Max Lucado Daily: GOD CANNOT LIE - September 9, 2024
Our God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. He does not lie. He cannot lie. He can no more break a promise than you and I can swim the Pacific Ocean. The Scripture says, “God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does. What he promises, he makes come true” (Numbers 23:19 NCV).
God is not like us. We remake our decisions and reconsider our opinions. We are prone to make a promise only to break it due to unforeseen circumstances. Not God. He sees the end of history. His decrees are not his desire for the future, they are his description of the future. We are on a divine trajectory governed by his promises. What God has set out to do, he will do.
What Happens Next
Ezekiel 29
Never a World Power Again
1–6 29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, confront Pharaoh king of Egypt. Preach against him and all the Egyptians. Tell him, ‘God, the Master, says:
“ ‘Watch yourself, Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
I’m dead set against you,
You lumbering old dragon,
lolling and flaccid in the Nile,
Saying, “It’s my Nile.
I made it. It’s mine.”
I’ll set hooks in your jaw;
I’ll make the fish of the Nile stick to your scales.
I’ll pull you out of the Nile,
with all the fish stuck to your scales.
Then I’ll drag you out into the desert,
you and all the Nile fish sticking to your scales.
You’ll lie there in the open, rotting in the sun,
meat to the wild animals and carrion birds.
Everybody living in Egypt
will realize that I am God.
6–9 “ ‘Because you’ve been a flimsy reed crutch to Israel so that when they gripped you, you splintered and cut their hand, and when they leaned on you, you broke and sent them sprawling—Message of God, the Master—I’ll bring war against you, do away with people and animals alike, and turn the country into an empty desert so they’ll realize that I am God.
9–11 “ ‘Because you said, “It’s my Nile. I made it. It’s all mine,” therefore I am against you and your rivers. I’ll reduce Egypt to an empty, desolate wasteland all the way from Migdol in the north to Syene and the border of Ethiopia in the south. Not a human will be seen in it, nor will an animal move through it. It’ll be just empty desert, empty for forty years.
12 “ ‘I’ll make Egypt the most desolate of all desolations. For forty years I’ll make her cities the most wasted of all wasted cities. I’ll scatter Egyptians to the four winds, send them off every which way into exile.
13–16 “ ‘But,’ says God, the Master, ‘that’s not the end of it. After the forty years, I’ll gather up the Egyptians from all the places where they’ve been scattered. I’ll put things back together again for Egypt. I’ll bring her back to Pathros where she got her start long ago. There she’ll start over again from scratch. She’ll take her place at the bottom of the ladder and there she’ll stay, never to climb that ladder again, never to be a world power again. Never again will Israel be tempted to rely on Egypt. All she’ll be to Israel is a reminder of old sin. Then Egypt will realize that I am God, the Master.’ ”
17–18 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has worn out his army against Tyre. They’ve worked their fingers to the bone and have nothing to show for it.
19–20 “Therefore, God, the Master, says, ‘I’m giving Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He’ll haul away its wealth, pick the place clean. He’ll pay his army with Egyptian plunder. He’s been working for me all these years without pay. This is his pay: Egypt. Decree of God, the Master.
21 “ ‘And then I’ll stir up fresh hope in Israel—the dawn of deliverance!—and I’ll give you, Ezekiel, bold and confident words to speak. And they’ll realize that I am God.’ ”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 09, 2024
Today's Scripture
Matthew 16:13-19
Son of Man, Son of God
13 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17–18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
Insight
How are we to interpret Jesus’ reference to “the gates of Hades” (Matthew 16:18)? The setting for Christ’s great question to Peter, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15) is Caesarea Philippi, which lies at the southern base of Mount Hermon. The area in and around Caesarea Philippi had historically been known as Bashan, which scholars and the Scriptures connect to the worship of several false gods and to child sacrifice. People commonly believed this region to be the entrance to the underworld—the place of the dead. Jesus knew that the phrase “the gates of Hades” would be understood as our great enemy—death. Christ’s statement is a declaration that He’s the Messiah who overcomes even death. Peter answered Jesus’ question by saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Christ called Peter “blessed” for this response (v. 17). By: Tim Gustafson
Remaining in Jesus
I will build my church. Matthew 16:18
A fire burned Balsora Baptist Church to the ground. As emergency workers and community members gathered after the blaze subsided, they were surprised to see a charred cross standing upright amidst the smoke and ashes in the air. A firefighter commented that the fire “took the structure, but not the cross. [This is a reminder] that the building was just that, a building. The church is the congregation.”
The church is not a building, but a community united by the cross of Christ—the One who died, was buried, and rose again. When Jesus lived on earth, He told Peter He’d build His worldwide church, and nothing would destroy it (Matthew 16:18). Jesus would gather believers from all over the globe into a group that would continue throughout time. This community would face intense difficulty, but they’d ultimately endure. God would dwell within them and sustain them (Ephesians 2:22).
