Max Lucado Daily: STAND UPON HIS PROMISES - February 28, 2023
We come to Christ in an hour of deep need. We realize that all the good works in the world are puny when laid before the Perfect One, so we beg for help. We hear his voice, and we step out in fear, hoping that our little faith will be enough. And with precious, wobbly steps, we draw close to him. We stand upon his promises.
It doesn’t make sense that we’re able to do this. We don’t claim to be worthy of such an incredible gift. When people ask how in the world we can keep our balance during such stormy times, we don’t boast. We point to the One who makes it possible. “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling,” we sing. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved,” we declare. And we never look back. May that be the anthem of your life.
1 Kings 16
The word of God came to Jehu son of Hanani with this message for Baasha: “I took you from nothing—a complete nobody—and set you up as the leader of my people Israel, but you plodded along in the rut of Jeroboam, making my people Israel sin and making me seethe over their sin. And now the consequences—I will burn Baasha and his regime to cinders, the identical fate of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Baasha’s people who die in the city will be eaten by scavenger dogs; carrion crows will eat the ones who die in the country.”
5-6 The rest of Baasha’s life, the record of his regime, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Baasha died and was buried with his ancestors in Tirzah. His son Elah was king after him.
7 That’s the way it was with Baasha: Through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani, God’s word came to him and his regime because of his life of open evil before God and his making God so angry—a chip off the block of Jeroboam, even though God had destroyed him.
Elah of Israel
8-10 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began his rule. He was king in Tirzah only two years. One day when he was at the house of Arza the palace manager, drinking himself drunk, Zimri, captain of half his chariot-force, conspired against him. Zimri slipped in, knocked Elah to the ground, and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Zimri then became the king.
11-13 Zimri had no sooner become king than he killed everyone connected with Baasha, got rid of them all like so many stray dogs—relatives and friends alike. Zimri totally wiped out the family of Baasha, just as God’s word delivered by the prophet Jehu had said—wages for the sins of Baasha and his son Elah; not only for their sins but for dragging Israel into their sins and making the God of Israel angry with their stupid idols.
14 The rest of Elah’s life, what he said and did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Zimri of Israel
15-19 Zimri was king in Tirzah for all of seven days during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Asa king of Judah. The Israelite army was on maneuvers near the Philistine town of Gibbethon at the time. When they got the report, “Zimri has conspired against the king and killed him,” right there in the camp they made Omri, commander of the army, king. Omri and the army immediately left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. When Zimri saw that he was surrounded and as good as dead, he entered the palace citadel, set the place on fire, and died. It was a fit end for his sins, for living a flagrantly evil life before God, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, sinning and then dragging Israel into his sins.
20 As for the rest of Zimri’s life, along with his infamous conspiracy, it’s all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Omri of Israel
21-22 After that the people of Israel were split right down the middle: Half favored Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half wanted Omri. Eventually the Omri side proved stronger than the Tibni side. Tibni ended up dead and Omri king.
23-24 Omri took over as king of Israel in the thirty-first year of the reign of Asa king of Judah. He ruled for twelve years, the first six in Tirzah. He then bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for 150 pounds of silver. He developed the hill and named the city that he built Samaria, after its original owner Shemer.
25-26 But as far as God was concerned, Omri lived an evil life—set new records in evil. He walked in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who not only sinned but dragged Israel into his sins, making God angry—such an empty-headed, empty-hearted life!
27-28 The rest of Omri’s life, the mark he made on his times, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab was the next king after him.
Ahab of Israel
29-33 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. Ahab son of Omri was king over Israel for twenty-two years. He ruled from Samaria. Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before God than anyone yet—a new champion in evil! It wasn’t enough for him to copy the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat; no, he went all out, first by marrying Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then by serving and worshiping the god Baal. He built a temple for Baal in Samaria, and then furnished it with an altar for Baal. Worse, he went on and built a shrine to the sacred whore Asherah. He made the God of Israel angrier than all the previous kings of Israel put together.
34 It was under Ahab’s rule that Hiel of Bethel refortified Jericho, but at a terrible cost: He ritually sacrificed his firstborn son Abiram at the laying of the foundation, and his youngest son Segub at the setting up of the gates. This is exactly what Joshua son of Nun said would happen.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Today's Scripture
Numbers 22:21–31
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went off with the noblemen from Moab. As he was going, though, God’s anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road.
24-25 But as they were going through a vineyard, with a fence on either side, the donkey again saw God’s angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaam’s foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again.
26-27 God’s angel blocked the way yet again—a very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaam’s donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: “What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?”
