Max Lucado Daily: HOPE IS BORN - December 21, 2023
Hollywood would recast the Christmas story. Joseph’s collar is way too blue. Mary is green from inexperience. The couple’s star power doesn’t match the bill. Too obscure, too simple. The story warrants some headliners. And what about the shepherds? Do they sing? A good public relations firm would move the birth to a big city. The Son of God deserves a royal entry. Less peasant, more pizzaz.
But we didn’t design the hour. God did. And God was content to enter the world in the presence of sleepy sheep and a wide-eyed carpenter. No spotlights, just candlelight. No crowns, just cows chewing cud.
If God was willing to wrap himself in rags, then all questions about his love for you are off the table. When Christ was born, so was our hope. That’s why I love Christmas!
Isaiah 37
The Only God There Is
1–2 37 When King Hezekiah heard the report, he also tore his clothes and dressed in rough, penitential burlap gunnysacks, and went into the sanctuary of God. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, all of them also dressed in penitential burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
3–4 They said to him, “Hezekiah says, ‘This is a black day. We’re in crisis. We’re like pregnant women without even the strength to have a baby! Do you think your God heard what the Rabshekah said, sent by his master the king of Assyria to mock the living God? And do you think your God will do anything about it? Pray for us, Isaiah. Pray for those of us left here holding the fort!’ ”
5–7 Then King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah. Isaiah said, “Tell your master this, ‘God’s Message: Don’t be upset by what you’ve heard, all those words the servants of the Assyrian king have used to mock me. I personally will take care of him. I’ll arrange it so that he’ll get a rumor of bad news back home and rush home to take care of it. And he’ll die there. Killed—a violent death.’ ”
8 The Rabshekah left and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah. (He had gotten word that the king had left Lachish.)
9–13 Just then the Assyrian king received an intelligence report on King Tirhakah of Ethiopia: “He is on his way to make war on you.”
On hearing that, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with instructions to deliver this message: “Don’t let your God, on whom you so naively lean, deceive you, promising that Jerusalem won’t fall to the king of Assyria. Use your head! Look around at what the kings of Assyria have done all over the world—one country after another devastated! And do you think you’re going to get off? Have any of the gods of any of these countries ever stepped in and saved them, even one of these nations my predecessors destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who lived in Telassar? Look around. Do you see anything left of the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, the king of Ivvah?”
14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hands of the messengers and read it. Then he went into the sanctuary of God and spread the letter out before God.
15–20 Then Hezekiah prayed to God: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, enthroned over the cherubim-angels, you are God, the only God there is, God of all kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. Listen, O God, and hear. Look, O God, and see. Mark all these words of Sennacherib that he sent to mock the living God. It’s quite true, O God, that the kings of Assyria have devastated all the nations and their lands. They’ve thrown their gods into the trash and burned them—no great achievement since they were no-gods anyway, gods made in workshops, carved from wood and chiseled from rock. An end to the no-gods! But now step in, O God, our God. Save us from him. Let all the kingdoms of earth know that you and you alone are God.”
21–25 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this word to Hezekiah: “God’s Message, the God of Israel: Because you brought King Sennacherib of Assyria to me in prayer, here is my answer, God’s answer:
“ ‘She has no use for you, Sennacherib, nothing but contempt,
this virgin daughter Zion.
She spits at you and turns on her heel,
this daughter Jerusalem.
“ ‘Who do you think you’ve been mocking and reviling
all these years?
Who do you think you’ve been jeering
and treating with such utter contempt
All these years?
The Holy of Israel!
You’ve used your servants to mock the Master.
You’ve bragged, “With my fleet of chariots
I’ve gone to the highest mountain ranges,
penetrated the far reaches of Lebanon,
Chopped down its giant cedars,
its finest cypresses.
I conquered its highest peak,
explored its deepest forest.
I dug wells
and drank my fill.
I emptied the famous rivers of Egypt
with one kick of my foot.
26–27 “ ‘Haven’t you gotten the news
that I’ve been behind this all along?
This is a longstanding plan of mine
and I’m just now making it happen,
using you to devastate strong cities,
turning them into piles of rubble
and leaving their citizens helpless,
bewildered, and confused,
drooping like unwatered plants,
stunted like withered seedlings.
28–29 “ ‘I know all about your pretentious poses,
your officious comings and goings,
and, yes, the tantrums you throw against me.
Because of all your wild raging against me,
your unbridled arrogance that I keep hearing of,
I’ll put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I’ll show you who’s boss. I’ll turn you around
and take you back to where you came from.
30–32 “ ‘And this, Hezekiah, will be your confirming sign: This year’s crops will be slim pickings, and next year it won’t be much better. But in three years, farming will be back to normal, with regular sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting. What’s left of the people of Judah will put down roots and make a new start. The people left in Jerusalem will get moving again. Mount Zion survivors will take hold again. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.’
33–35 “Finally, this is God’s verdict on the king of Assyria:
“ ‘Don’t worry, he won’t enter this city,
won’t let loose a single arrow,
Won’t brandish so much as one shield,
let alone build a siege ramp against it.
He’ll go back the same way he came.
He won’t set a foot in this city.
God’s Decree.
I’ve got my hand on this city
to save it,
Save it for my very own sake,
but also for the sake of my David dynasty.’ ”
36–38 Then the Angel of God arrived and struck the Assyrian camp—185,000 Assyrians died. By the time the sun came up, they were all dead—an army of corpses! Sennacherib, king of Assyria, got out of there fast, back home to Nineveh. As he was worshiping in the sanctuary of his god Nisroch, he was murdered by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer. They escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon became the next king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Today's Scripture
Psalm 42
A psalm of the sons of Korah
1–3 42 A white-tailed deer drinks
from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts 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.
