Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 4
“Come to Me”
“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NCV)
Come to me…. The invitation is to come to him. Why him?
He offers the invitation as a penniless rabbi in an oppressed nation. He has no political office, no connections with authorities in Rome. He hasn’t written a best-seller or earned a diploma.
Yet, he dares to look into the leathery faces of farmers and tired faces of housewives and offer rest. He looks into the disillusioned eyes of a preacher or two from Jerusalem. He gazes into the cynical stare of a banker and the hungry eyes of bartender and makes this paradoxical promise: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29).
The people came. They came out of the cul-de-sacs and office complexes of their day. They brought him the burdens of their existence, and he gave them not religion, not doctrine, not systems, but rest.
Hebrews 5
1Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
4No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.[a]"[b] 6And he says in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."[c]
7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 27
Judas Hangs Himself
1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
September 4, 2008
The Sorrow Of Betrayal
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 27:1-10
I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. —Matthew 27:4
When I was a boy, my dad observed my spendthrift ways and often said that money burned a hole in my pocket. I suppose it’s not unlike the way those 30 pieces of silver burned a hole in Judas’ heart after he had betrayed Jesus for a little cash. Imagine how he must have felt as he watched his friend Jesus, with hands bound, being led to trial. Judas had seen those hands calm the stormy sea and touch the blind and lame. How often those loving hands had touched his own life!
For Judas, the silver was no longer a reward but rather a reminder of what he had done to Jesus. With every step, the clanging coins sounded a dirge of condemnation, until in despair he admitted, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4).
When we make choices that betray Jesus, eventually our lives become filled with sorrow. Even well-intentioned followers find that their desire to love and serve Him is frequently on a collision course with the lure of cash or other seductions. But the things we have gained at His expense ultimately and inevitably become clanging symbols of sorrow and regret.
The next time you have to make a choice about cash—or anything else—remember the clatter of Judas’ condemning coins, and don’t betray your loving Leader. — Joe Stowell
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
O how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me? —Thompson
When faced with a choice, don’t betray your loving Leader.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 4, 2008
His!
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: "You are not your own" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). To say, "I am not my own," is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, "Go" (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8 ).
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, "[You] cannot be My disciple." This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, "I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me."
Be entirely His!
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Inside Info On the Road Ahead - #5649 - September 4, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I had been on a radio interview, and I was about to sign off. Suddenly I heard this familiar voice chiming in, "Hi, Ron. This is Rosetta." It wasn't the lady who was interviewing me, it was the traffic lady, and she was up next as soon as they got rid of me. But she just jumped right in and said "Hi." Now I knew her voice because morning after morning she had been there giving us the latest scoop on how long the commute was on this road, or where the accident was on that road, or which roads had turned into parking lots. In the New York area, there's a lot of ways to go, and which one you choose any given morning can make the difference between on time or very late. So just before I signed off that interview, I thanked Rosetta for what she did for us every morning. I told her, "Rosetta, you help us pick the right road to be on!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Inside Info On the Road Ahead."
The traffic lady's able to help us find the best way because she's got information we don't have. She's got the big picture; she knows where the slowdowns are. I have great news. You have someone like that for the choices in your life that are much bigger than just today's travel, where a wrong choice costs you a lot more than just a few extra minutes in a traffic jam.
God really wants you to pick the right road - the road that lines up with His great plans for you. And He can see what's on all the roads out there. He can see which one is best, and He wants to let you know. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 48:17, "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.'" Man, what a promise!
Every day you have to decide which way to go in raising your son or daughter, in your personal finances, in your business, in your love life, your ministry, or your relationships. And one of the great benefits of belonging to Jesus Christ is that you don't have to figure it out based only on the limited perspective you have! The One who can see it all is committed to teach you what is best for you, not just what is good for you, and He's committed to direct you in the way you should go.
You may very well have some "which way?" decisions you're facing right now. Claim the promise! Pray that promise back to God. It's Isaiah 48:17. The Bible is full of promises like this!
In order to be able to hear God's leading, here are a few practical steps to take:
1,Don't head into any day without really praying over it and praying through it. God's guidance comes in days, so go over each day with Him early on.
2.Open your Bible with a seeking heart, asking God to show you in these verses a way that He wants you to be thinking today. Keep a journal of what He says.
3.Pay most attention to what you feel most consistently while you are praying when there is no other voice but God's influencing you.
4. Ask God for, and then look for, circumstances that confirm the direction you've been sensing in His Word and in His presence.
5. Make sure you have opened yourself up to anything God wants. God writes His leading on your blank piece of paper, not on a contract you've filled out for God to sign.
Remember, the real issue here is getting closer to your Heavenly Father. He uses our "which way?" struggles to draw us into a deeper dependency on Him. Showing us the plan is the easy part; getting us to trust Him is the hard part.
As you look ahead to your journey, make sure you are tuned to the frequency where the guidance is, to your Father in heaven who sees it all and has all the inside information on the road ahead.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hebrews 3, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 3
A Passion for Excellence
In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.
Ephesians 2:10 (NCV)
The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed.
I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God, much needed in society. It is characterized by respect for quality and a yearning to use God's gifts in a way that pleases him....
But there is a canyon of difference between doing your best to glorify God and doing whatever it takes to glorify yourself. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. The quest for power is childish.
Hebrews 3
Jesus Greater Than Moses
1Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. 3Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
Warning Against Unbelief
7So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "[a]
12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15As has just been said:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion."[b]
16Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed[c]? 19So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Haggai 1:2-7
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
September 3, 2008
Life Lab
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Haggai 1:2-7
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!” — Haggai 1:7
Hurricane Andrew struck the US mainland in August 1992. As residents tried to cope with the destruction, scientists turned Florida into a huge laboratory. Teams of researchers descended on the state to measure the storm’s impact on everything from building materials to tropical fish. Psychologists analyzed the hurricane’s influence on children. Geographers mapped sunken boats. Marine scientists cataloged the damage done to reefs, sea grass, and mangroves. Criminologists studied price-gouging and the breakdown of social order.
The prophets of the Bible did a similar evaluation after spiritual disasters. They documented the personal, social, and environmental effects of turning away from the one true God (Isa. 1:1-9; Hag. 1:2-7).
In behalf of a loving God, Haggai urged his neighbors to give careful attention to what had happened. He noted the priority they were giving to their own comforts and wanted them to observe how dissatisfied and empty they still were.
If God didn’t care, He wouldn’t ask us to consider the time and effort we are spending on diminishing returns. If He didn’t love us, He couldn’t remind us of all that He has given us. God sees what has happened to us and knows how much we need to focus on Him today. — Mart De Haan
I would live for Thee, Lord Jesus,
Keep my eyes so turned toward Thee
That the world and all its system
May attract no part of me. —Graves
When Christ is the center of your interests, life will be in focus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 3, 2008
Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like "water from the well of Bethlehem" to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing ( 2 Samuel 23:16 )? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out "to the Lord." You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.
How can I pour out "to the Lord" natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out "to the Lord." Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as "rivers of living water" all around me ( John 7:38 ). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out "to the Lord."
