Max Lucado Daily: THE SOIL PROMISE - September 13, 2024
“…the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘to your descendants I will give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates…’” (Genesis 15:18 NIV). Israel is the only nation in history to whom God has given land. This covenant includes modern-day Israel as well as parts of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. God ratified this covenant with a ceremonial sacrifice of animals, and his covenant is untethered to performance.
Has God fulfilled this soil covenant? Not entirely. But will God keep this promise? Charles Swindoll said, “It’s as simple as this: If we cannot trust God to keep his promises to Israel, how can we trust him to keep his promises to us? Never doubt it. God will do what he says he will do.”
Amen!
What Happens Next
Ezekiel 32
A Cloud Across the Sun
1–2 32 In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, sing a funeral lament over Pharaoh king of Egypt. Tell him:
“ ‘You think you’re a young lion
prowling through the nations.
You’re more like a dragon in the ocean,
snorting and thrashing about.
3–10 “ ‘God, the Master, says:
“ ‘I’m going to throw my net over you
—many nations will get in on this operation—
and haul you out with my dragnet.
I’ll dump you on the ground
out in an open field
And bring in all the crows and vultures
for a sumptuous carrion lunch.
I’ll invite wild animals from all over the world
to gorge on your guts.
I’ll scatter hunks of your meat in the mountains
and strew your bones in the valleys.
The country, right up to the mountains,
will be drenched with your blood,
your blood filling every ditch and channel.
When I blot you out,
I’ll pull the curtain on the skies
and shut out the stars.
I’ll throw a cloud across the sun
and turn off the moonlight.
I’ll turn out every light in the sky above you
and put your land in the dark.
Decree of God, the Master.
I’ll shake up everyone worldwide
when I take you off captive to strange and far-off countries.
I’ll shock people with you.
Kings will take one look and shudder.
I’ll shake my sword
and they’ll shake in their boots.
On the day you crash, they’ll tremble,
thinking, “That could be me!”
To Lay Your Pride Low
11–15 “ ‘God, the Master, says:
“ ‘The sword of the king of Babylon
is coming against you.
I’ll use the swords of champions
to lay your pride low,
Use the most brutal of nations
to knock Egypt off her high horse,
to puncture that hot-air pomposity.
I’ll destroy all their livestock
that graze along the river.
Neither human foot nor animal hoof
will muddy those waters anymore.
I’ll clear their springs and streams,
make their rivers flow clean and smooth.
Decree of God, the Master.
When I turn Egypt back to the wild
and strip her clean of all her abundant produce,
When I strike dead all who live there,
then they’ll realize that I am God.’
16 “This is a funeral song. Chant it.
Daughters of the nations, chant it.
Chant it over Egypt for the death of its pomp.”
Decree of God, the Master.
17–19 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the first month, God’s Message came to me:
“Son of man, lament over Egypt’s pompous ways.
Send her on her way.
Dispatch Egypt
and her proud daughter nations
To the underworld,
down to the country of the dead and buried.
Say, ‘You think you’re so high and mighty?
Down! Take your place with the heathen in that unhallowed grave!’
20–21 “She’ll be dumped in with those killed in battle. The sword is bared. Drag her off in all her proud pomp! All the big men and their helpers down among the dead and buried will greet them: ‘Welcome to the grave of the heathen! Join the ranks of the victims of war!’
22–23 “Assyria is there and its congregation, the whole nation a cemetery. Their graves are in the deepest part of the underworld, a congregation of graves, all killed in battle, these people who terrorized the land of the living.
24–25 “Elam is there in all her pride, a cemetery—all killed in battle, dumped in her heathen grave with the dead and buried, these people who terrorized the land of the living. They carry their shame with them, along with the others in the grave. They turned Elam into a resort for the pompous dead, landscaped with heathen graves, slaughtered in battle. They once terrorized the land of the living. Now they carry their shame down with the others in deep earth. They’re in the section set aside for the slain in battle.