29 Balaam said, “Because you’ve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you’ve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?”
He said, “No.”
31 Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw God’s angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt.
Insight
The book of Numbers records the mercenary exploits of Balaam and how God hijacked his plan to curse His people (see Numbers 22–24). Through another Balaam-devised strategy, however, the children of Israel were led astray (see 31:16). Three times in the New Testament, Balaam’s waywardness and the consequences thereof are used to warn and divert believers in Jesus from unrighteousness. Second Peter 2:15 speaks of “the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of wickedness,” Jude 11 notes “Balaam’s error,” and Revelation 2:14 warns of “the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin.” By: Arthur Jackson
A Baboon, a Donkey, and Me
Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. Numbers 22:28
Jack knew how to put trains on the right track. In nine years of work, he never missed a track switch as locomotives drew near the Uitenhage, South Africa, station, indicating by their whistles the direction they were to go.
Jack was also a chacma baboon. He was cared for by railway signalman James Wide, and Jack in turn took care of James. Wide had lost both his legs in a fall between moving rail cars. He trained Jack to help him with tasks around the house and soon Jack assisted him at work also, learning how to respond to the incoming trains’ signals by pulling corresponding levers for their tracks.
The Bible tells of another animal that helped someone in a surprising way—Balaam’s donkey. Balaam was a pagan prophet serving a king who intended to harm Israel. As the prophet was riding his donkey en route to assist the king, “the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth” and it spoke to Balaam (Numbers 22:28). The donkey’s speech was part of the way God opened “Balaam’s eyes” (v. 31), warned him of imminent danger, and kept him from harming His people.
A railway baboon? A talking donkey? Why not? If God can use these amazing animals for good purposes, it’s not at all far-fetched to believe He can use you and me as well. Looking to Him and seeking His strength, we can accomplish more than we ever thought possible. By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
Whom have you seen God use unexpectedly? What will you do to make yourself available to Him today?
I want to serve You, God! Use my hands, my feet, my mouth, whatever You like! Help me to live for You today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
“Do You Now Believe?”
"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
SO CLOSE TO HEAVEN - BUT NOT IN - #9427
I once had a very exciting night at Chicago's very busy O'Hare Airport. Just as I was getting ready to leave, they informed us that the radar in the tower had suddenly gone down. Do you know what that means? That means the flight controllers have no way to do anything mechanically to get your plane in or out, so they had to shut O'Hare down to one runway and limit themselves to visual landings. Well, needless to say, many of us didn't go anywhere that night, and I was frustrated because I couldn't get out of the airport.
But then I thought about the people above me who couldn't land! As I went outside I saw all these lights; the lights of planes that were circling the airport in what seemed like endless holding patterns. Many of them actually ended up diverted to other destinations that night. You can imagine how frustrated they were. They're almost home, they're in sight of Chicago, they're not on the ground. They're almost, but they're not in - maybe like you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "So Close to Heaven - But Not In."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 12 where Jesus met a man who was almost home. "One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked of him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, is this: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 'Well said, Teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him.'"
And then the man went on to express his understanding that to know God was much more than religion; it was a relationship. This man is right on target. But then Jesus spoke these very sobering words to a man who had all the right answers. He said, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Interesting words: "not far" but not in. Like those people at O'Hare Airport, in sight of the airport, in sight of home, but they haven't landed yet.
I remember there was this Air Florida flight years ago that almost cleared the bridge in Washington D.C. during take-off, and they crashed into the Potomac River with the loss of several lives. They almost made it. Almost. That night might just describe where Jesus sees you regarding knowing Him. You are not far from Him, but you're not in. And you're in danger if you think that close is good enough.
It could be that you could end up 18 inches from heaven; that's the distance from your head to your heart. You know the facts, you respect Jesus, you even love Him perhaps, and you know how to fit into the Christian world. But it's in your head; it's not in your heart. You've never really given yourself to Jesus Christ. He knows it and you know it. You know all about Him, but you don't know Him - 18 inches away. God sees you circling the airport, putting off landing.
Please, don't play with the possibility of crashing forever because you've circled but you've never landed. "Seek the Lord," the Bible says, "while He may be found." You're almost home. He's within sight, but you do have to land. You have to consciously give the rest of your life to Jesus Christ and consciously put all of your trust in the One who died for your sins, and tell Him you're doing that. He's the One who bought you with His blood, and with His life.
I would love to help you make it the rest of the way home. Just come to our website, and we'll help you land. That website is ANewStory.com. You're not far, but you're not in. Come home today.