Max Lucado Daily: WE COUNT - October 28, 2024
Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance. Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated? What hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged? The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists. This is man’s value system, but not God’s. His plan is much brighter. In God’s book man is heading somewhere. He has an amazing destiny. We’re being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Christ. We’re going to live with him, share the throne with him. We count. We’re valuable.
Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: a person is worth something simply because he is a person. That’s why Jesus treated people the way he did. You have value simply because you are! You are His.
Cast of Characters: Lost and Found
Zechariah 10
God’s Work of Rebuilding
1 10 Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain—
to God, the rainmaker,
Spring thunderstorm maker,
maker of grain and barley.
2–3 “Store-bought gods babble gibberish.
Religious experts spout rubbish.
They pontificate hot air.
Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke.
And so the people wander like lost sheep,
poor lost sheep without a shepherd.
I’m furious with the so-called shepherds.
They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”
3–5 God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in
and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He’ll revive their spirits,
make them proud to be on God’s side.
God will use them in his work of rebuilding,
use them as foundations and pillars,
Use them as tools and instruments,
use them to oversee his work.
They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one,
their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,
Courageous and vigorous because God is with them,
undeterred by the world’s thugs.
6–12 “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah;
I’ll save the people of Joseph.
I know their pain and will make them good as new.
They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened.
And why? Because I am their very own God,
I’ll do what needs to be done for them.
The people of Ephraim will be famous,
their lives brimming with joy.
Their children will get in on it, too—
oh, let them feel blessed by God!
I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running.
I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish!
Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth,
they’ll remember me in the faraway places.
They’ll keep the story alive in their children,
and they will come back.
I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west
and round them up from the Assyrian east.
I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead,
back to leafy Lebanon.
Every square foot of land
will be marked by homecoming.
They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves.
Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle.
Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare,
bully Egypt exposed as a fraud.
But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong!
and they’ll live my way.” God says so!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 28, 2024
Today's Scripture
Genesis 33:1–11
Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”
Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”
6–7 Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.
8 Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”
“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”
9 Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”
10–11 Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.
Insight
Jacob and Esau were twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Before their birth, God told Rebekah: “Two nations are in your womb . . . ; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). From Esau’s line sprang the Edomites (36:9), enemies of the Israelites. From Jacob, the younger, sprang the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob convinced Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew (25:29-34) and tricked his father into giving him the firstborn’s blessing that was due to Esau (27:1-29). Although they had a rocky relationship, we read of their reunion and Esau’s forgiveness in today’s text (33:1-9). By: Alyson Kieda
Getting Rid of Baggage
Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Genesis 33:4
In college, I studied William Shakespeare’s writing for a semester. The class required a giant textbook containing everything Shakespeare had ever written. The book weighed several pounds, and I had to carry it for hours at a time. Lugging that weight around caused my back to hurt, and it eventually broke a metal fastener on my bookbag!
Some things are just too heavy for us to carry. Emotional baggage from past hurt, for example, can weigh us down with bitterness and hatred. But God wants us to have freedom through forgiving people and, when possible, reconciling with them (Colossians 3:13). The deeper the pain, the longer this may take. That’s okay. It took many years for Esau to forgive Jacob for stealing his birthright and blessing (Genesis 27:36).
When the two finally reunited, Esau graciously forgave his brother and even “embraced him” (33:4). Not a word was exchanged before they both burst into tears. Over time, Esau had let go of the anger that made him consider murder (27:41). And all those years gave Jacob the chance to see the magnitude of how he’d harmed his brother. He was humble and respectful throughout the reunion (33:8-11).
In the end, both brothers came to the place where neither required anything from the other (vv. 9, 15). It was enough to forgive and be forgiven and walk away free from the heavy baggage of the past. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
What types of offenses are hardest for you to forgive? How does forgiving others reflect your relationship with your heavenly Father?