Insight
Psalm 42 is one of the twelve songs (Psalms 42-49, 84-85, 87-88) credited to the descendants of Korah, members of a Levitical choir commissioned by David to serve in the temple as singers and gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 6:31-33; 9:19; 2 Chronicles 20:19). Scholars say that Psalms 42 and 43 were originally one song, characterized by the introspective question: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” and the repeated assurance, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (42:5, 11; 43:5). By: K. T. Sim
The Light of Hope
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
My mother’s shiny red cross should have been hanging next to her bed at the cancer care center. And I should have been preparing for holiday visits between her scheduled treatments. All I wanted for Christmas was another day with my mom. Instead, I was home . . . hanging her cross on a fake tree.
When my son Xavier plugged in the lights, I whispered, “Thank You.” He said, “You’re welcome.” My son didn’t know I was thanking God for using the flickering bulbs to turn my eyes toward the ever-enduring Light of Hope—Jesus.
The writer of Psalm 42 expressed his raw emotions to God (vv. 1–4). He acknowledged his “downcast” and “disturbed” soul before encouraging readers: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 5). Though he was overcome with waves of sorrow and suffering, the psalmist’s hope shone through the remembrance of God’s past faithfulness (vv. 6–10). He ended by questioning his doubts and affirming the resilience of his refined faith: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (v. 11).
For many of us, the Christmas season stirs up both joy and sorrow. Thankfully, even these mixed emotions can be reconciled and redeemed through the promises of the true Light of Hope—Jesus.
By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
How has Jesus helped you process grief while celebrating Christmas? How can you support someone who’s grieving this season?
Dear Jesus, thank You for carrying me through times of grief and joy all year round.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Experience or God’s Revealed Truth?
We have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:12
My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left only with my personal experiences, I am left with something not produced by redemption. But experiences produced by redemption prove themselves by leading me beyond myself, to the point of no longer paying any attention to experiences as the basis of reality. Instead, I see that only the reality itself produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.
If you try to hold back the Holy Spirit within you, with the desire of producing more inner spiritual experiences, you will find that He will break the hold and take you again to the historic Christ. Never support an experience which does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? You must allow Him to be Lord over you, and pay no attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. Then there will come a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience, and you can truthfully say, “I do not care what I experience— I am sure of Him!”
Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
Bible in a Year: Micah 4-5; Revelation 12
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Really Ready for Christmas - #9639
Christmastime is kind of like time to get things in shape, especially around the house. Most of us become very motivated when December arrives in terms of getting things cleaned up. We dust corners and clean areas that haven't been touched for like eleven months. Trouble spots in the carpet that had gone unnoticed, suddenly we notice them and we work on them. That wall in the kitchen that needed some touch-up paint, it becomes a priority. We begin decorating things! Houses are suddenly in better shape than they've been in all year, especially since last Christmas. Christmas is shape-up time for houses...and people.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Really Ready for Christmas."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Isaiah 55:6. And it happens to be about fixing things up. Here's what it says: "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He is near." The 7th verse says, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts, and let him turn to the Lord and He will have mercy on him and to our God, for He will freely pardon."
Now, you notice here it says, "Seek the Lord while He is near." You say, "Wait a minute. This isn't about Christmas. What does this have to do with Christmas?" Well, honestly, I don't think there's any time of the year when people feel closer to the Lord or have Jesus more on their radar than the Christmas season. Remember, "while He is near." I think Christ seems close at this time of the year; almost inescapable. You can probably sense that.
There's a softness - a kind of warm and cuddly feeling on the inside this time of year. We're softer than any other time. We find ourselves drifting into thoughts about Christ more often than usual. I mean, even watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special or hearing a carol at the mall; in places we wouldn't normally think about Christ. We're open to Him. That's when it's time to fix things up with Jesus. Not just around the house; I mean inside the heart house of your life. "Seek the Lord while He may be found," it says. That's really the Christmas season. "Call on Him while He is near." Well, in a very real way, that is now.
This may have been for you a year of slowly drifting away from the Lord. You didn't run away; you're just not as close and warm...intimate like you used to be. Maybe it's been a year of real confusing doubts, hardships that have made you disillusioned and maybe a little hard-hearted. Or there could be a distraction that has taken His place for a while. But I'll bet you've discovered it's really no good away from Him is it?
Those are the best times of your life when you're close to Him. It's Christmas time! It's time to fix things up. "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He's close" like He is now. And maybe this year, maybe this is when you finally think about opening up to Christ as your personal Savior. Not just a baby in a manger. Not just the One we sing about in our carols and we go to church services and go through our Christmas thing.
You miss Him. You've missed having a personal relationship with Him. That's what you were made for. It's not that you haven't known about Him. You've never been against Him. You're religious. You know a lot of people who are Christians, but maybe you've never made your personal commitment to Christ. You've never said, "Jesus, what you did on that cross; what you came to do was for me. That was for all the wrong things I have done."
Well, Christmas is close, and I wouldn't be surprised if you feel a tug in your heart. And that tug? That's not me. That's Jesus. This could be your first Christmas with Christ in your heart if you'll fix things up with Him.
I'd love to help you begin that relationship with Him and understand from what He wrote in the Bible exactly how this relationship works. Would you go to our website? It's ANewStory.com. I think you'll find your way home there.
Whatever stands between you and Jesus right now, would you let Him clean it up before Christmas? Then it will be more than a song for you. You can really say, "I'll be home for Christmas!"