When we struggle to establish local churches only to have them stagnate and sputter, when buildings are destroyed, or when we’re concerned about believers struggling in other parts of the world, we can remember that Jesus is alive, actively enabling God’s people to persevere. We’re part of the church He’s building today. He’s with us and for us. His cross remains. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
In what ways might you support fellow believers? How does sharing the good news relate to God’s plan for the church?
Dear God, please strengthen Your people everywhere. Fill them with wisdom, protect them, and help them stay faithful to You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 09, 2024
Determinedly Discipline Other Things
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience. — 2 Corinthians 10:5–6
These verses point to the strenuous nature of Christian discipleship. Paul writes that he takes every thought captive, knowing that “every act of disobedience” to Christ will be punished. So much Christian activity today has never been disciplined in the way Paul describes; it has simply sprung into being on impulse. In our Lord’s life, every project was disciplined according to the will of his Father. There was not a single impulsive movement of the Son’s own will apart from his Father’s: “Whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).
Think how different we are from the example set by Jesus. We start projects because we’ve had a vivid religious experience and felt the thrill of inspiration, not because we’re living in obedience to God’s will. We’d rather take impulsive action than be imprisoned and disciplined to obey Christ, because we overvalue practical work. Meanwhile, disciples who aren’t caught up in busywork and who do bring every project into captivity for the Lord are criticized and told they’re not sincere about God or souls.
True sincerity is found in obeying God, not in obeying the inclination to serve him; obeying an inclination is born of an undisciplined human nature. It’s inconceivable yet true that many Christians are motivated to work for God by their own human nature, a nature which has never been spiritualized by determined discipline.
We are prone to forgetting that, as Christians, we must be committed to Jesus Christ not only for salvation but for his point of view. We must commit ourselves to Jesus Christ’s view of God, of the world, of sin, and of the devil. When we do, we will understand that we have a responsibility to renew our minds, so that they may be transformed and brought into complete captivity for him.
Proverbs 6-7; 2 Corinthians 2
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ.
Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 09, 2024
TAKING OFF BEFORE GOD SAYS "GO" - #9826
We were sitting on the runway at O'Hare Airport for a long time, in an airplane that is. I thought we were on our way when we left the gate. I said to myself "Okay, in a couple of minutes we'll be in the air and on our way." And then they routed us across the backside of O'Hare, and I saw some lovely storage facilities. We finally ended up in a long, long line of aircraft. I've got a little problem with impatience, but I sure don't want the pilot to have that problem. See, he knows that you do not take off until you get clearance from the tower...no matter how long that means you have to wait.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taking Off Before God Says 'Go.'"
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Genesis 27. It's a pretty powerful lesson in faith and patience from the life of Rebecca, Isaac's wife. Maybe you remember that God had promised that the younger son, Jacob, would actually end up with the blessing rather than the usual thing, which would be that his older brother, Esau, would get it. Unfortunately, it looked like Isaac was dying and he hadn't given the blessing to Jacob. So Rebecca kind of panics and says, "Oh boy, I'd better do something about this to make sure that my favorite son gets the blessing. God said he would."
Now, she has no clearance from the tower to do this. God didn't tell her to do it, she doesn't even talk to Him about it. She just takes off. And she has this scheme where he will wear various hairy things on his arms and try to smell like the outdoors so he'll feel like his brother and smell like his brother, who's a hunter, and he'll just lie about who he is. And you know what? Isaac can't see very well. He does deceive his father and he gets the blessing. So, do they win? They lose.
Listen to the expensive result beginning in Genesis 27:41. "Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, 'The days of mourning for my father are near, and then I will kill my brother Jacob.'" Then it goes on to say as Rebecca now counsels Jacob, "Now, then, my son, do what I say. Flee to my brother Laban. Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him" - you think that's going to happen? - "I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" And in a sense that's exactly what happened. She didn't see Jacob for 14 years - her relationship was broken with Esau. Oh, by the way, Isaac didn't die - he lived 20 more years!
All of this agony happened in this family because Rebecca couldn't wait for God to do it His way. Oh, she knew Jacob should have the blessing, but it just wasn't happening fast enough. Does that sound familiar at all? You thought God was going to act by now, but you're still waiting. The temptation is to panic and say, "Oh, man! It's now or never!" Now, you don't have a "go" from the Lord, but you're still starting to take off.
You know, if a pilot does that without the person who can see all the other aircraft, who can see all the implications of taking off right now, he's going to be flying into disaster. If the child of God does that, he's flying into disaster. Ask God for the patience to wait on the runway. And remember that old wisdom, "Don't doubt in the darkness, or shall I say in the waiting room, what God has told you in the light."
Avoid the heartache that comes from taking off without clearance from the flight controller of your life.