Max Lucado Daily: THE BLIND SEE - August 3, 2023
When people are refused access to Christ by those closest to him, the result is empty, hollow religion. Ugly religion.
Hard to believe? Yet it happens—even in the church. It happens when a church spends more time discussing the style of its sanctuary than it does the needs of the hungry. It happens when a church is known more for its stance on an issue than its reliance upon God. It happens when we think Jesus has more important things to do than to be bothered by such insignificant people.
Christ thought otherwise. “Jesus felt sorry for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see” (Matthew 20:24). In that moment, of all the people, it is the blind who really saw Jesus.
And the Angels Were Silent: Walking with Christ Toward the Cross
Read more And the Angels Were Silent: Walking with Christ Toward the Cross
1 Chronicles 14
David’s House and Family
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace for him. 2 And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.
3 In Jerusalem David took more wives and became the father of more sons and daughters. 4 These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5 Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, 6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7 Elishama, Beeliada[d] and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines
8 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; 10 so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, I will deliver them into your hands.”
11 So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.[e] 12 The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to burn them in the fire.
13 Once more the Philistines raided the valley; 14 so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 15 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 16 So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
17 So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 03, 2023
Today's Scripture
James 5:13–20
Prayer to Be Reckoned With
13–15 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
16–18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
19–20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.
Insight
Prayer is the focus of James 5:13–18. James encourages both individual prayer (v. 13) and community prayer (vv. 14–16). His encouragement to pray in a variety of circumstances demonstrates that prayer is to be a standard part of the life of the believer in Jesus. Whether suffering or cheerful, we’re to pray.
In verse 15, James circles back to what he emphasized in the beginning of his letter—the necessity of faith when praying (see 1:5–6). In 1:5, he tells his readers to ask for wisdom when they need it, but to ask in faith (v. 6). Similarly, in 5:13–18, prayer offered in faith is what’s effective. This echoes Jesus’ own statements on the importance of faith (see Matthew 17:20). By: J.R. Hudberg
Authentic and Vulnerable
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16
“Hey, Poh Fang!” A church friend texted. “For this month’s care group meeting, let’s get everyone to do what James 5:16 says. Let’s create a safe environment of trust and confidentiality, so we can share an area of struggle in our life and pray for each other.”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure how to reply. While our small group members have known each other for years, we’d never really openly shared all our hurts and struggles with one another. After all, it’s scary to be vulnerable.
But the truth is, we’re all sinners and we all struggle. We all need Jesus. Authentic conversations about God’s amazing grace and our dependency on Christ have a way of encouraging us to keep trusting in Him. With Jesus, we can stop pretending to have trouble-free lives.
So I replied, “Yes! Let’s do that!” Initially, it was awkward. But as one person opened up and shared, another soon followed. Though a few kept silent, there was understanding. No one was pressured. We ended the time by doing what the second part of James 5:16 says, “Pray for each other.”
That day I experienced the beauty of fellowship with believers in Jesus. Because of our common faith in Christ, we can be vulnerable with each other and depend on Him and others to help us in our weaknesses and struggles. By: Poh Fang Chia
Reflect & Pray
While we must be discerning, what can you do to encourage more authentic sharing in your church community? Who can you share your struggles with?
Father, thank You for placing me in Your family so I might find support as I grow to become more and more like Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 03, 2023
The Compelling Purpose of God
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).
The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).
We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
Bible in a Year: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 03, 2023
Running Into Busyness - #9539
For years, Haiti's had a special place in the hearts of my wife and myself. We've been there sometimes. My wife went down there on a photography mission. It's always touched our hearts. And when it's in the news, like earthquakes etc. it really gets to us. You know, I remember some years ago when my wife brought back a strange souvenir from her visit. She came home with I guess you'd call it a bacterial souvenir from a mission trip there.
We got home from the airport, opened up the luggage, greeted our three children and started to hand out the little souvenirs that we got them. Well, meanwhile, my wife retreated to the bedroom and within an hour she was like in intestinal agony with gastroenteritis. I went to the doctor a couple of times and I tried to get her something to give her relief. When all else failed, they said, "Hey, you'd better get the emergency medical people over there and bring her to the hospital.
That was a little scary. Here comes the EMS people barging in, they've got a stretcher, they've got the ambulance out in front, they're barking orders to each other. Our poor little boys just stood there wide-eyed trying to process it all, but not our 14-year-old daughter. No. No, she responded to this bad news situation differently. Suddenly she's in the kitchen doing dishes; cleaning madly; working frantically. First born! I guess she didn't want to deal directly with what was going on, so she just got busy. Yeah, it could be that first-born thing. That's not all bad unless it's God that you're avoiding dealing with.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Into Busyness."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah 30. I'll begin reading at verse 15. It's about people on the run. "This is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says, 'In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength.' But you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore, your pursuers will be swift."
Now, notice here, God says to people, "I want you to repent; to rest, to trust." And they say, "Nope! I want to run. I want to run as fast as I can." You know, some of us are lifetime fugitives. Yep, we're running from something God is trying to get us to face. This says here that your pursuers will be swift; they will always catch up with you. Some escapes that we try are obviously destructive: like alcohol, drugs, or physically running away. But many Christians take the noble escape from facing issues. They just get busy in worthy causes, like my daughter bustling around in the kitchen. We get so busy, so we don't have to face the situation.
Now, on the one hand, serving others; that's a positive way to find personal healing, but not if you're working as a substitute for dealing with the issue. Think about it. When you slow down, don't you start to see some things about yourself that you don't see any other time? Some of it, well, it might be hard to face: a deeply entrenched personal sin, maybe it's a deep wound that you've never dealt with. Something God wants you to do that you'd rather avoid. It's the still, small voice of God trying to get through.
Now, either we face what He's saying, or we run like mad. If you run into busyness, even spiritual busyness, oh everyone will praise you for your dedication. But busyness that is running from the truth, is running from God, that's an escape as surely as drugs or alcohol. And it's just as addicting. Isn't it time to stop running finally and unload the stress of a neurotic, destructive busyness and just listen to God? "Be still and know that He is God." Deal with what he's been chasing you for all these years, and you won't have to run nearly so much.
Wouldn't it be nice to live without always having to look over your shoulder?