Max Lucado Daily: A Second Chance
She was only five years old when you took the photo. Cheeks freckled by the summer sun, hair in pigtails. That was twenty years ago. Three marriages ago. A million flight miles and e-mails ago. Today she walks down the aisle on the arm of another father. You left your family bobbing in the wake of your high-speed career. Now that you have what you wanted, you don't want it at all. Oh, to have a second chance.
1 John 4:15 says, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."
He re-purposes bad decisions and squalid choices. Saved by grace is to be saved by Him. He placed a term limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard. God can do something with the mess of your life. Grace is what you need!
From GRACE
2 Kings 2
Just before God took Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on a walk out of Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to Bethel.”
Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” So they both went to Bethel.
3 The guild of prophets at Bethel met Elisha and said, “Did you know that God is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Yes,” he said, “I know it. But keep it quiet.”
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to Jericho.”
Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” So they both went to Jericho.
5 The guild of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Did you know that God is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Yes,” he said, “I know it. But keep it quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. God has sent me on an errand to the Jordan.”
Elisha said, “Not on your life! I’m not letting you out of my sight!” And so the two of them went their way together.
7 Meanwhile, fifty men from the guild of prophets gathered some distance away while the two of them stood at the Jordan.
8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water with it. The river divided and the two men walked through on dry land.
9 When they reached the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I’m taken from you? Ask anything.”
Elisha said, “Your life repeated in my life. I want to be a holy man just like you.”
10 “That’s a hard one!” said Elijah. “But if you’re watching when I’m taken from you, you’ll get what you’ve asked for. But only if you’re watching.”
11-14 And so it happened. They were walking along and talking. Suddenly a chariot and horses of fire came between them and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it all and shouted, “My father, my father! You—the chariot and cavalry of Israel!” When he could no longer see anything, he grabbed his robe and ripped it to pieces. Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him, returned to the shore of the Jordan, and stood there. He took Elijah’s cloak—all that was left of Elijah!—and hit the river with it, saying, “Now where is the God of Elijah? Where is he?”
When he struck the water, the river divided and Elisha walked through.
15 The guild of prophets from Jericho saw the whole thing from where they were standing. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha!” They welcomed and honored him.
16 They then said, “We’re at your service. We have fifty reliable men here; let’s send them out to look for your master. Maybe God’s spirit has swept him off to some mountain or dropped him into a remote ravine.”
Elisha said, “No. Don’t send them.”
17 But they pestered him until he caved in: “Go ahead then. Send them.”
So they sent the fifty men off. For three days they looked, searching high and low. Nothing.
18 Finally, they returned to Elisha in Jericho. He told them, “So there—didn’t I tell you?”
19 One day the men of the city said to Elisha, “You can see for yourself, master, how well our city is located. But the water is polluted and nothing grows.”
20 He said, “Bring me a brand-new bowl and put some salt in it.” They brought it to him.
21-22 He then went to the spring, sprinkled the salt into it, and proclaimed, “God’s word: I’ve healed this water. It will no longer kill you or poison your land.” And sure enough, the water was healed—and remains so to this day, just as Elisha said.
23 Another time, Elisha was on his way to Bethel and some little kids came out from the town and taunted him, “What’s up, old baldhead! Out of our way, skinhead!”
24 Elisha turned, took one look at them, and cursed them in the name of God. Two bears charged out of the underbrush and knocked them about, ripping them limb from limb—forty-two children in all!
25 Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and then returned to Samaria.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Today's Scripture
1 Samuel 16:14–23
David—An Excellent Musician
At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and in its place a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified.
15-16 Saul’s advisors said, “This awful tormenting depression from God is making your life miserable. O Master, let us help. Let us look for someone who can play the harp. When the black mood from God moves in, he’ll play his music and you’ll feel better.”
17 Saul told his servants, “Go ahead. Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the young men spoke up, “I know someone. I’ve seen him myself: the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, an excellent musician. He’s also courageous, of age, well-spoken, and good-looking. And God is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse requesting, “Send your son David to me, the one who tends the sheep.”
20-21 Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with a couple of loaves of bread, a flask of wine, and a young goat, and sent his son David with it to Saul. David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him immediately and made him his right-hand man.
22 Saul sent word back to Jesse: “Thank you. David will stay here. He’s just the one I was looking for. I’m very impressed by him.”
23 After that, whenever the bad depression from God tormented Saul, David got out his harp and played. That would calm Saul down, and he would feel better as the moodiness lifted.
Insight
In the ancient Near East, it was common for court musicians to be hired for reasons such as entertainment or religious ceremonies. In the case of Saul in 1 Samuel 16, his attendants believed his mental torment would be eased by lyre music (v. 16). Since David was a skilled lyre player as well as a warrior (v. 18), he became both a musician and armor-bearer (the carrier of shield and weapons) for King Saul (vv. 21–23). David’s father, Jesse, sent gifts of food and wine with David (vv. 19–20), perhaps showing gratitude for the honor of having his son chosen to serve the king. By: Monica La Rose
Musical Medicine
David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul. 1 Samuel 16:23
When five-year-old Bella was hospitalized for cancer in North Dakota, she received music therapy as part of her treatment. Many people have experienced the powerful effect of music on mood without understanding exactly why, but researchers have recently documented a clinical benefit. Music is now being prescribed for cancer patients like Bella, and those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and trauma.
King Saul reached for a musical prescription when he was feeling tormented. His attendants saw his lack of peace and suggested they find someone to play the lyre for him in the hope it would make him “feel better” (1 Samuel 16:16). They sent for Jesse’s son David, and Saul was pleased with him and asked that he “remain in [his] service” (v. 22). David played for Saul in his moments of unrest, bringing him relief from his anguish.
We may only just be discovering scientifically what God has known all along about how music can affect us. As the author and creator of both our bodies and music itself, He provided a prescription for our health that’s readily accessible to all, regardless of the era in which we live or how easy it is to visit a doctor. Even when there’s no way to listen, we can sing to God in the midst of our joys and struggles, making music of our own (Psalm 59:16; Acts 16:25). By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
How has God used music to soothe you? How can you bring music to someone as David did to Saul?
Father, thank You for creating music and using it to soothe my heart and mind during times of struggle.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44