Dear God, please set me free from bitterness and anger.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 28, 2024
Justification by Faith
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! —Roman 5:10
I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. Repentance isn’t what saves me; repentance is merely the sign that I realize what God has done in Jesus Christ.
The danger, when it comes to thinking about salvation, lies in identifying the wrong cause. I imagine that the cause of my being right with God is my own obedience. Never! I am put right with God because prior to everything—prior to all my beliefs, actions, and experiences—Christ died.
When I turn to God and, by belief, accept his revelation, the amazing atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me instantly into a right relationship with God. By the supernatural miracle of his grace, I stand justified—not because I’m sorry for my sins, not because I’ve repented, but because of what Jesus Christ has done. The Spirit of God brings this to my awareness with a dawning, allover light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.
The fact that I don’t understand logically how I’m saved is beside the point. Salvation doesn’t follow human logic. Salvation is based on the sacrificial death of Jesus. Only through his atonement can we be born again; only through the marvelous work of God in Jesus Christ can sinful men and women be changed into new creatures.
Praise God that the total, impregnable safety of salvation and sanctification lies not in us but in God himself. There’s nothing we have to do to bring it about, nothing we can do. Our salvation and sanctification have been worked out by the atonement, the miracle by which the supernatural becomes natural. They have been worked out long ago and for all time: “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Jeremiah 15-17; 2 Timothy 2
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them.
The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 28, 2024
Checking With God - #9861
My wife hit her 40th birthday without the trauma you're supposed to have - very well-adjusted lady. No big deal - 40th birthday. And then a couple of months later our oldest son, who was then 12 said, "Hey, Mom, you know you've been alive for 14,662 days?" Well, that's a different matter. Actually, life really isn't years; it is days. All the little choices, experiences, hurts, happiness's of each 24-hour period, isn't that what makes the years?
That's really true when it comes to parenting children. Their lives unfold in these 24-hour episodes. They're shaped by their days. I know our own kids' lives were filled with daily developments as they were growing up. Academic developments, frustrations, changes in friends, it seemed like there were soap operas that were changing daily. Questions, remarks! If I missed many days, well I'll never catch up with what I missed. See, it was tough when I traveled, so I was thankful for well, like phones and emails. When I was away, I would contact home frequently and get those important updates of what happened in that 24-hour period. I got out of step with my wife and children if I didn't stay in frequent contact. You just can't afford to be out of touch for very long in any relationship.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Checking With God."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 5 - I'm going to begin at verse 16. "The news about Jesus spread all the more so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Underscore these words, "...the crowds came, but Jesus withdrew." See, when you're besieged, when you're pressured, your only hope of staying on course is regular time out to touch God. Jesus knew that. He made frequent calls home.
There's a lot to learn from these simple few words we just read. First it says often. See, you've got to take many time-outs during the day. Not necessarily going in a room all by yourself; not necessarily stopping everything and saying, "Wait a minute, I've got to take an hour off." Just even a momentary, spiritual time-out many times during the day. You make too many choices in a day - there are too many needs.
And then it says, "He withdrew" and I get the feeling you have to tear yourself away from the urgent demands. He had people all around Him at that point and they all needed Him. But you know, the time out might only be brief, but it's a quick moment in the middle of the battle to focus on your Father; to spiritually and mentally withdraw from every voice but one voice. And then it says He often withdrew "alone." We spend a lot of time listening to God's voice in Bible studies, and church, and group settings. But the key is time alone when there's no other voice. And then it says, "He prayed." He didn't get alone to plan, to listen to the radio, or listen to music. It was time to touch God.
Frankly, I've gone too many days where God and I consulted at the beginning and at the end, but not near enough in the heat of the battle. So many times a day we need deployment, or courage, or help with our priorities. We need an answer.
The greater your responsibilities, the more often you need to check with God even when it seems like you have less time than ever to do it. The daily rush? Well, it can quickly push you right out of the mainstream of the will of God. But take it from a Dad who's traveled.
You can't afford to be out of touch for long. So, make frequent calls home.