Max Lucado Daily: CAN’T SLEEP - May 12, 2023
Millions of Americans have trouble sleeping, and you may be one of them. Only one other living creature has as much trouble resting as we do. They are woolly, simple-minded, and slow – sheep! Sheep can’t sleep.
For sheep to sleep, everything must be just right. No predators, no tension in the flock. Everything just so. Sheep need help. They need a shepherd to “lead them”and help them “lie down in green pastures.” Without a shepherd, they cannot rest.
Without a shepherd, neither can we. Psalm 23:2 says, “He, (speaking of the Shepherd) makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.” Note he makes me, he leads me. Who’s the active one? Who’s in charge? The Shepherd is.
Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry
Read more Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry
Psalm 89
Your love, God, is my song, and I’ll sing it!
I’m forever telling everyone how faithful you are.
I’ll never quit telling the story of your love—
how you built the cosmos
and guaranteed everything in it.
Your love has always been our lives’ foundation,
your fidelity has been the roof over our world.
You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader,
I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying,
‘Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life;
I’ll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”
5-18 God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways,
the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways!
Search high and low, scan skies and land,
you’ll find nothing and no one quite like God.
The holy angels are in awe before him;
he looms immense and august over everyone around him.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you,
powerful and faithful from every angle?
You put the arrogant ocean in its place
and calm its waves when they turn unruly.
You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand,
you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist.
You own the cosmos—you made everything in it,
everything from atom to archangel.
You positioned the North and South Poles;
the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you.
With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel—
nobody messes with you!
The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule;
Love and Truth are its fruits.
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do—they can’t keep it quiet!
Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us—
you’ve been so good to us! We’re walking on air!
All we are and have we owe to God,
Holy God of Israel, our King!
19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
you spoke to your faithful beloved:
“I’ve crowned a hero,
I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
poured holy oil on his head,
And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him,
yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin.
No enemy will get the best of him,
no scoundrel will do him in.
I’ll weed out all who oppose him,
I’ll clean out all who hate him.
I’m with him for good and I’ll love him forever;
I’ve set him on high—he’s riding high!
I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!’
Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
High King over all of earth’s kings.
I’ll preserve him eternally in my love,
I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I’ll guarantee his family tree
and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
and tear up the rules I post for them—
I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
and make them face the music.
But I’ll never throw them out,
never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise?
or take back words I’d already spoken?
I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word;
do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
inescapable as weather.”
38-52 But God, you did walk off and leave us,
you lost your temper with the one you anointed.
You tore up the promise you made to your servant,
you stomped his crown in the mud.
You blasted his home to kingdom come,
reduced his city to a pile of rubble
Picked clean by wayfaring strangers,
a joke to all the neighbors.
You declared a holiday for all his enemies,
and they’re celebrating for all they’re worth.
Angry, you opposed him in battle,
refused to fight on his side;
You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior,
ground his kingly honor in the dirt.
You took the best years of his life
and left him an impotent, ruined husk.
How long do we put up with this, God?
Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever?
Remember my sorrow and how short life is.
Did you create men and women for nothing but this?
We’ll see death soon enough. Everyone does.
And there’s no back door out of hell.
So where is the love you’re so famous for, Lord?
What happened to your promise to David?
Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord;
I’m the butt of the jokes of all nations,
The taunting jokes of your enemies, God,
as they dog the steps of your dear anointed.
Blessed be God forever and always!
Yes. Oh, yes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 12, 2023
Today's Scripture
James 1:19–26
Act on What You Hear
19-21 Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
Insight
The book of James is deeply concerned about justice, especially in the relationships between the rich and poor (2:6; 5:1–6). In fact, the Greek word often translated “righteousness” in James 1:20 (dikaiosyne) can also be translated “justice,” a plausible translation of this verse in the context. Because strained and unjust relationships between rich and poor is such a core issue in this book, some scholars have suggested that in 1:19–20 the author feels the need to urgently emphasize that human anger won’t result in the justice the poor long for. Instead, James emphasizes being “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” In James 4:1–2, the author again warns against allowing unmet desires to turn into anger and even violence. Believers in Jesus are called to live in humble dependence on God (1:21) and to be devoted to serving others (v. 27). By: Monica La Rose
How’s My Driving?