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything "to the Lord," other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Keep Going When Your Tank is Empty - #5648 - September 3, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Our friend, Mike, had just started up the pickup truck when the trouble started. Mike was taking the truck out for a test drive for some people who had just bought it. And as he backed it out of the new owner's garage, it suddenly started sputtering and stalling. He couldn't keep it running no matter what he tried. He got to a phone and called the old owner and said, "What's the deal with this truck you just sold?" Well, the man who sold it is an honorable man, and he was really distressed about this suddenly dysfunctional truck. Then suddenly he asked Mike, "Did you happen to mess with the radio at all?" Yes, he had. The previous owner told Mike to go check these two switches that are right next to the radio. This truck has a wonderful feature, especially for the country roads that it travels so much. It has a reserve gas tank. Mike had unknowingly turned off Tank 2, which was full of gas, and turned on Tank 1, which was totally empty. But the good news is that as soon as he switched from the empty tank to the reserve tank, Mr. Pickup Truck ran and ran and ran.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Keep Going When Your Tank is Empty."
I'm assuming that your life runs pretty fast, pretty hard like mine. And there are times when your tank is basically empty. You're totally exhausted, you have nothing left to give, your demands and responsibilities are much greater than the strength you have to meet them. And sometimes you just run out of ideas, you're out of solutions, you're out of motivation, you're out of energy. Now why am I assuming that you know about an empty tank like this? Because I'm assuming you're not that different from me.
But there's good news when your tank has nothing left. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom." Now the God you belong to, the God who lives in you, is inexhaustible. He is what the theologians call infinite. His resources and wisdom just never, never run out, but yours do. Mine do.
Here's where the reserve tank kicks in. The passage continues, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall." By the way, any words here that sound like you? "Weary, weak, tired, stumble, fall?" Here's what God promises to the totally overwhelmed and depleted person. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
When Mike's Tank 1 on that truck was empty, the fuel in Tank 2 was all the difference. I can't tell you how many times I have reached empty in my tank, and God's never-empty tank has kicked in and it has made all the difference. After an exhausting week, I wake up and say, "God, I'm so tired." He says, "I'm not." I say, "I'm empty, Lord." He says, "I know, but switch on My power, Ron. I'm not empty." It's was I sang about as a little boy and I didn't really understand it until life got a lot more complicated, "Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong."
If you dwell on how stressed you are, or how tired, or how sick or overwhelmed, you're done. You're dwelling on your empty tank. But if, on those depleted days, you consciously focus on your Lord's inexhaustible strength, your Lord's unlimited power, you will be able to keep driving when you thought you couldn't go another mile.
The songwriter of one of my favorite songs said it pretty well. "When we have exhausted our store of endurance; when our strength has failed ere the day is half done. When we've reached the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun."
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 3
A Passion for Excellence
In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.
Ephesians 2:10 (NCV)
The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed.
I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God, much needed in society. It is characterized by respect for quality and a yearning to use God's gifts in a way that pleases him....
But there is a canyon of difference between doing your best to glorify God and doing whatever it takes to glorify yourself. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. The quest for power is childish.
Hebrews 3
Jesus Greater Than Moses
1Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. 3Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
Warning Against Unbelief
7So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "[a]
12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15As has just been said:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion."[b]
16Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed[c]? 19So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Haggai 1:2-7
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
September 3, 2008
Life Lab
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Haggai 1:2-7
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!” — Haggai 1:7
Hurricane Andrew struck the US mainland in August 1992. As residents tried to cope with the destruction, scientists turned Florida into a huge laboratory. Teams of researchers descended on the state to measure the storm’s impact on everything from building materials to tropical fish. Psychologists analyzed the hurricane’s influence on children. Geographers mapped sunken boats. Marine scientists cataloged the damage done to reefs, sea grass, and mangroves. Criminologists studied price-gouging and the breakdown of social order.
The prophets of the Bible did a similar evaluation after spiritual disasters. They documented the personal, social, and environmental effects of turning away from the one true God (Isa. 1:1-9; Hag. 1:2-7).
In behalf of a loving God, Haggai urged his neighbors to give careful attention to what had happened. He noted the priority they were giving to their own comforts and wanted them to observe how dissatisfied and empty they still were.
If God didn’t care, He wouldn’t ask us to consider the time and effort we are spending on diminishing returns. If He didn’t love us, He couldn’t remind us of all that He has given us. God sees what has happened to us and knows how much we need to focus on Him today. — Mart De Haan
I would live for Thee, Lord Jesus,
Keep my eyes so turned toward Thee
That the world and all its system
May attract no part of me. —Graves
When Christ is the center of your interests, life will be in focus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 3, 2008
Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like "water from the well of Bethlehem" to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing ( 2 Samuel 23:16 )? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out "to the Lord." You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.
How can I pour out "to the Lord" natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out "to the Lord." Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as "rivers of living water" all around me ( John 7:38 ). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out "to the Lord."
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything "to the Lord," other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Keep Going When Your Tank is Empty - #5648 - September 3, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Our friend, Mike, had just started up the pickup truck when the trouble started. Mike was taking the truck out for a test drive for some people who had just bought it. And as he backed it out of the new owner's garage, it suddenly started sputtering and stalling. He couldn't keep it running no matter what he tried. He got to a phone and called the old owner and said, "What's the deal with this truck you just sold?" Well, the man who sold it is an honorable man, and he was really distressed about this suddenly dysfunctional truck. Then suddenly he asked Mike, "Did you happen to mess with the radio at all?" Yes, he had. The previous owner told Mike to go check these two switches that are right next to the radio. This truck has a wonderful feature, especially for the country roads that it travels so much. It has a reserve gas tank. Mike had unknowingly turned off Tank 2, which was full of gas, and turned on Tank 1, which was totally empty. But the good news is that as soon as he switched from the empty tank to the reserve tank, Mr. Pickup Truck ran and ran and ran.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Keep Going When Your Tank is Empty."
I'm assuming that your life runs pretty fast, pretty hard like mine. And there are times when your tank is basically empty. You're totally exhausted, you have nothing left to give, your demands and responsibilities are much greater than the strength you have to meet them. And sometimes you just run out of ideas, you're out of solutions, you're out of motivation, you're out of energy. Now why am I assuming that you know about an empty tank like this? Because I'm assuming you're not that different from me.
But there's good news when your tank has nothing left. Our word for today from the Word of God, Isaiah 40:28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom." Now the God you belong to, the God who lives in you, is inexhaustible. He is what the theologians call infinite. His resources and wisdom just never, never run out, but yours do. Mine do.
Here's where the reserve tank kicks in. The passage continues, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall." By the way, any words here that sound like you? "Weary, weak, tired, stumble, fall?" Here's what God promises to the totally overwhelmed and depleted person. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
When Mike's Tank 1 on that truck was empty, the fuel in Tank 2 was all the difference. I can't tell you how many times I have reached empty in my tank, and God's never-empty tank has kicked in and it has made all the difference. After an exhausting week, I wake up and say, "God, I'm so tired." He says, "I'm not." I say, "I'm empty, Lord." He says, "I know, but switch on My power, Ron. I'm not empty." It's was I sang about as a little boy and I didn't really understand it until life got a lot more complicated, "Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong."
If you dwell on how stressed you are, or how tired, or how sick or overwhelmed, you're done. You're dwelling on your empty tank. But if, on those depleted days, you consciously focus on your Lord's inexhaustible strength, your Lord's unlimited power, you will be able to keep driving when you thought you couldn't go another mile.
The songwriter of one of my favorite songs said it pretty well. "When we have exhausted our store of endurance; when our strength has failed ere the day is half done. When we've reached the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun."
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Hebrews 2, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 2
What Is Grace?
My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NCV)
What is grace? It’s what someone gives us out of the goodness of his heart, not out of the perfection of ours. The story of grace is the good news that says that when we come, he gives. That’s what grace is….
Grace is something you did not expect. It is something you certainly could never earn. But grace is something you’d never turn down.
