Max Lucado Daily: SIT IN THE SILENCE - August 7, 2023
Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, verse 8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”
What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? No? Surely John mentions the Sabbath. He doesn’t? Well it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
“You mean with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? You’re telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work?” That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could too?
And the Angels Were Silent: Walking with Christ Toward the Cross
Read more And the Angels Were Silent: Walking with Christ Toward the Cross
Psalm 42
A white-tailed deer drinks
from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep drafts of God.
I’m thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it—
arrive and drink in God’s presence?”
I’m on a diet of tears—
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
“Where is this God of yours?”
4 These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!
5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God’s prayer.
9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
“Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?”
They’re out for the kill, these
tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
“Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 07, 2023
Today's Scripture
Ephesians 5:8–20
You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
11–16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
17 Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
18–20 Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Insight
In Ephesians 5, Paul contrasts—as he does elsewhere (see 2:1–10)—who we were before we believed in Jesus with who we are after we believe in Him. Using the metaphors of darkness (before knowing Jesus) and light (after belief), he encourages us to “live as children of light” (5:8).
Then he says that the “fruit of the light” consists of “goodness, righteousness and truth” (v. 9). Goodness refers to an intrinsic quality with emphasis on kindness. Righteousness refers to justice or justness. And truth refers not only to telling the truth but also living an honest life. By: J.R. Hudberg
A Thousand Dots of Light
Live as children of light. Ephesians 5:8
The Dismals Canyon in northwestern Alabama attracts a number of tourists each year, many in May and June when the gnat larvae hatch and become glowworms. At night, these glowworms cast a brilliant blue luminescence, and thousands of them together create a breathtaking light.
In a way, the apostle Paul writes about believers in Christ as glowworms. He explains that “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8). But sometimes we wonder how “this little light of mine” can make a difference. Paul suggests it isn’t just a solo act. He calls us “children of light” (v. 8) and explains that we “share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12). Being light in the world is a collective effort, the work of the body of Christ, the work of the church. Paul reinforces this with the picture of us “glowworms” worshiping together, “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:19).
When we get discouraged, thinking our life testimony is just one little dot in a midnight culture of pitch black, we might take assurance from the Bible. We’re not alone. Together, as God guides us, we make a difference and glow a brilliant light. It seems that a whole congregation of glowworms might attract a whole lot of interest.
By: Kenneth Petersen
Reflect & Pray
How does it encourage you to know you’re not alone in Christ? How can you shine brightly with other believers today?
Dear God, please help me shine Your light with other believers in Jesus.
Learn more about how to be the person God has called you to be.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 07, 2023
Prayer in the Father’s House
…they found Him in the temple….And He said to them, "…Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?" —Luke 2:46, 49
Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?
The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “…I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.
Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.
The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
Bible in a Year: Psalms 72-73; Romans 9:1-15
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 07, 2023
When Things Are Overwhelming - #9541
My wife always said I usually try to cram in one more thing before I leave for an appointment. No, she was right. Yeah, she'd say that I usually try to make it up on the road, and sometimes I do have to plead guilty I guess. And it usually works okay if the weather's on my side. And then there are those very rainy days when it's a little tougher to hurry. You know, you're zipping down the highway at top speed, and suddenly you feel yourself losing control of the rear wheels. You ever had that happen to you? Yeah, it's what they call hydroplaning. The water builds up under those tires so that well, you're suddenly skiing. You're skimming along on water rather than on the pavement and the rear of your car starts to go somewhere you don't want it to go. Now, if that's ever happened to you, you know it is a scary feeling to start hydroplaning because, well, you're going so fast and you're starting to start losing control.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Things Are Overwhelming."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 42. As we read this, the author is hydroplaning. Well, he didn't have a car, he had a chariot. And I don't know if chariots hydroplane or not, but things were moving so fast for him, he was beginning to lose control. In fact, listen to some of the descriptions he gives. He says, "My tears have been my food day and night." Then as you read on later in this very personal Psalm, he uses words like this: "Why are you so downcast oh my soul? Why are you so disturbed within me?" Then he says, "My soul is downcast within me. All Your waves and breakers, Lord, have swept over me." This guy's in bad shape!
He says, "Man, things are just totally out of control." I was there not too long ago feeling this way. I think it was accumulated over a period of several weeks. Challenges had just been getting much bigger than my resources. Personally I felt like my faith was kind of like a fitted sheet on a king sized bed and I couldn't quite get it over that fourth corner. I couldn't get it to reach far enough to cover the particular challenges and the pressures that were accumulating. And I'll be honest with you, I was overwhelmed, I get there sometimes. I was pretty anxious, I was feeling like I would never catch up. And then I wandered into Psalm 42, where I was hit with a very probing question by a man who was feeling things out-of-control like I was. And as it turned out, that question turned out to be the answer.
Here's our word for today from the Word of God. The question is in Psalm 42:2. It says this: "When can I go and meet with God?" So the writer says, "I'm losing control. It's bigger than I am. When can I go and meet with God?" You know, just like the writer of that Psalm, I needed to stop the world and get away for 24 hours with my Bible and a notepad and meet with God. And I did.
That's been repeated many times. Maybe that's the prescription for you right now. You say, "Well, there's too much for me to stop right now." See, that's why you need to. Set a time to stop. Stand back, and listen to your Lord for an extended, unhurried chunk of time - for hours, not just minutes. Write down what you're feeling and what you're thinking as you're in His presence for that extended time. And ask Him for a fresh look at the people and the pressures so you can see the forest and not just the trees. Ask Him to help you see it through His eyes. Set some priorities while you're in that away spot. Make plans. Weed out things that can go. You can trust what you get from God when you're in an extended time in His presence. And those need to be scheduled on a pretty regular basis.
So, if you're traveling at high speed, you feel yourself losing control, slow down, hit the brakes, carve out time away where your Lord can show you what He wants, and He can have your undivided attention.
The number one question you have to answer right now is this: "When can I go and meet with God?"