Max Lucado Daily: What's More Important?
I remember receiving an invitation to speak at a church in the Midwest. I turned it down. If I had gone, I would have had the attention of a great number of people for an hour. The opportunity to speak about Jesus to some people who didn't know Him.
Is a Tuesday evening at home with three children and a spouse more important than preaching to an audience? I decided to make a list of what I had to lose by saying no to my family one night. I would not have been there to hold Andrea when her finger got slammed in the door. I wouldn't have been there to answer Jenna's question, "Daddy what's a handicapped person?" I would have missed Jenna telling the story of Jesus on the cross during our family devotional.
There are a hundred speakers who could have addressed that crowd, but my girls just have one dad! I made the right choice.
From In the Eye of the Storm
Psalm 47
Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo!
Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!
God Most High is stunning,
astride land and ocean.
He crushes hostile people,
puts nations at our feet.
He set us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.
Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
a ram’s horn blast at the summit.
Sing songs to God, sing out!
Sing to our King, sing praise!
He’s Lord over earth,
so sing your best songs to God.
God is Lord of godless nations—
sovereign, he’s King of the mountain.
Princes from all over are gathered,
people of Abraham’s God.
The powers of earth are God’s— he soars over all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Today's Scripture
Psalm 33:1–11
Good people, cheer God!
Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.
4–5 For God’s Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.
He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
in God’s affectionate satisfaction.
6–7 The skies were made by God’s command;
he breathed the word and the stars popped out.
He scooped Sea into his jug,
put Ocean in his keg.
8–9 Earth-creatures, bow before God;
world-dwellers—down on your knees!
Here’s why: he spoke and there it was,
in place the moment he said so.
10–12 God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
he shoots down the world’s power-schemes.
God’s plan for the world stands up,
all his designs are made to last.
Insight
Psalm 33 is an anonymous psalm that praises God and calls listeners to join in the praise (vv. 1–3). Specifically, we’re to praise Him for His matchless character (vv. 4–5), for His acts of creation and deliverance, and for His power and love (vv. 6–19). The song concludes with an affirmation of trust in God and an appeal to Him for ongoing expressions of His lovingkindness (vv. 20–22). This structure, as one commentator wrote, “clarifies the movement of the psalm from praise to hope, which when fulfilled leads into a new chorus of similar praise.” Take a few moments and reflect on how you’ve experienced God’s character, creation, and love, and give Him praise for all His “unfailing love” (v. 22). As the old gospel song says, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!” By: Bill Crowder
Forever Faithful God
The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. Psalm 33:4
When Xavier was an elementary student, I drove him to and from school. One day, things didn’t go according to plan. I was late to pick him up. I parked the car, praying frantically as I ran toward his classroom. I found him hugging his backpack as he sat on a bench next to a teacher. “I’m so sorry, Mijo. Are you okay?” He sighed. “I’m fine, but I’m mad at you for being late.” How could I blame him? I was mad at myself too. I loved my son, but I knew there would be many times when I’d disappoint him. I also knew he might feel disappointed with God one day. So I worked hard to teach him that God never has and never will break a promise.
Psalm 33 encourages us to celebrate God’s faithfulness with joyful praises (vv. 1–3) because “the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does” (v. 4). Using the world God created as tangible proof of His power and dependability (vv. 5–7), the psalmist calls on the “people of the world” to worship God (v. 8).
When plans fail or people let us down, we can be tempted to be disappointed in God. However, we can rely on God’s trustworthiness because His plans “stand firm forever” (v. 11). We can praise God, even when things go wrong because our loving Creator sustains everything and everyone. God is forever faithful.
By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
Why is it hard to praise God when your plans fail or people disappoint you? How has He used the world He created to prove His enduring trustworthiness?
Dear God, please remind me of Your past faithfulness as I walk by faith today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, August 12, 2023
The Theology of Resting in God
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26
When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.
“…O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.
There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.
We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically. Disciples Indeed, 387 R
Bible in a Year: Psalms 84-86; Romans 12