You know what happens when someone sees the grace of God? When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God? Some one who tastes God’s grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual, and the person most willing to forgive.
Hebrews 2
Warning to Pay Attention
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus Made Like His Brothers
5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified:
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
7You made him a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet." [b]
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."[c] 13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,
"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[e]
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Deuteronomy 4:5-10
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
September 2, 2008
Pass It On
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Deuteronomy 4:5-10
Lest you forget the things your eyes have seen . . . teach them to your children and your grandchildren. —Deuteronomy 4:9
One day as my wife was baby-sitting our granddaughter, she shared an old, familiar friend with her. With Eliana in her arms, Sue picked up a well-worn book that we had read to our daughter when she was a little girl. It’s a book called The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, a staple in our efforts to share God’s truth with our children.
So now it is Eliana’s turn to begin to learn about God’s creation, His goodness, His plan, and His salvation. It’s time for her to be told about what we have seen and experienced in our walk of faith. As Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Teach [God’s statutes] to your children and your grandchildren.”
Back in the days of Deuteronomy, the people were being handed a gift from God—“the statutes and the judgments” (v.1) that would allow them to live properly in the land of God’s promise. Along with those laws came an admonition for the people to share with their progeny the lessons God taught them on the way. They were told not to “forget the things your eyes have seen” (v.9) and to teach God’s words to their children and grandchildren.
We have a similar legacy to convey to the next generation. As followers of Christ, we take this as one of our greatest responsibilities. Pass it on. — Dave Branon
Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life’s pathway
God’s lamp, His holy Word. —Fennema
If children are to find their way to God, we must point the way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 2, 2008
A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38
Jesus did not say, "He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God," but, in essence, "He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him." Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany "broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head," it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, ". . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ " (Mark 14:3-4 ). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, ". . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" ( Mark 14:9 ). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son "that the world through Him might be saved" ( John 3:17 ). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?
"He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water"— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break "the flask" of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Flash Gordon Rescues - #5647 - September 2, 2008
Category: Your Hard Times
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
OK, I was a Flash Gordon freak when I was a kid. In case you've led a deprived life or you're too young to have this exciting heritage, Flash was that intergalactic hero made famous in a serialized movie made in the 1930's, long before anyone ever heard of Luke Skywalker or Captain Kirk. No, I wasn't around when it first came out, but those episodes have been showing ever since. Every episode was a cliffhanger. They always left you hanging with Flash in a terrible jam, about to be destroyed by some space monster or death ray. You were sure there was no way out of this one. But there always was. Somehow, no matter how bleak it looked, Flash always came through somehow.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Flash Gordon Rescues."
Always a way out when there is no way out - that's the way it can be for you, too, in the episodes of your life. If, that is, you're working for the right Director. The great missionary Paul was sort of a spiritual Flash Gordon, except all his close calls were real! Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 3:11. It refers in this passage to some life-or-death experiences Paul had. He calls them, "what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
You could say that, and so could I. It's not that it hasn't been very close sometimes. Just look at some past episodes. The time the money ran out, your friends and family ran out, your strength ran out. Or the times you've been so lonely you couldn't stand it, so frustrated because every door slammed shut. Times when things or people you had depended on were suddenly gone; when you felt hopelessly overwhelmed by an overload of responsibilities. Yes, you've been to the edge of desperation, "yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
And maybe now you're in a perilous place again or a painful place. This time it looks like there is no way out, there's no time left to turn it around, no place an answer could come from. But then, it looked like that before at the end of other episodes, didn't it, and you're still here. Those mountains that once looked insurmountable are now just monuments to what God can move. Those problems that seemed unsolvable are now part of your testimony of the faithfulness of God. If you forget yesterday's Red Sea, you won't have faith to face today's giants.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God made a promise to you that "He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (the word also means tested), He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God will never let you face more than you can handle with His strength. In fact, He will pour out for you on a daily basis, the strength needed. The promise of Deuteronomy 32:25 is this: "Your strength will equal your days." And Paul found, really at the end of his rope, that "My grace" God said, "is sufficient for you." In the original Greek translation, "Enough for you, my grace."
Remember, Jesus is your Savior, and Savior means Rescuer. He's already accomplished the toughest rescue of all. He rescued you from the clutches of sin and hell. Surely, after that, He can save you from this comparatively small crisis. He will change the situation or He will enlarge you to deal with it, but He will always rescue you! He always has.
My hero, Flash Gordon, got in big trouble, and so do you and I. But he always got rescued and so will you. The same God who brought you through so many episodes in the past, is still writing the script with some very close calls and some pretty amazing rescues!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 2
What Is Grace?
My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NCV)
What is grace? It’s what someone gives us out of the goodness of his heart, not out of the perfection of ours. The story of grace is the good news that says that when we come, he gives. That’s what grace is….
Grace is something you did not expect. It is something you certainly could never earn. But grace is something you’d never turn down.
You know what happens when someone sees the grace of God? When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God? Some one who tastes God’s grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual, and the person most willing to forgive.
Hebrews 2
Warning to Pay Attention
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus Made Like His Brothers
5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified:
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
7You made him a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet." [b]
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."[c] 13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,
"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[e]
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Deuteronomy 4:5-10
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
September 2, 2008
Pass It On
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Deuteronomy 4:5-10
Lest you forget the things your eyes have seen . . . teach them to your children and your grandchildren. —Deuteronomy 4:9
One day as my wife was baby-sitting our granddaughter, she shared an old, familiar friend with her. With Eliana in her arms, Sue picked up a well-worn book that we had read to our daughter when she was a little girl. It’s a book called The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, a staple in our efforts to share God’s truth with our children.
So now it is Eliana’s turn to begin to learn about God’s creation, His goodness, His plan, and His salvation. It’s time for her to be told about what we have seen and experienced in our walk of faith. As Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Teach [God’s statutes] to your children and your grandchildren.”
Back in the days of Deuteronomy, the people were being handed a gift from God—“the statutes and the judgments” (v.1) that would allow them to live properly in the land of God’s promise. Along with those laws came an admonition for the people to share with their progeny the lessons God taught them on the way. They were told not to “forget the things your eyes have seen” (v.9) and to teach God’s words to their children and grandchildren.
We have a similar legacy to convey to the next generation. As followers of Christ, we take this as one of our greatest responsibilities. Pass it on. — Dave Branon
Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life’s pathway
God’s lamp, His holy Word. —Fennema
If children are to find their way to God, we must point the way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 2, 2008
A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38
Jesus did not say, "He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God," but, in essence, "He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him." Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany "broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head," it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, ". . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ " (Mark 14:3-4 ). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, ". . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" ( Mark 14:9 ). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son "that the world through Him might be saved" ( John 3:17 ). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?
"He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water"— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break "the flask" of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Flash Gordon Rescues - #5647 - September 2, 2008
Category: Your Hard Times
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
OK, I was a Flash Gordon freak when I was a kid. In case you've led a deprived life or you're too young to have this exciting heritage, Flash was that intergalactic hero made famous in a serialized movie made in the 1930's, long before anyone ever heard of Luke Skywalker or Captain Kirk. No, I wasn't around when it first came out, but those episodes have been showing ever since. Every episode was a cliffhanger. They always left you hanging with Flash in a terrible jam, about to be destroyed by some space monster or death ray. You were sure there was no way out of this one. But there always was. Somehow, no matter how bleak it looked, Flash always came through somehow.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Flash Gordon Rescues."
