Max Lucado Daily: TO MEET THE SAVIOR - November 7, 2023
If you took a name at random and asked me, “Max, how does Chester Whomever feel about adultery?” I couldn’t answer. I don’t know Chester Whomever. But if you were to ask me, “Max, how does Denalyn Lucado feel about adultery?” I wouldn’t even have to call her. I know. She’s my wife. We have walked together long enough that I know what she thinks.
The same is true with God. Walk with him long enough and you come to know his heart. When you spend time with him in his study, you see his compassion. When you welcome him to enter the gateway of your soul, you’ll perceive his will. To meet the Savior is to be set aflame. To discover the flame is to discover his will. And to discover his will is to access a world like none you have ever seen.
2 Chronicles 30
Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple of God in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel’s God. The king and his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month. They hadn’t been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and the people hadn’t had time to gather in Jerusalem. Under these circumstances, the revised date was approved by both king and people and they sent out the invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beer-sheba in the south to Dan in the north: “Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel’s God in Jerusalem.” No one living had ever celebrated it properly.
6–9 The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: “O Israelites! Come back to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria. Don’t repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God, the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin—you can see the ruins all around you. Don’t be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God’s outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God, your God. You’ll no longer be in danger of his hot anger. If you come back to God, your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and won’t snub you—come back and he’ll welcome you with open arms.”
10–12 So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke. But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun weren’t too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem. It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of God.
13–17 It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover (sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread). First they went to work and got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem—hauled them off and dumped them in the Kidron Valley. Then, on the fourteenth day of the second month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren’t ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of God. Ready now, they stood at their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them. Because so many in the congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs so that they would be properly consecrated to God.
18–19 There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: “May God who is all good, pardon and forgive everyone who sincerely desires God, the God of our ancestors. Even—especially!—these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to The Temple.”
20 God responded to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people.
21–22 All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God.
22–23 When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of God, the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept, they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began.
24–26 Hezekiah king of Judah gave one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation’s worship; the officials gave an additional one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests—qualified and well-prepared. The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration. Jerusalem was bursting with joy—nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple.
27 The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 07, 2023
Today's Scripture
Genesis 3:1–10
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2–3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’ ”
4–5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9 God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
Insight
Jesus’ beloved disciple John recognized in the serpent’s temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1–7) the fundamental temptations all people face. He wrote that “everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes from the . . . world” (1 John 2:16). His words echo Eve’s thoughts as she looked at the tree: it was good for food, pleased the eye, and would make one wise like God (Genesis 3:6). We all face the same kinds of temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). Instead of giving in, however, the Spirit will help us to stand firm in the faith (Galatians 5:16; 1 Peter 5:8–9). By: Jed Ostoich
Destruction Destroyed
The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9
“The baby birds will fly tomorrow!” My wife, Cari, was elated about the progress a family of wrens was making in a hanging basket on our front porch. She’d watched them daily, taking pictures as the mother brought food to the nest.
Cari got up early the next morning to look in on them. She moved some of the greenery aside covering the nest but instead of seeing baby birds, the narrow eyes of a serpent met hers. The snake had scaled a vertical wall, slithered into the nest, and devoured them all.
Cari was heartbroken and angry. I was out of town, so she called a friend to remove the snake. But the damage was done.
Scripture tells of another serpent who left destruction in his path. The serpent in the garden of Eden deceived Eve about the tree God had warned her against eating from: “You will not certainly die,” he lied, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).
Sin and death entered the world as a result of Eve and Adam’s disobedience to God, and the deception wrought by “that ancient serpent, who is the devil” continues (Revelation 20:2). But Jesus came “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8), and through Him we’re restored to relationship with God. One day, He’ll make “everything new” (Revelation 21:5). By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
How has Jesus destroyed the devil’s work in your heart and life? What do you look forward to in Him?
Please deliver me, Jesus, from the devil’s deception. Saving God, give me grace to live for You!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 07, 2023
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “…but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.
Not Knowing Whither
Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 40-42; Hebrews 4
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 07, 2023
Why We Need Each Other - #9607
The five members of the Hutchcraft family have the same last name, of course, except for our married daughter, but that's pretty much where the sameness ends. And I think it's good that we're different.
When we needed an emotional lift, for example, well we've always had our oldest son there with his sense of humor. If we needed a physical lift, he was there with his very well developed physical strength. When we needed a job done or something fixed, oh, go to our youngest son. He has sort of... Well, he sort of had the helping hands and the figure-it-out mind in the family. And when it comes to greeting people or talking with people, or giving guidance, well our daughter was always there with her great people gifts. And, Mom? Well, she was always there with her common sense. Thank the Lord for my sake! And she had this great "drop everything for you" attitude.
I guess every family's like that. Youknow, you have the same name, but you've got different styles; you make different contributions. You know what? That includes God's family. And some of the family who are the most different from you, guess what? They're the ones you need the most.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why We Need Each Other."
Our word for today from the Word of God is from 1 Corinthians 12. I'll be reading from verses 12, 21, 25, and 27. Basically it tells you that you're not all there. Yeah. Listen to this: "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts. And though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you.' And the hand cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you.'"
Then verse 25 says, "So there should be no division in the body, but its parts should have equal concern for each other. Now, you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." You know what God is saying here is that basically He has made all of us incomplete. None of us has all of Him. But you put us all together and all the gifts are there. Or to put it another way, you're not all there. There is no family member in God's family that you don't need. Wow!
You say, "Oh, wait a minute! What about those folks who..." You need them! "Yeah, but I know a group of people who are very different from us. They don't have as much (you know...)" You need them. See, we're not all there. We need those people who are different from us. We tend to get into our own clusters and we appreciate only Christians who see it our way, say it our way, do it our way, express it our way. But you're not all there; I'm not all there; we're incomplete!
Now, if you're a feeling oriented Christian, you need the stabilizing influence of some believers who are more content oriented. But if you're real fact oriented, content oriented, guess what? You could use some of the warmth and spontaneity of the more feeling oriented Christians. Or maybe you're a free-wheeling believer, well you need some Christians who are more structured, who stress boundaries in the Christian life. You need that. But if you're real structured, you need some of those more spontaneous people. You could use their openness.
See, some of God's children will teach you how to really worship, because they're really good at that; they're experienced in that. Others will stimulate your vision for a lost world. Some, by being around them, you'll learn to give; other Christians may show you how to really pray. There are others who will teach you to go reach the lost. Then there's others, well, you hang out around them and you'll learn to love unconditionally. And then there will be others who will teach you to dig into the Bible as your source of authority. I'll just say of my life I'm like a river that's been created by a lot of tributaries and I've been so enriched by the variety of the body of Christ. I've needed them all.
See, if you will open up to the rest of the family, you're going to be really rich! Let different Christians challenge you, and balance you, and complete you. There is no family member in God's family that you don't need and who doesn't need you, because we're just not all there.