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19–20
“ARRRGH!” I yelled as the repair truck cut in front of me.
That’s when I saw the message: “How’s My Driving?” And a phone number. I picked up my phone and dialed. A woman asked me why I was calling, and I vented my frustration. She took down the truck’s number. Then she said, wearily, “You know, you can always call to report someone who’s driving nicely.”
Ouch. Her tired words instantly punctured my smug self-righteousness. Embarrassment flooded me. In my zeal for “justice,” I hadn’t paused to consider how my rage-filled tone could affect this woman in her difficult job. The disconnect between my faith and my fruitfulness—in that moment—was devastating.
The gap between our actions and our convictions is what the book of James focuses on. In James 1:19–20, we read, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Later, he adds, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (v. 22).
None of us is perfect. Sometimes our “driving” in life needs help, the kind that starts with confession and asks for God’s help—trusting Him to keep filing the rough edges of our character. By: Adam Holz
Reflect & Pray
Why can words spoken quickly and in anger be problematic? How can you better live out what you truly believe?
Father, sometimes my anger wins out and I say hurtful things. Please help me to grow in this area.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 12, 2023
The Habit of Having No Habits
If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful… —2 Peter 1:8
When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, “I can’t do that right now; this is my time alone with God.” No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcoming and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.
Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things— things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 12, 2023
A PARENT'S BEST CLASSROOM - #9480
There's nothing quite as boring as listening to information you've heard before, presented the same way you've heard it presented before. Since I used to fly quite a bit, I heard the flight attendant's announcements many, many times. To be honest, I got to the point where I didn't pay a lot of attention, because, you know, it was predictable...usually.
But there was this one flight - we had a flight attendant who kept throwing in humorous surprises and fresh ways of saying things. Everyone was listening to him. Like he said, "Now, we're preparing for landing and you need to put your seats in the upright and most uncomfortable position." We all laughed. And then I liked the part where he said, "The captain has turned on the seat belt sign, which is an indication he has finally found the airport." I love it! It sounds unpredictable. You know? This man knew something about communication. If you have important information to communicate, don't be so predictable.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Parent's Best Classroom."
God has given moms and dads some really important announcements for them to make to their children. He actually talks about them in Deuteronomy 6, and I'll begin reading at verse 5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Then impress them on your children."
Well, we try to do that. I mean, if you're a Christian parent, I'm sure you try to impress the ways of God; the teachings of God; the boundaries of God on your children. But sometimes our children respond with the same kind of, well, disinterest that I did to those predictable airline announcements. They know what you're going to say before you say it. So maybe it isn't enough that we teach our children about the Lord. We need to do it in ways and in places where it's not so predictable, so maybe we'll have their full attention.
In the rest of Deuteronomy 6:7, Moses tells how to do that, "Talk about them (that's God's commandments) when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up." See, sometimes we get immune to hearing a Biblical truth the way it's always been presented; in a place we always hear it. We kind of have practiced responses to a sermon, or to family devotions. We know what to expect. We know how we're supposed to act. It's predictable.
But there's something disarming about God-talk in the middle of everyday activity - the classroom of everyday life. See, the best place for your son, or daughter, or grandchild to see God at work might be on the baseball field. Or on the way to the store with you. Suddenly some question comes up that gives you a teachable moment. Grab that! Maybe it's debriefing their day over a Big Mac, or maybe it's in those mellow bedtime moments, or riding along with you at all the places you chauffeur them. That's the classroom of everyday life, the best place to learn about the God that I hope, as the Bible says, "you love with all your heart."
Don't just depend on formal settings to get the job done; not when you want to introduce God to your child. They may shut down for the formal announcements. But look for God together in the ordinary, the relaxed, the everyday, "God sightings." As a parent, you have the blessed responsibility of passing on God's announcements to kids that He has trusted to you. "If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation." Listen, if you're a parent and you're doing it without that relationship with God, and you know your kids have shown you. You see enough of you in them to know that you need a Savior for your needs.
Well, this might be what exactly your starting point is today. Say, "Jesus, I am yours. You died for my self-centeredness, my sin. I need You. My family needs me to know You." Tell Him today, "I'm yours." Check out our website today, would you - ANewStory.com.
Jesus comes into you. And when He does, He comes into your family, and things are never the same.