Always a way out when there is no way out - that's the way it can be for you, too, in the episodes of your life. If, that is, you're working for the right Director. The great missionary Paul was sort of a spiritual Flash Gordon, except all his close calls were real! Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 3:11. It refers in this passage to some life-or-death experiences Paul had. He calls them, "what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
You could say that, and so could I. It's not that it hasn't been very close sometimes. Just look at some past episodes. The time the money ran out, your friends and family ran out, your strength ran out. Or the times you've been so lonely you couldn't stand it, so frustrated because every door slammed shut. Times when things or people you had depended on were suddenly gone; when you felt hopelessly overwhelmed by an overload of responsibilities. Yes, you've been to the edge of desperation, "yet the Lord rescued me from all of them."
And maybe now you're in a perilous place again or a painful place. This time it looks like there is no way out, there's no time left to turn it around, no place an answer could come from. But then, it looked like that before at the end of other episodes, didn't it, and you're still here. Those mountains that once looked insurmountable are now just monuments to what God can move. Those problems that seemed unsolvable are now part of your testimony of the faithfulness of God. If you forget yesterday's Red Sea, you won't have faith to face today's giants.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God made a promise to you that "He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (the word also means tested), He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God will never let you face more than you can handle with His strength. In fact, He will pour out for you on a daily basis, the strength needed. The promise of Deuteronomy 32:25 is this: "Your strength will equal your days." And Paul found, really at the end of his rope, that "My grace" God said, "is sufficient for you." In the original Greek translation, "Enough for you, my grace."
Remember, Jesus is your Savior, and Savior means Rescuer. He's already accomplished the toughest rescue of all. He rescued you from the clutches of sin and hell. Surely, after that, He can save you from this comparatively small crisis. He will change the situation or He will enlarge you to deal with it, but He will always rescue you! He always has.
My hero, Flash Gordon, got in big trouble, and so do you and I. But he always got rescued and so will you. The same God who brought you through so many episodes in the past, is still writing the script with some very close calls and some pretty amazing rescues!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Hebrews 1, daily reading and devotions
The Power to Love, by Max Lucado
Monday, September 01, 2008
“This is what God commands:…that we love each other.”
I John 3:23
Does bumping into certain people leave you brittle, breakable, and fruitless? Do you easily fall apart? If so, your love may be grounded in the wrong soil. It may be rooted in their love (which is fickle) or in your resolve to love (which is frail). John urges us to “rely on the love God has for us” (I John 4:16 NIV, emphasis mine). He alone is the power source.
Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so.
We know what God wants us to do. “This is what God commands:…that we love each other” (I John 3:23). But how can we? How can we be kind to the vow breakers? To those who are unkind to us? How can we be patient with people who have the warmth of a vulture and the tenderness of a porcupine? How can we forgive the moneygrubbers and backstabbers we meet, love, and marry? How can we love as God loves? We want to. We long to. But how can we?
By living loved.
Hebrews 1
The Son Superior to Angels
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5For to which of the angels did God ever say,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father[a]"[b]? Or again,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"[c]? 6And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."[d] 7In speaking of the angels he says,
"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."[e] 8But about the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."[f] 10He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."[g] 13To which of the angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"[h]? 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 13:3-16
3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
September 1, 2008
Titles And Responsibilities
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 13:3-16
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. —John 13:14
Research conducted by a leading compensation technology firm found that among employees planning to leave their companies, a majority felt they were underpaid. Fewer than 20 percent of them, however, were receiving less than the industry standard for their duties.
Bill Coleman, of Salary.com, believes that many unhappy workers are overtitled rather than underpaid. Some companies give employees lofty titles even though their job responsibilities have not increased. In time, employees feel they deserve more money than their actual duties merit. “When it comes to salary,” Coleman says, “it’s what you do, not what you’re called, that counts.”
It’s interesting how Jesus dealt with the issue of titles and responsibilities. During the Last Supper, He performed the task of a lowly servant by washing His disciples’ feet, setting the stage for His astonishing statement about humility: “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:13-14).
Christ the Lord set the example for all who would follow Him, confirming that it’s not what we’re called, but what we do that counts. — David C. McCasland
When Jesus took a servant’s towel—
His honor set aside—
He humbly showed us how to serve,
And how to conquer pride. —Sper
The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 1, 2008
Destined To Be Holy
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Too Busy to Notice - #5646 - September 1, 2008
Category: Your Hard Times
Monday, September 1, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
One of the highlights of my life was the opportunity to visit Israel. I tacked it on to a return trip from South Africa. I hired a private guide, and I went by myself to some sites where I could, well like an old song says, "walk where Jesus walked." Now, I have to tell you, no site meant more to me than the place where many believe Jesus was crucified - "Skull Hill" it's called in the Bible. This particular hill lives up to the name with rock formations on the side of it that look very much like the features of a human skull. As I stood atop that hill, imagining the awful scene that first Good Friday, I was distracted by the noise below me at the foot of the hill. It turns out that the municipal bus depot is down there. And there, in the shadow of this holy ground, are these plumes of bus exhaust, the chaos of passengers hurrying to make their connections, and the total busyness of a city coming and going. It's like people are totally oblivious to what Jesus did for them on Skull Hill.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Busy to Notice."
Actually, it was like that when Jesus died on that cross. Skull Hill was on a road that was busy back then, and people probably passed by oblivious to the fact that the only Son of God has was pouring out His life so they wouldn't have to die for their sins. But, then, nothing has really changed.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Lamentations 1:12 and it asks a haunting question, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?" I was walking by a church on North LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago and I suddenly noticed a sculpture just above my head; it portrayed Jesus hanging on the cross. And as I watched the cars zooming by and the pedestrians hurrying past, I was moved by the inscription above Jesus' head, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
The truth is that many of us are moving at such a fast pace that we become oblivious to what the Son of God did for us on the cross. Even those of us who at one time came to that cross with all our sin and all our guilt to make Christ our personal Savior from all of that junk. Someone listening today has become too preoccupied to tell about what Jesus did when He died for us. Your life has become so taken over with the daily demands of your family, your work, and your church responsibilities, that telling people that Jesus died for them has been crowded right out of your life. You've forgotten the cross and the life-or-death urgency of telling the people around you about it.
Or maybe you've become too preoccupied with your rat race to live in light of Jesus' cross. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "(Christ) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins." But you're living as if you've forgotten that. You are tolerating some of the very sins your Savior died to remove. It's time for you to remember His cross and why He died for you.
And most dangerous of all, you may have been so preoccupied that you have never responded to what Jesus did on the cross for you. The Bible asks, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). You could miss heaven, not because you rejected Jesus, but just because you neglected Jesus. You just never got around to making your spiritual trip to Skull Hill to have the sins of a lifetime finally forgiven by the Man who died for them - sins erased once and for all. Sins that will keep you out of heaven unless they're forgiven by the only One who can.
If you've never actually begun your personal relationship with Jesus, and if you want that to change today, would you tell Him that right now? And I'd invite you to come to our website. It's called YoursForLife.net. I think you'll find there a very simple, non-religious explanation of how to begin your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Or you could just call toll free actually, for my little booklet called Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200. It's easy to run right past Jesus and right past His sacrifice for you, but it can cost you everything.
Monday, September 01, 2008
“This is what God commands:…that we love each other.”
I John 3:23
Does bumping into certain people leave you brittle, breakable, and fruitless? Do you easily fall apart? If so, your love may be grounded in the wrong soil. It may be rooted in their love (which is fickle) or in your resolve to love (which is frail). John urges us to “rely on the love God has for us” (I John 4:16 NIV, emphasis mine). He alone is the power source.
Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so.
We know what God wants us to do. “This is what God commands:…that we love each other” (I John 3:23). But how can we? How can we be kind to the vow breakers? To those who are unkind to us? How can we be patient with people who have the warmth of a vulture and the tenderness of a porcupine? How can we forgive the moneygrubbers and backstabbers we meet, love, and marry? How can we love as God loves? We want to. We long to. But how can we?
By living loved.
Hebrews 1
The Son Superior to Angels
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5For to which of the angels did God ever say,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father[a]"[b]? Or again,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"[c]? 6And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."[d] 7In speaking of the angels he says,
"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."[e] 8But about the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."[f] 10He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."[g] 13To which of the angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"[h]? 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 13:3-16
3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
September 1, 2008
Titles And Responsibilities
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 13:3-16
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. —John 13:14
Research conducted by a leading compensation technology firm found that among employees planning to leave their companies, a majority felt they were underpaid. Fewer than 20 percent of them, however, were receiving less than the industry standard for their duties.
Bill Coleman, of Salary.com, believes that many unhappy workers are overtitled rather than underpaid. Some companies give employees lofty titles even though their job responsibilities have not increased. In time, employees feel they deserve more money than their actual duties merit. “When it comes to salary,” Coleman says, “it’s what you do, not what you’re called, that counts.”
It’s interesting how Jesus dealt with the issue of titles and responsibilities. During the Last Supper, He performed the task of a lowly servant by washing His disciples’ feet, setting the stage for His astonishing statement about humility: “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:13-14).
Christ the Lord set the example for all who would follow Him, confirming that it’s not what we’re called, but what we do that counts. — David C. McCasland
When Jesus took a servant’s towel—
His honor set aside—
He humbly showed us how to serve,
And how to conquer pride. —Sper
The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 1, 2008
Destined To Be Holy
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Too Busy to Notice - #5646 - September 1, 2008
Category: Your Hard Times
Monday, September 1, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
One of the highlights of my life was the opportunity to visit Israel. I tacked it on to a return trip from South Africa. I hired a private guide, and I went by myself to some sites where I could, well like an old song says, "walk where Jesus walked." Now, I have to tell you, no site meant more to me than the place where many believe Jesus was crucified - "Skull Hill" it's called in the Bible. This particular hill lives up to the name with rock formations on the side of it that look very much like the features of a human skull. As I stood atop that hill, imagining the awful scene that first Good Friday, I was distracted by the noise below me at the foot of the hill. It turns out that the municipal bus depot is down there. And there, in the shadow of this holy ground, are these plumes of bus exhaust, the chaos of passengers hurrying to make their connections, and the total busyness of a city coming and going. It's like people are totally oblivious to what Jesus did for them on Skull Hill.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Busy to Notice."
Actually, it was like that when Jesus died on that cross. Skull Hill was on a road that was busy back then, and people probably passed by oblivious to the fact that the only Son of God has was pouring out His life so they wouldn't have to die for their sins. But, then, nothing has really changed.
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Lamentations 1:12 and it asks a haunting question, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?" I was walking by a church on North LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago and I suddenly noticed a sculpture just above my head; it portrayed Jesus hanging on the cross. And as I watched the cars zooming by and the pedestrians hurrying past, I was moved by the inscription above Jesus' head, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
The truth is that many of us are moving at such a fast pace that we become oblivious to what the Son of God did for us on the cross. Even those of us who at one time came to that cross with all our sin and all our guilt to make Christ our personal Savior from all of that junk. Someone listening today has become too preoccupied to tell about what Jesus did when He died for us. Your life has become so taken over with the daily demands of your family, your work, and your church responsibilities, that telling people that Jesus died for them has been crowded right out of your life. You've forgotten the cross and the life-or-death urgency of telling the people around you about it.
Or maybe you've become too preoccupied with your rat race to live in light of Jesus' cross. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "(Christ) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins." But you're living as if you've forgotten that. You are tolerating some of the very sins your Savior died to remove. It's time for you to remember His cross and why He died for you.
And most dangerous of all, you may have been so preoccupied that you have never responded to what Jesus did on the cross for you. The Bible asks, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). You could miss heaven, not because you rejected Jesus, but just because you neglected Jesus. You just never got around to making your spiritual trip to Skull Hill to have the sins of a lifetime finally forgiven by the Man who died for them - sins erased once and for all. Sins that will keep you out of heaven unless they're forgiven by the only One who can.
If you've never actually begun your personal relationship with Jesus, and if you want that to change today, would you tell Him that right now? And I'd invite you to come to our website. It's called YoursForLife.net. I think you'll find there a very simple, non-religious explanation of how to begin your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Or you could just call toll free actually, for my little booklet called Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200. It's easy to run right past Jesus and right past His sacrifice for you, but it can cost you everything.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Philemon 1, daily reading and devotions
Claiming Courage, by Max Lucado
Sunday, August 31, 2008
“You will teach me how to live a holy life.”
Psalm 16:11
Are you a brief journey away from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache?
Learn a lesson from you master. Don’t march into battle with the enemy without first claiming the courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you.’” (Jer. 29:11 NCV)
If you feel weighted by yesterday’s failures: “So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty” (Rom. 8:1 NCV).
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hos. 11:9 NCV).
Philemon 1
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Paul's Plea for Onesimus
8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[a] who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Luke 23:32-43
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[b]"
43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
August 31, 2008
Wonderful Mystery
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Luke 23:32-43
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12
The headline in our Grand Rapids Press wasn’t good news. Fifteen million gallons of partially treated waste water suddenly disappeared from a storage lagoon in a water treatment facility. Just outside the small town of Sand Lake, Michigan, a 500- by-500-foot pond disappeared into a sinkhole.
The problem was that nobody knew where the wastewater went. According to a county spokesperson, “It will depend on where it went before we can say what happened.”
As I read the article, I imagined all the wrongs of my life as being like that missing filthy lagoon. In my clearest moments of faith, I can say in all honesty that I really don’t know where they went, but they are gone. The last time I saw the real guilt of my envy, anger, and impatience, they were all nailed to the cross of a Man suffering for wrongs He never committed.
Where did my guilt go? The Bible gives me answers that I can’t really understand: buried in the deepest sea (Mic. 7:19), as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), erased from the eternal books of heaven’s justice (Col. 2:13-15).
No, all I can really understand is that I owe unending gratefulness, praise, and honor to the One who bore our sin—a mystery of inexpressibly good news. — Mart De Haan
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
To His feet thy tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing. —Lyte
When God forgives, He removes our sin and restores our soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 31, 2008
"My Joy . . . Your Joy"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full —John 15:11
What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— ". . . who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross . . ." ( Hebrews 12:2 ). "I delight to do Your will, O my God . . ." ( Psalm 40:8 ). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?
Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, ". . . the cares of this world, . . . choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" ( Mark 4:19 ). And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is.
Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy there, and out of you "will flow rivers of living water" ( John 7:38 ). Be a fountain through which Jesus can pour His "living water." Stop being hypocritical and proud, aware only of yourself, and live "your life . . . hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3 ). A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
“You will teach me how to live a holy life.”
Psalm 16:11
Are you a brief journey away from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache?
Learn a lesson from you master. Don’t march into battle with the enemy without first claiming the courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you.’” (Jer. 29:11 NCV)
If you feel weighted by yesterday’s failures: “So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty” (Rom. 8:1 NCV).
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hos. 11:9 NCV).
