didn't know how she felt about me. So one day I went to the store, I spent all the money I had - which wasn't much - on a little rhinestone necklace. (Yeah, pretty romantic, huh?) And then I wrote this mushy little note to Laurie and I put it in an envelope with that necklace. The next day, as I was sitting in study hall, (the only class we had together), I smelled that perfume. I knew Laurie was approaching. I handed her that love-filled envelope, which she took with her to her desk. The next day - study hall, approach of the killer perfume - my heart was beating out of my chest. Then, as Laurie went by, something very familiar appeared on my desk. It was that envelope - with the necklace and the note inside. Ouch! Of course, it didn't really bother me that much ... then why am I talking about it so many years later?
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Handing Love Back."
It really did hurt - spending everything I had on someone I cared about, and having it just handed back to me. Jesus knows that feeling...maybe from you.
God's Son went out one day and spent everything He had on you - not with money at a store, but with His blood on a cross. The Bible puts it this way, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10). In other words, even though you and I did the sinning, Jesus did the dying for it. He paid the death penalty, not for any sins of His own - He didn't have any - but for every time you've lived your way instead of God's way.
No one's ever loved you like Jesus. He paid this awful price because it was the only way for you to ever have your sins forgiven, for you to ever be able to get into God's heaven. So He bought you a relationship with God...He bought you an eternity in heaven. But what He paid for with His life is a GIFT according to the Bible. Which means it's only yours if you take it.
Like that girl Laurie in 7th grade, she chose to reject that gift and hand it back to me. Well, today there's someone listening who's done that to the Son of God, maybe over and over again. You've heard what Jesus did on the cross for you...you've heard that He asks you to commit yourself to Him as your only hope with God...but you have, in effect, just said, "That's nice. No thanks." Or maybe you've just said, "Keep it for now, Jesus. I'll take it later." But no matter how polite you've been, you have rejected His love.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 23, Jesus says of people He cared very much about, "How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (verse 37). Is He talking about you? "How often have I longed for us to be together ... but you were not willing."
There's only one reason Jesus has kept coming back - He loves you. But some time will be the last time, because your heart will get too hard to respond...or because your heart stops and you've had your last chance...or because Jesus is calling one last time. Haven't you handed back His love too many times already? Today, one more time, He holds out His nail-pierced hand to you to give you His love; to give you His eternal life. It's time to take His love.
Just tell Him, right where you are, "Jesus, I'm Yours, beginning right now, right here." You ready to begin your personal relationship with Him? Our website's there for you for a moment like this. Please, please go there - ANewStory.com. You can be sure you belong to Him.
God's Son has loved you enough to spend His life for you. Now don't hand back His love.
