Max Lucado Daily: GOD KNOWS YOU AND IS NEAR YOU - January 25, 2024
Christ takes away your sin, and in doing so, he takes away your commonness. You know longer need to say, “No one knows me.” Because God knows you. “Lord, you…know all about me,” David discovered. “You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do…You are all around me…and have put your hand on me” (Psalm 139:1-3, 5 NCV).
God knows you, and he is near you. See how these four words look taped to your bathroom mirror: “God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). And his kingdom needs you to discover and deploy your unique skill. The poor need you; the lonely need you; the church needs you; the cause of God needs you. Get the word out – God is with us; we are not alone!
Isaiah 60
People Returning for the Reunion
1–7 60 “Get out of bed, Jerusalem!
Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight.
God’s bright glory has risen for you.
The whole earth is wrapped in darkness,
all people sunk in deep darkness,
But God rises on you,
his sunrise glory breaks over you.
Nations will come to your light,
kings to your sunburst brightness.
Look up! Look around!
Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you:
Your sons coming from great distances,
your daughters carried by their nannies.
When you see them coming you’ll smile—big smiles!
Your heart will swell and, yes, burst!
All those people returning by sea for the reunion,
a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations!
And then streams of camel caravans as far as the eye can see,
young camels of nomads in Midian and Ephah,
Pouring in from the south from Sheba,
loaded with gold and frankincense,
preaching the praises of God.
And yes, a great roundup
of flocks from the nomads in Kedar and Nebaioth,
Welcome gifts for worship at my altar
as I bathe my glorious Temple in splendor.
What’s That We See in the Distance?
8–22 “What’s that we see in the distance,
a cloud on the horizon, like doves darkening the sky?
It’s ships from the distant islands,
the famous Tarshish ships
Returning your children from faraway places,
loaded with riches, with silver and gold,
And backed by the name of your God, The Holy of Israel,
showering you with splendor.
Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings assist you in the conduct of worship.
When I was angry I hit you hard.
It’s my desire now to be tender.
Your Jerusalem gates will always be open
—open house day and night!—
Receiving deliveries of wealth from all nations,
and their kings, the delivery boys!
Any nation or kingdom that doesn’t deliver will perish;
those nations will be totally wasted.
The rich woods of Lebanon will be delivered
—all that cypress and oak and pine—
To give a splendid elegance to my Sanctuary,
as I make my footstool glorious.
The descendants of your oppressor
will come bowing and scraping to you.
All who looked down at you in contempt
will lick your boots.
They’ll confer a title on you: City of God,
Zion of The Holy of Israel.
Not long ago you were despised refuse—
out-of-the-way, unvisited, ignored.
But now I’ve put you on your feet,
towering and grand forever, a joy to look at!
When you suck the milk of nations
and the breasts of royalty,
You’ll know that I, God, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob.
I’ll give you only the best—no more hand-me-downs!
Gold instead of bronze, silver instead of iron,
bronze instead of wood, iron instead of stones.
I’ll install Peace to run your country,
make Righteousness your boss.
There’ll be no more stories of crime in your land,
no more robberies, no more vandalism.
You’ll name your main street Salvation Way,
and install Praise Park at the center of town.
You’ll have no more need of the sun by day
nor the brightness of the moon at night.
God will be your eternal light,
your God will bathe you in splendor.
Your sun will never go down,
your moon will never fade.
I will be your eternal light.
Your days of grieving are over.
All your people will live right and well,
in permanent possession of the land.
They’re the green shoot that I planted,
planted with my own hands to display my glory.
The runt will become a great tribe,
the weakling become a strong nation.
I am God.
At the right time I’ll make it happen.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Today's Scripture
Esther 2:3–4,12–17
3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
12 Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumesg and cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines.h She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.i
15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihailj) to go to the king,k she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favorl of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queenm instead of Vashti.
Insight
“In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him,” says Proverbs 21:1. The book of Esther shows God doing exactly that. The villain Haman sought to destroy God’s exiled people (Esther 3:8-9). But God “channeled” the heart of the king to show favor to Esther and to her fellow Jewish citizens. Yet the book never mentions the name of God. Why is it in the Bible? Precisely because it shows the character and sovereignty of God, who loves His people even when they’re far from Him. By: Tim Gustafson
Strange Places
Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14
God, why is this happening? Is this really your plan for us?