Philemon 1
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Paul's Plea for Onesimus
8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[a] who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Luke 23:32-43
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[b]"
43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
August 31, 2008
Wonderful Mystery
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Luke 23:32-43
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12
The headline in our Grand Rapids Press wasn’t good news. Fifteen million gallons of partially treated waste water suddenly disappeared from a storage lagoon in a water treatment facility. Just outside the small town of Sand Lake, Michigan, a 500- by-500-foot pond disappeared into a sinkhole.
The problem was that nobody knew where the wastewater went. According to a county spokesperson, “It will depend on where it went before we can say what happened.”
As I read the article, I imagined all the wrongs of my life as being like that missing filthy lagoon. In my clearest moments of faith, I can say in all honesty that I really don’t know where they went, but they are gone. The last time I saw the real guilt of my envy, anger, and impatience, they were all nailed to the cross of a Man suffering for wrongs He never committed.
Where did my guilt go? The Bible gives me answers that I can’t really understand: buried in the deepest sea (Mic. 7:19), as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), erased from the eternal books of heaven’s justice (Col. 2:13-15).
No, all I can really understand is that I owe unending gratefulness, praise, and honor to the One who bore our sin—a mystery of inexpressibly good news. — Mart De Haan
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
To His feet thy tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing. —Lyte
When God forgives, He removes our sin and restores our soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 31, 2008
"My Joy . . . Your Joy"
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full —John 15:11
What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— ". . . who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross . . ." ( Hebrews 12:2 ). "I delight to do Your will, O my God . . ." ( Psalm 40:8 ). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?
Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, ". . . the cares of this world, . . . choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" ( Mark 4:19 ). And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is.
Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy there, and out of you "will flow rivers of living water" ( John 7:38 ). Be a fountain through which Jesus can pour His "living water." Stop being hypocritical and proud, aware only of yourself, and live "your life . . . hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3 ). A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Titus 3, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 30
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6 (NKJV)
When we surrender to God the cumbersome sack of discontent, we
don't just give up something; we gain something. God replaces it with a
lightweight, tailor-made, sorrow-resistant attaché of gratitude.
What will you gain with contentment?
You may gain your marriage.
You may gain precious hours with your children.
You may gain joy.
Titus 3
Doing What is Good
1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Final Remarks
12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
15Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Colossians 1:9-14
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[a] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[b] the forgiveness of sins.
August 30, 2008
Change Of Address
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Colossians 1:9-14
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. —Colossians 1:13
If you keep in touch with family and friends through the postal service or e-mail, you probably have received or sent a change of address notice. It goes something like this: “I will no longer be receiving mail at _____________. My new address will be _____________. Thank you for making a note of this change.”
Paul reminded the believers in Colosse that they had “a change of address” and that they should share it with others. They had been moved from one community and “conveyed” or transplanted, by the grace of God, into a new community. They had been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and been brought into the kingdom of Jesus (1:13). Their old address was sinner@kingdomofdarkness. But when they became followers of Jesus, their new address became saved@kingdomofHisdearSon.
In Philippians 3:20, Paul declared that all believers are citizens of heaven and should live worthy of their new address. He encouraged the Christians in Colosse to walk in wisdom toward those who were outside the faith so that people could see and hear about the changes (Col. 4:5-6).
If you have had “a change of address,” tell someone about what Jesus has done in you. — Marvin Williams
When we’re reborn—made new in Christ—
It should be plain for all to see
That God has changed us from within
And placed us in His family. —Sper
When Jesus comes into a life, He changes everything.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 30, 2008
Usefulness or Relationship?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven —Luke 10:20
Jesus Christ is saying here, "Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me, but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me." The trap you may fall into in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service— rejoicing in the fact that God has used you. Yet you will never be able to measure fully what God will do through you if you have a right-standing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you keep your relationship right with Him, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour "rivers of living water" through you ( John 7:38 ). And it is actually by His mercy that He does not let you know it. Once you have the right relationship with God through salvation and sanctification, remember that whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose, as long as you continue to "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7 ).
Our tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make their request for help on the basis of someone’s usefulness. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived. For the saint, direction and guidance come from God Himself, not some measure of that saint’s usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God— something of great value to His Father. Jesus is "bringing many sons to glory . . ." ( Hebrews 2:10 ).
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 30
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6 (NKJV)
When we surrender to God the cumbersome sack of discontent, we
don't just give up something; we gain something. God replaces it with a
lightweight, tailor-made, sorrow-resistant attaché of gratitude.
What will you gain with contentment?
You may gain your marriage.
You may gain precious hours with your children.
You may gain joy.
Titus 3
Doing What is Good
1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Final Remarks
12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
15Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Colossians 1:9-14
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[a] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[b] the forgiveness of sins.
August 30, 2008
Change Of Address
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Colossians 1:9-14
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. —Colossians 1:13
If you keep in touch with family and friends through the postal service or e-mail, you probably have received or sent a change of address notice. It goes something like this: “I will no longer be receiving mail at _____________. My new address will be _____________. Thank you for making a note of this change.”
Paul reminded the believers in Colosse that they had “a change of address” and that they should share it with others. They had been moved from one community and “conveyed” or transplanted, by the grace of God, into a new community. They had been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and been brought into the kingdom of Jesus (1:13). Their old address was sinner@kingdomofdarkness. But when they became followers of Jesus, their new address became saved@kingdomofHisdearSon.
In Philippians 3:20, Paul declared that all believers are citizens of heaven and should live worthy of their new address. He encouraged the Christians in Colosse to walk in wisdom toward those who were outside the faith so that people could see and hear about the changes (Col. 4:5-6).
If you have had “a change of address,” tell someone about what Jesus has done in you. — Marvin Williams
When we’re reborn—made new in Christ—
It should be plain for all to see
That God has changed us from within
And placed us in His family. —Sper
When Jesus comes into a life, He changes everything.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 30, 2008
Usefulness or Relationship?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven —Luke 10:20
Jesus Christ is saying here, "Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me, but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me." The trap you may fall into in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service— rejoicing in the fact that God has used you. Yet you will never be able to measure fully what God will do through you if you have a right-standing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you keep your relationship right with Him, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour "rivers of living water" through you ( John 7:38 ). And it is actually by His mercy that He does not let you know it. Once you have the right relationship with God through salvation and sanctification, remember that whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose, as long as you continue to "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7 ).
Our tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make their request for help on the basis of someone’s usefulness. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived. For the saint, direction and guidance come from God Himself, not some measure of that saint’s usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God— something of great value to His Father. Jesus is "bringing many sons to glory . . ." ( Hebrews 2:10 ).
Friday, August 29, 2008
Titus 2, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 29
Lifting Heart and Hands
To the King that rules forever, who will never die, who cannot be seen, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
1 Timothy 1:17 (NCV)
The whole purpose of coming before the King is to praise him, to live in recognition of his splendor. Praise--lifting up our heart and hands, exulting with our voices, singing his praises--is the occupation of those who dwell in the kingdom.
Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father? We reestablish the proper chain of command; we recognize that the King is on the throne and that he has saved his people.
Titus 2
What Must Be Taught to Various Groups
1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
August 29, 2008
Don’t Rust Out
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. —1 Timothy 6:11
On June 15, 1957, a brand-new car was buried in a concrete vault under the courthouse lawn in Tulsa. In June 2007, the car was unearthed as the city celebrated Oklahoma’s 100th year of statehood. Writing in the Tulsa World, Randy Krehbiel said: “Now we know what 50 years in a hole does to a Plymouth Belvedere.” Water seeping into the vault had turned the once shiny car into a rusted monument to the past. A hot-rod expert hired to start the engine pronounced it “hopeless.”