26–27 “Meshech-tubal is there in all her pride, a cemetery in uncircumcised ground, dumped in with those slaughtered in battle—just deserts for terrorizing the land of the living. Now they carry their shame down with the others in deep earth. They’re in the section set aside for the slain. They’re segregated from the heroes, the old-time giants who entered the grave in full battle dress, their swords placed under their heads and their shields covering their bones, those heroes who spread terror through the land of the living.
28 “And you, Egypt, will be dumped in a heathen grave, along with all the rest, in the section set aside for the slain.
29 “Edom is there, with her kings and princes. In spite of her vaunted greatness, she is dumped in a heathen grave with the others headed for the grave.
30 “The princes of the north are there, the whole lot of them, and all the Sidonians who carry their shame to their graves—all that terror they spread with their brute power!—dumped in unhallowed ground with those killed in battle, carrying their shame with the others headed for deep earth.
31 “Pharaoh will see them all and, pompous old goat that he is, take comfort in the company he’ll keep—Pharaoh and his slaughtered army. Decree of God, the Master.
32 “I used him to spread terror in the land of the living and now I’m dumping him in heathen ground with those killed by the sword—Pharaoh and all his pomp. Decree of God, the Master.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 13, 2024
Today's Scripture
Matthew 6:9-13
With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Insight
Matthew 6:9-13, commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, might more correctly be titled the Disciple’s Prayer because Jesus wanted to teach His disciples how to pray (v. 9; Luke 11:1). Christ gave this model, or pattern, because He didn’t want His disciples to utter self-centered, exhibitionist prayers like the hypocrites (Matthew 6:5) or to babble ritualistic, meaningless words “like [the] pagans” (v. 7). Jesus wants us to pray in a way that affirms our relationship with God: to revere and honor Him as our heavenly Father in our dedication and service (v. 9); to carry out His plans for this world and to live out His kingdom priorities and will for our lives (v. 10); to depend on Him and trust Him to provide for our physical and spiritual sustenance (v. 11); to become forgiving people because we’ve been forgiven (v. 12); and to be victorious in overcoming temptation, sin, and Satan (v. 13).
Seek out what the Bible teaches us about prayer. By: K. T. Sim
Kingdom-Shaped Workplace
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
The factories of Victorian England were dark places. Fatalities were high, and workers often lived in poverty. “How can the working man cultivate ideals,” George Cadbury asked, “when his home is a slum?” And so he built a new kind of factory for his expanding chocolate business, one that benefited his workers.
The result was Bournville, a village of more than three hundred homes with sports fields, playgrounds, schools, and churches for Cadbury’s workers and their families. They were paid good wages and offered medical care, all because of Cadbury’s faith in Christ.
Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). This prayer can help us imagine, as Cadbury did, what our workplaces would be like under God’s rule, where our “daily bread” is earned and our “debtors” forgiven (vv. 11-12). As employees, it means working with “all your heart . . . for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). As employers, it means giving staff what’s “right and fair” (4:1). Whatever our role, whether paid or voluntary, it means tending to the well-being of those we serve with.
Like George Cadbury, let’s imagine how things could be different if God were in charge of our neighborhoods and workplaces. Because when He is, people flourish.
By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What would your workplace or neighborhood look like under God’s rule? How could you pray and work toward this vision?
Loving God, please help me to see what my workplace or neighborhood would look like under Your rule, and empower me to bring change where I can.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 13, 2024
After Surrender, What?
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. — John 17:4
Surrendering all to God doesn’t mean giving up the external things of our lives; it means surrendering our will to him. When this is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will. God never crushes a will to the point of surrender; he never begs or pleads. He simply waits until we freely yield our will to him. This battle, once waged, never needs to be refought.
Surrender for deliverance. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Only after we have begun to experience what salvation means do we surrender our wills to Jesus and allow him to give us rest. Perplexity in heart or mind is a call to our will to come to Jesus. Our coming is voluntary, never forced.
