Max Lucado Daily: THE THERMOSTATIC IMPACT OF PRAYER - September 12, 2023
Angels convey our prayers into God’s presence. In the apostle John’s vision, he saw an “Angel, carrying a gold censer, [who] came and stood at the Altar. He was given a great quantity of incense so that he could offer up the prayers of all the holy people of God on the Golden Altar before the Throne.” Revelation 8 tells us that as God hears our petitions, he responds with thunder. In other words, our prayers have a thermostatic impact upon the actions of heaven.
Mothers, when you pray for your child… Husbands, when you ask for healing in your marriage… Children, when you kneel at your bed before going to sleep… Citizens, when you pray for your country… Pastors, when you pray for the members of your church… Your prayers trigger the ascension of angels and the downpour of power!
God never gives up on you.
2 Chronicles 2
The Temple Construction Begins
1 2 Solomon gave orders to begin construction on the house of worship in honor of God and a palace for himself.
2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce.
3–4 Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent David my father for building his palace. I’m about to build a house of worship in honor of God, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship—the acts of worship required of Israel.
5–10 “The house I am building has to be the best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. But who is capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies—the entire cosmos!—can’t begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God—burning incense to him is about all I’m good for! I need your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided. Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I’ll send workers to join your crews to cut plenty of timber—I’m going to need a lot, for this house I’m building is going to be absolutely stunning—a showcase temple! I’ll provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers: 130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
11 Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: “It’s plain that God loves his people—he made you king over them!”
12–14 He wrote on, “Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for God and a palace for himself. I’ve sent you Huram-Abi—he’s already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.
15–16 “Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. We’ll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to Joppa. You’ll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself.”
17–18 Solomon then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the mountains,
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Today's Scripture
Psalm 37:5–7
Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
Insight
The concept of progressive revelation teaches that Scripture doesn’t move from error to truth but moves from incompleteness to completeness. So, people in the Old Testament didn’t understand many things because they didn’t have as much information as we do. One example is their limited understanding of life after death, which caused them to assume that all reward or judgment would ultimately take place in this life. This was referred to as the “law of retribution,” which stated that the righteous are blessed according to their righteousness and the wicked are punished according to their wickedness. Some scholars see Psalms 34, 37, and 73 as a trilogy dealing with that principle. Psalm 34 simply states the principle and Psalm 37 is counseling someone about the principle. Psalm 73 is the frustrated response of a righteous sufferer who believed the principle wasn’t working in their experience.
Learn more about the biblical revelation of God. By: Bill Crowder
Be Still
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
After I’d gotten settled into the chamber, my body floating comfortably above the water, the room went dark and the gentle music that had been playing in the background went silent. I’d read that isolation tanks were therapeutic, offering relief for stress and anxiety. But this was like nothing I’d ever encountered. It felt like the chaos of the world had stopped, and I could clearly hear my innermost thoughts. I left the experience balanced and rejuvenated, reminded that there is power in stillness.
We can rest most comfortably in the stillness of the presence of God, who renews our strength and grants us the wisdom we need to tackle the challenges we face each day. When we’re still, silencing the noise and removing distractions in our lives, He strengthens us so we can hear His gentle voice more clearly (Psalm 37:7).
While sensory deprivation chambers are certainly one form of stillness, God offers us a simpler way to spend uninterrupted time with Him. He says, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). God will guide our steps and allow His righteousness to shine brightly through us when we seek the answers to life’s challenges in the stillness of His magnificent presence (Psalm 37:5–6). By: Kimya Loder
Reflect & Pray
What are some things that consume your time? How can you make more room for quiet time with God?
Dear Father, I know I get caught up in the fast pace of life. Help me to be still, making room for You in everything I do.
For further study, read In His Presence: Spending Time with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask." —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember— He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father— as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives…” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Saturated But Not Strong - #9567
You know, I've been told so many times in my life, "Go take a hike," so I finally did. Yeah, this particular summer I was at a lovely Christian conference center in California. One day when I wasn't speaking, they had a nature hike. They had a fellow called Father Nature who took us out (you didn't know there was a Father Nature I'll bet) and he showed us the four different kinds of nature zones they had on their property.
There was the river bed; the desert section, and so on. It's rather amazing from a scientific standpoint. And he showed us two kinds of trees: First, there were these beautiful White Alder trees. They grow lushly by the river and they wave their leaves. And he said they can evaporate up to 400 gallons of water a day!
Now, the roots of the White Alder are very shallow apparently. They get plenty of water and therefore they have shallow roots. But when the floods come, oh boy, we've got a problem. He showed us the desert zone trees, and the ones in the desert survive on 40 gallons of water a year sometimes. How come? They use everything they get, and their roots are deep. Guess which one is still standing after a violent storm? Yep, the one with the roots.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Saturated But Not Strong."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is about those roots. Not so much the roots of trees in the desert or trees by the river bed, but God's trees - that would be you and me. Colossians 2:6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Now, this describes the point of entry into a relationship with Christ. It says, "just as you received Christ."
Do you remember when you opened your life to Christ and how dependent you were on Him; how hungry you were to get into His Word; how boldly and frequently you prayed; how trusting you were? Well, you see, this verse is necessary to talk to us about our roots because we have a tendency to get lazy about those spiritual roots.
See, in many ways, we American Christians, are the White Alder tree that I described earlier - the one that has all that nourishment that evaporates up to 400 gallons of water a day, lives by the river bed, saturated but with weak roots. See, we're saturated, too: Christian resources. We've got Christian radio, websites, books, TV, Bible studies, seminars, conferences, and we're waving and we're celebrating. But could it be we're depending on meetings and events, and feelings, and miracles, and experiences? We've got weak roots and we are vulnerable to the storm.
Now, you talk to Christians in the desert places like China, and they know where their roots are: consistent, personal Bible study every day; fervent prayer; deep roots in the church; always learning... always growing. But we get lazy here in our spiritual rain forest. It takes a heavy hit to show us that what we have is broad but not very deep, and maybe then it is too late.
You know, maybe it's time now for us to see that our roots need to be growing, not just our leaves. Do you know some things about the Lord that you didn't know a month ago? Have you given Him some new ground that He didn't have a month ago? Are you praying in fresh, new ways? Are you going by the book and not by your feelings? Is your relationship with God mostly vertical... not horizontal, like just when you're with His people?
Well, you could be saturated but not strong. You've got to go to your roots. Then when the storm or the drought comes, you will stand tall through it all.