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul like moisture acting on metal. Paul urged Timothy, his young protégé, to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11). This command had no expiration date attached to it. The spiritual disciplines require continued attention throughout our lives. If rest becomes our goal, then rust is right behind.
Oswald Chambers said: “The intellect works with the greatest intensity when it works continuously; the more you do, the more you can do. We must work hard to keep in trim for God. Clean off the rust and keep bright by use.”
Our capabilities may vary with age, but pursuing the righteous life to which God has called us should never end. Don’t rust out! — David C. McCasland
For Further Study
For practical advice on how to keep spiritually active as we age, you may wish to read Finishing Well on the Web at www.discoveryseries.org/q0713
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 29, 2008
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, "It’s all a lie"? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ " the testing of my faith begins ( Philippians 4:19 ). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" Matthew 11:6 ). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . ." ( Hebrews 3:14 ). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Measurement Mess - #5645 - August 29, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Friday, August 29, 2008
Joshua 24:15{/bible}. Then, as now, God's people were torn between a cultural drumbeat that was pulling them one way and the standards of their God. Here's the challenge, "Throw away the gods our forefathers worshipped...in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served...or the gods of the Amorites in whose land your are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
You have to make that same kind of clear-cut, no-compromise choice. You just can't run your life by two different standards. Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters." Your culture says divorce is OK. Your God says, "I hate divorce" (Malachi 2:16). The world around you says you have to accumulate more and more for security...Jesus says security comes from letting go of what you have and trusting Him to take care of you. You lose your life by hanging onto it; you find your life by giving it away.
The culture says something that portrays things that breaks God's heart is "must see" TV or a "must see" movie. God says, "Guard your heart; it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Conventional wisdom tells you that you can't be totally honest and succeed. God says, "Put off falsehood and speak truthfully" (Ephesians 4:25) that He will only bless total integrity. Our tolerant culture says, "There are many ways to God." Your Savior says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except by Me" (John 14:6). Those can't both be true. You have to choose one and stake everything on it.
It's that way with all the choices I mentioned and so many more that you're faced with each day. You can't keep vacillating; commuting back and forth between what the world around you says is right and what your Lord says is right. You can't just go God's way when it's convenient, when it's easy, and when it doesn't cost you much. In God's words, you have to "choose this day whom you will serve." When you do, life is a whole lot less confusing.
Choose God's way always. If you keep trying to run your own life by two different standards, you're going to crash.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 29
Lifting Heart and Hands
To the King that rules forever, who will never die, who cannot be seen, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
1 Timothy 1:17 (NCV)
The whole purpose of coming before the King is to praise him, to live in recognition of his splendor. Praise--lifting up our heart and hands, exulting with our voices, singing his praises--is the occupation of those who dwell in the kingdom.
Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father? We reestablish the proper chain of command; we recognize that the King is on the throne and that he has saved his people.
Titus 2
What Must Be Taught to Various Groups
1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
August 29, 2008
Don’t Rust Out
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. —1 Timothy 6:11
On June 15, 1957, a brand-new car was buried in a concrete vault under the courthouse lawn in Tulsa. In June 2007, the car was unearthed as the city celebrated Oklahoma’s 100th year of statehood. Writing in the Tulsa World, Randy Krehbiel said: “Now we know what 50 years in a hole does to a Plymouth Belvedere.” Water seeping into the vault had turned the once shiny car into a rusted monument to the past. A hot-rod expert hired to start the engine pronounced it “hopeless.”
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul like moisture acting on metal. Paul urged Timothy, his young protégé, to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11). This command had no expiration date attached to it. The spiritual disciplines require continued attention throughout our lives. If rest becomes our goal, then rust is right behind.
Oswald Chambers said: “The intellect works with the greatest intensity when it works continuously; the more you do, the more you can do. We must work hard to keep in trim for God. Clean off the rust and keep bright by use.”
Our capabilities may vary with age, but pursuing the righteous life to which God has called us should never end. Don’t rust out! — David C. McCasland
For Further Study
For practical advice on how to keep spiritually active as we age, you may wish to read Finishing Well on the Web at www.discoveryseries.org/q0713
Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 29, 2008
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, "It’s all a lie"? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe ’God shall supply all [my] need,’ " the testing of my faith begins ( Philippians 4:19 ). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" Matthew 11:6 ). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . ." ( Hebrews 3:14 ). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Measurement Mess - #5645 - August 29, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Friday, August 29, 2008
Joshua 24:15{/bible}. Then, as now, God's people were torn between a cultural drumbeat that was pulling them one way and the standards of their God. Here's the challenge, "Throw away the gods our forefathers worshipped...in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served...or the gods of the Amorites in whose land your are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
You have to make that same kind of clear-cut, no-compromise choice. You just can't run your life by two different standards. Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters." Your culture says divorce is OK. Your God says, "I hate divorce" (Malachi 2:16). The world around you says you have to accumulate more and more for security...Jesus says security comes from letting go of what you have and trusting Him to take care of you. You lose your life by hanging onto it; you find your life by giving it away.
The culture says something that portrays things that breaks God's heart is "must see" TV or a "must see" movie. God says, "Guard your heart; it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Conventional wisdom tells you that you can't be totally honest and succeed. God says, "Put off falsehood and speak truthfully" (Ephesians 4:25) that He will only bless total integrity. Our tolerant culture says, "There are many ways to God." Your Savior says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except by Me" (John 14:6). Those can't both be true. You have to choose one and stake everything on it.
It's that way with all the choices I mentioned and so many more that you're faced with each day. You can't keep vacillating; commuting back and forth between what the world around you says is right and what your Lord says is right. You can't just go God's way when it's convenient, when it's easy, and when it doesn't cost you much. In God's words, you have to "choose this day whom you will serve." When you do, life is a whole lot less confusing.
Choose God's way always. If you keep trying to run your own life by two different standards, you're going to crash.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Titus 1, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 28
Our Work Is God’s Work
Jesus got into one of the boats,…that belonged to [Peter], and asked him to push off a little from the land.
Luke 5:3 (NCV)
Jesus claims Peter’s boat. He doesn’t request the use of it. Christ doesn’t fill out an application or ask permission; he simply boards the boat and begins to preach.
He can do that, you know. All boats belong to Christ. Your boat is where you spend your day, make your living, and to a large degree live your life. The taxi you drive,…the dental office you manage, the family you feed and transport—this is your boat. Christ shoulder-taps us and reminds:
“You drive my truck.”
“You work on my job site.”
“You serve my hospital wing.”
To us all, Jesus says, “Your work is my work.”
Titus 1
1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus' Task on Crete
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
10For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 15
1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
August 28, 2008
Comfort Food
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 15:1-7
Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. —Romans 15:4
I love the phrase “comfort food.” It speaks of the things that are so good, so familiar, so right, that they can always bring a smile to your face. For me, comfort food usually includes some form of beef and potatoes. Hamburgers and French fries. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. Also, chocolate in almost any form imaginable. These are the foods that speak to me and say that all is well with the world. (I’m not saying they’re the most healthy!)
Unfortunately, all is not well with the world, and no amount of hamburgers and French fries can make it right. Real comfort is not the byproduct of specific foods any more than it is the result of alcohol or drugs or money or pleasure or power. It is a much deeper need that requires a much deeper solution.
Paul told the church at Rome that the search for comfort can begin in the pages of the Bible. He wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
God has given us His Word to draw us to Himself. Through a relationship with Him, He provides the comfort we need to live in a broken world. — Bill Crowder
Jesus is all this poor world needs today;
Blindly they strive, for sin darkens their way.