Surrender for devotion. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, my self resting with him. He’s saying, “Give up your right to yourself to me.” If I do, the rest of my life will be nothing but the manifestation of this surrender. I’ll never need to wonder about my purpose again, nor will I care about my circumstances. I’ll know that Jesus is sufficient for all.
Surrender for death. “When you are old . . . someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). Have you learned what it means to be bound for death? Beware of a surrender you make to God in a moment of ecstasy; you are likely to take it back again. Surrender is a question of being united with Jesus in his death, so that nothing appeals to you that didn’t appeal to him. The entirety of life after surrender is a longing and a striving for unbroken communion with God.
Proverbs 16-18; 2 Corinthians 6
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 13, 2024
A Rugged Road to a Beautiful View - #9830
Not long ago there were pictures all over the news of these spectacular colors painting a breathtaking scene in the night sky. It was the "northern lights," also known to scientists as the aurora borealis. Now, I'll tell you what! It's worth checking out that view any time you can or at least those pictures. I guess the approach of solar flares from the sun's turbulence sometimes just adds a whole new richness to these lights. Of course, they have amazed people for centuries.
Those pictures actually triggered my brain and brought back a special family memory. Actually, well, it seemed anything but special at the time. See, my wife and three children accompanied me on a ministry trip to Alaska, and I was excited when they first invited me to come to Alaska to speak. I pictured those scenic summer cruises they do up there. Then I found out they were asking me for February. Oh, well. At least it's a trip to Alaska.
Well, we had a fantastic time up there even in February. So I was a little bummed when my wife and kids had to go back for school while I stayed a few more days to speak. There was a seasoned missionary pilot who was going to fly them out, and that gave me confidence.
My first "uh-oh" was when he asked me to help him push his airplane out of the hangar (I never did that before!) and then onto this ice-rutted runway. Okay, I'd never pushed a plane before. Second "uh-oh," that my loved ones would be on a plane on a solid sheet of ice.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Rugged Road to a Beautiful View."
After radioing that he had "five souls on board," the pilot started down the runway, playing one engine against the other to navigate the ice underneath. Now, all the while my family is feeling every bump and worse yet they're closing in on this large stand of Alaska-size trees at the end of the runway. To say the least, it was like, well, totally nerve-wracking.
And what seemed to be this last possible moment, the pilot lifted off, barely cleared the trees. And then came the rodeo in the clouds, as their plane was shaken by air currents and merciless winds. In the back seat you could see these three speechless children, six saucer-sized eyes. And then it happened. They cleared the clouds and they gasped at what they saw. There was the unforgettable sight of the northern lights, almost where you could reach out and touch them. It was a moment of indelible beauty that few ever get to see. And suddenly, the bumps were forgotten; the beauty on the other side was just overwhelming.
We've had a lot of flights like that in our life; a rugged journey that led to a beautiful destination. The financial struggles that brought us closer to God and closer to each other and showed us how creatively and faithfully He can provide. The ministry battles that set the stage for us to see a God of miracles. The medical crisis that caused us to re-treasure the person that we almost lost and to reset life's priorities.
In the inscrutable ways of a loving God, it is the bumpy road that often leads to the most beautiful views. He takes you on a scary flight so ultimately you can see His glory in ways that many never get to see. Yes, "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). The much-hammered Apostle Paul put the troubles and the payoff on the scale and he weighed it this way: "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed" (Romans 8:18). I guess we should learn something from the way we all come into the world. Labor - baby. Painful process - beautiful result.
Now, our word today from the Word of God tells us in John 16:21, "A woman giving birth to a child has pain...but when the baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy." Well, I've never been in labor and I never will be. My wife and daughter will testify to the fact that the pain lasts a short time, but the beauty lasts a lifetime.
So today it's the rough ride, tomorrow - the lights.