As a husband and a dad of young children, those questions and more swirled in my mind as I wrestled with a serious cancer diagnosis. What’s more, our family had just served with a missions team that had seen many children receive Jesus as their Savior. God had been bringing forth evident fruit. There was so much joy. And now this?
Esther likely poured out questions and prayers to God after she was plucked from a loving home and thrust into a strange new world (Esther 2:8). Her cousin Mordecai had raised her as his own daughter after she’d been orphaned (v. 7). But then she was placed in a king’s harem and eventually elevated to serve as his queen (v. 17). Mordecai was understandably concerned about what “was happening to” Esther (v. 11). But in time, the two realized that God had called her to be in a place of great power “for such a time as this” (4:14)—a place that allowed for her people to be saved from destruction (chs. 7–8).
It’s evident that God providentially placed Esther in a strange place as part of His perfect plan. He did the same with me. As I endured a lengthy battle with cancer, I was privileged to share my faith with many, many patients and caregivers. What strange place has He led you to? Trust Him. He’s good, and so are His plans (Romans 11:33–36). By: Tom Felten
Reflect & Pray
When has God led you to a strange place? Why can you trust in His perfect plans?
Dear God, help me to trust You even when I don’t understand what You’re doing.
For further study read A Place for Doubt in a Growing Faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Leave Room for God
When it pleased God… —Galatians 1:15
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him— to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “…when it pleased God….”
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
Bible in a Year: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 25, 2024
What God's Saying In Your Storm - #9664
Because I travel so much, I watch the Weather Channel, or something like it, a lot. I just sat back, this one time, in amazement as I watched them track this monster low pressure system moving across the country. By the time it reached the Eastern United States, that low pressure system stretched on the Weather Channel map from the Maritime Provinces in Canada all the way to Mexico! I mean, it was massive! And everywhere it went, it left flooding rains or heavy snows or even violent weather. In Minnesota, for example, this low pressure system registered the lowest barometric pressure ever. All across the eastern half of the country, the news reported massive power outages, cancellations, delays. For millions of Americans, whatever they had planned just didn't happen.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "What God's Saying In Your Storm."
One thing a night like that turbulent weather night demonstrates is this: God can change your plans anytime. And He may be bringing some weather into your life right now to do just that.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 148 beginning at verse 1. It's a Psalm that reaches across the universe to celebrate the scope of God's power and control, and to remind us of the size of the God we belong to. "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above. Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him all you shining stars... Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds..." And then this phrase that just leaped out at me, "Praise the Lord...stormy winds that do His bidding."
Obviously, this refers to the physical storms that blow through our lives, but I believe it's true of all the stormy winds that hit us: medical storms, financial storms, emotional storms, all those "turbulences" that take things out of our control. They are "stormy winds that do His bidding."
If you're feeling some of those stormy winds right now, remember that God is asserting His sovereignty over your life, and your plans, your priorities, and your timing. He is in charge - and sometimes we forget. But as His stormy winds move across the weather map of our lives, we can remember again that "our times are in His hands." If it's stormy right now, consider what He might be trying to say to you. As Solomon tells us, "When times are good, be happy; when times are bad, consider..." (Ecclesiastes 7:14).
Is God trying to slow you down? Does He want you to reconsider? Is He trying to get you to change course? Is He trying to get your attention because you've been ignoring something He's trying to say to you or something He's trying to do in your life? Don't just stand there frustrated because His weather has messed up your plans. Don't fight what He's trying to do. Listen for God in this storm!
It's hard to be a follower of Jesus when you're a rigid person. Following someone requires flexibility because you never know when your leader is going to speed up, slow down, make a turn, or change direction. Actually, flexibility is fundamental to being able to follow the dynamic leadership of Jesus Christ. And the storm is a lot more bearable when you go with His flow rather than flying stubbornly against it.
The stormy wind blowing in your life right now is doing God's bidding. Make sure that you are.
