Max Lucado Daily: GOD IS IN CHARGE OF YOUR JOURNEY - February 13, 2023
A day transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his. And some of life’s stormiest hours occur when the passenger and the driver disagree on what takes place during the trip. Can you imagine the chaos if a parent indulged every child’s wishes? Can you imagine the chaos if God indulged each of ours?
God’s overarching desire is that you reach that destiny. His itinerary includes stops that encourage your journey. He frowns on stops that deter you. When his sovereign plan and your earthly plan collide, a decision must be made: who’s in charge of this journey? If God must choose between your earthly satisfaction and your heavenly salvation, which do you hope he chooses? Me too.
Acts 9:23-43
After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket.
26-27 Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn’t trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.
28-30 After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master’s name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.
31 Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.
Tabitha
32-35 Peter went off on a mission to visit all the churches. In the course of his travels he arrived in Lydda and met with the believers there. He came across a man—his name was Aeneas—who had been in bed eight years paralyzed. Peter said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!” And he did it—jumped right out of bed. Everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him walking around and woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.
36-37 Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, “Gazelle” in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.
38-40 Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha’s body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: “Tabitha, get up.”
40-41 She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.
42-43 When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 13, 2023
Today's Scripture
Psalm 118:5–14
Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
from the wide open spaces, he answered.
God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;
who would dare lay a hand on me?
God’s my strong champion;
I flick off my enemies like flies.
Far better to take refuge in God
than trust in people;
Far better to take refuge in God
than trust in celebrities.
Hemmed in by barbarians,
in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Hemmed in and with no way out,
in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in;
in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt.
I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall,
when God grabbed and held me.
God’s my strength, he’s also my song,
and now he’s my salvation.
Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs
in the camp of the saved?
“The hand of God has turned the tide!
The hand of God is raised in victory!
The hand of God has turned the tide!”
Insight
Many scholars believe Psalm 118 was written during the time when the ruined walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt (around 444 bc; see Nehemiah 12:27–43). As such, it would have been sung by the entire congregation as they gathered to dedicate the work. The triple repetition of verses 10, 11, and 12—“in the name of the Lord I cut them down”—lends itself well to a congregational response in worship. Such strong militaristic language would also be encouraging to a people long subjugated by oppressors and now keeping a watchful eye on those who opposed the efforts of rebuilding. Interestingly, the early church fathers, Cyprian and Augustine among them, viewed the entire psalm as a particular encouragement to believers who faced the danger of martyrdom for their faith in Christ. By: Tim Gustafson
When Hard Pressed
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. Psalm 118:6
Many years ago, a friend told me how intimidated she was while trying to cross a street where several roads intersected. “I’d never seen anything like this; the rules I’d been taught for crossing the street seemed ineffective. I was so frightened that I’d stand on the corner, wait for the bus, and ask the bus driver if he’d please allow me to ride to the other side of the street. It would take a long time before I successfully learned to navigate this intersection both as a pedestrian and later as a driver.”
As complicated as a dangerous traffic intersection can be, navigating life’s complexities can be even more menacing. Although the psalmist’s specific situation in Psalm 118 is uncertain, we know it was difficult and just right for prayer: “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord” (v. 5), the psalmist exclaimed. And his confidence in God was unmistakable: “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. . . . The Lord is with me; he is my helper” (vv. 6–7).
It’s not unusual to be fearful when we need to change jobs or schools or housing. Anxieties arise when health declines, relationships change, or dollars disappear. But these challenges needn’t be interpreted as abandonment by God. When hard pressed, may we find ourselves prayerfully pressing into His presence. By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
What difficulty has brought you closer to God? With whom can you share your experience of His gracious help?
Gracious Father, please help me to trust You when I’m hard pressed.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 13, 2023
The Devotion of Hearing
Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." —1 Samuel 3:10
Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends…” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.
The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone. It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your set. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. Biblical Psychology, 189 L
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 13, 2023
THE ONLY APPLAUSE THAT MATTERS - #9416
I happen to be the only member of our family who will eat mincemeat pie. That's fine with me. Don't feel bad for me. Certain holiday seasons of the year, someone in the family will indulge me with my very own mincemeat pie. And it is my very own! Sharing is really not an issue here. Now, what I do since I don't get it very often is I try to make it last, because I don't get a lot, you know. So, I take these small slices over an extended period of time and it's great! Well, one problem: If I make it last too long, it starts to lose something. It's called freshness. A lot of times by the time I get to the end of that pie, I kind of wish I'd eaten it faster. See, that's the sad thing about a treat like that. It starts spoiling the minute it comes out of the oven really. Maybe I should eat the whole pie at one sitting. Actually, a lot of life's rewards are like that...I mean spoiling.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Only Applause That Matters."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 6, and it begins with verse 15 after Jesus feeds the 5,000. It says, "Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force..." Wait a minute. You'd think it would say here, "He went to meet them." No, it says, "He withdrew again to a mountain by himself." Verse 26, "When they chased Him across the lake of Galilee and they catch up with Him, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, you look for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval."
You notice here Jesus talks about food that spoils. He just gave them a lot of food, and now He's talking about food that spoils. One of the issues He seems to be referring to here is human approval. When they wanted to make Him king, they didn't really want Him to rule their lives. He refused to compromise to get human approval. In fact, He withdrew from them. Then He announces here that He can satisfy their souls, not just their stomachs. And He declares what food He's after...food that doesn't spoil - God's personal seal of approval.
In fact, in John 4:34 Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." Jesus knew what we all discover - that the approval of man is very short-lived. Oh, you can get a standing ovation one day, and you can be everybody's target the next. Like my mincemeat pie, people's applause starts to spoil from the moment it comes out of the oven.
The athlete who was cheered last game is jeered this game. Who cares about what you did last game? The newspaper that had your name in it yesterday, is wrapping somebody's garbage today. The position you held for so long was filled very quickly by someone else, and you're a memory in that place where you gave so much. It's food that spoils - human approval...human applause. We're approval junkies...addicted to approval. We make all kinds of sacrifices to get other people to like us, only to have them turn on us, or forget us, or disappoint us.
Jesus said, "Don't work for it." Once you arrive at the point where only God's approval matters, oh man, you are wise; you are free at last. You're wise because you'll make decisions based on what's good for a long time, not what will get you liked today. You're free because you don't have to complicate your life with riding the public opinion roller coaster. It's so satisfying to live for what's right, rather than for what will just get you through.
The only vote that matters ultimately is your Heavenly Father's smile. His goodies last. Psalm 16:11 says, "You will show me the path of life. At your right hand, are pleasures for evermore." The rewards men give you are goodies that spoil. But in the words of 1 John 2:15, "He that does the will of God abides forever."