O to draw back the grim curtains of night—
One glimpse of Jesus and all will be bright! —Loes
© Renewal 1943 H. D. Loes. Assigned to Hope Publishing
God’s Word is a life preserver that keeps the soul from sinking in a sea of trouble.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 28, 2008
The Purpose of Prayer
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.
"Ask, and you will receive . . ." ( John 16:24 ). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, ". . . unless you . . . become as little children . . ." ( Matthew 18:3 ). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.
To say that "prayer changes things" is not as close to the truth as saying, "Prayer changes me and then I change things." God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What You Bring in the Door - #5644 - August 28, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
When our three kids were young, they'd run to the door to greet me when I was returning from an international trip. Isn't that tender! Yeah, but you need to know part of the reason for this enthusiastic greeting. You see, when I'm away from my family, I am a sucker for souvenirs. The one way I can be with them is by shopping for something for them, whether it's in Singapore, or Holland, or Australia. So there was a certain expectancy when old dad walked through the door. Oh, yes, there would be hugs and kisses, and we had missed each other, but the three kids each knew that those suitcases had things in them that weren't in them when I left. It's nice to come home with gifts for everyone.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Bring in the Door."
Now, David was in the middle of an unforgettable experience as we read 1 Chronicles 16. He had led the Jewish people in bringing the holiest object in the world to the new capitol of Jerusalem. It was the ark of God. This was the center of the Lord's personal presence on earth at this point in spiritual history. After years of its being gone, David leads in the return of the ark and he sets up a tremendous leadership structure and worship program that everyone was just beginning to celebrate. But he left behind him memorable events in Jerusalem to go on another mission - he went home.
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Chronicles 16:43, "Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family." Not only did David bring blessing in public ministry, he brought blessing with him when he walked in the door at home. Do you? You see, each day when you return to your family from wherever you were that day you bring something in the door with you - stress, tension, or peace. Selfishness and looking to have your own needs met, or unselfishness - looking to help people meet their needs. Do you bring positive, encouraging talk, or negative, critical talk? Do you bring coldness or affection?
In many ways you set a tone when you walk in the door and you'll probably have to live with that tone for hours to come. After a stressful day it's just human nature to walk in with a pretty self-focused mind set, carrying the garbage of the day, which we then proceed to dump all over our loved ones! But, wouldn't you like to put your name in our word for today? "________ returned home to bless his or her family."
Well, how do you do that? You have to consciously discipline yourself to mentally close out your work day as you're traveling home. I used to call it "closing your mental briefcase" while you're on the way home. You have to consciously get outside of yourself and focus on how each family member was in the morning when you left. What was each one looking forward to? What were they dreading? What were they planning on? How was each one feeling? And then you enter their lives again before you are ever with them. Sort of with them before you're with them! When you walk through the door you're already in touch with these most important people in your life. Then, like a dad returning home from one of those big trips, you bring gifts through the door with you - like a sincere and specific question about some part of their day, or maybe a caring touch for each member of your family, or a word of encouragement for each one. Seek out each family member. Focus on them for a couple of minutes. Make them feel like they're the only person in the world. Give them all of you, at least for a short time. And if you make up your mind to bring blessing through the door with you, I'll tell you, the people at your house are going to be looking forward to your return! Come home with a commitment to give a gift - a gift of you, to each person you love.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 28
Our Work Is God’s Work
Jesus got into one of the boats,…that belonged to [Peter], and asked him to push off a little from the land.
Luke 5:3 (NCV)
Jesus claims Peter’s boat. He doesn’t request the use of it. Christ doesn’t fill out an application or ask permission; he simply boards the boat and begins to preach.
He can do that, you know. All boats belong to Christ. Your boat is where you spend your day, make your living, and to a large degree live your life. The taxi you drive,…the dental office you manage, the family you feed and transport—this is your boat. Christ shoulder-taps us and reminds:
“You drive my truck.”
“You work on my job site.”
“You serve my hospital wing.”
To us all, Jesus says, “Your work is my work.”
Titus 1
1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus' Task on Crete
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
10For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 15
1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
August 28, 2008
Comfort Food
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 15:1-7
Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. —Romans 15:4
I love the phrase “comfort food.” It speaks of the things that are so good, so familiar, so right, that they can always bring a smile to your face. For me, comfort food usually includes some form of beef and potatoes. Hamburgers and French fries. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. Also, chocolate in almost any form imaginable. These are the foods that speak to me and say that all is well with the world. (I’m not saying they’re the most healthy!)
Unfortunately, all is not well with the world, and no amount of hamburgers and French fries can make it right. Real comfort is not the byproduct of specific foods any more than it is the result of alcohol or drugs or money or pleasure or power. It is a much deeper need that requires a much deeper solution.
Paul told the church at Rome that the search for comfort can begin in the pages of the Bible. He wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
God has given us His Word to draw us to Himself. Through a relationship with Him, He provides the comfort we need to live in a broken world. — Bill Crowder
Jesus is all this poor world needs today;
Blindly they strive, for sin darkens their way.
O to draw back the grim curtains of night—
One glimpse of Jesus and all will be bright! —Loes
© Renewal 1943 H. D. Loes. Assigned to Hope Publishing
God’s Word is a life preserver that keeps the soul from sinking in a sea of trouble.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 28, 2008
The Purpose of Prayer
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.
"Ask, and you will receive . . ." ( John 16:24 ). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, ". . . unless you . . . become as little children . . ." ( Matthew 18:3 ). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.
To say that "prayer changes things" is not as close to the truth as saying, "Prayer changes me and then I change things." God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What You Bring in the Door - #5644 - August 28, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
When our three kids were young, they'd run to the door to greet me when I was returning from an international trip. Isn't that tender! Yeah, but you need to know part of the reason for this enthusiastic greeting. You see, when I'm away from my family, I am a sucker for souvenirs. The one way I can be with them is by shopping for something for them, whether it's in Singapore, or Holland, or Australia. So there was a certain expectancy when old dad walked through the door. Oh, yes, there would be hugs and kisses, and we had missed each other, but the three kids each knew that those suitcases had things in them that weren't in them when I left. It's nice to come home with gifts for everyone.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Bring in the Door."
Now, David was in the middle of an unforgettable experience as we read 1 Chronicles 16. He had led the Jewish people in bringing the holiest object in the world to the new capitol of Jerusalem. It was the ark of God. This was the center of the Lord's personal presence on earth at this point in spiritual history. After years of its being gone, David leads in the return of the ark and he sets up a tremendous leadership structure and worship program that everyone was just beginning to celebrate. But he left behind him memorable events in Jerusalem to go on another mission - he went home.
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Chronicles 16:43, "Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family." Not only did David bring blessing in public ministry, he brought blessing with him when he walked in the door at home. Do you? You see, each day when you return to your family from wherever you were that day you bring something in the door with you - stress, tension, or peace. Selfishness and looking to have your own needs met, or unselfishness - looking to help people meet their needs. Do you bring positive, encouraging talk, or negative, critical talk? Do you bring coldness or affection?
In many ways you set a tone when you walk in the door and you'll probably have to live with that tone for hours to come. After a stressful day it's just human nature to walk in with a pretty self-focused mind set, carrying the garbage of the day, which we then proceed to dump all over our loved ones! But, wouldn't you like to put your name in our word for today? "________ returned home to bless his or her family."
Well, how do you do that? You have to consciously discipline yourself to mentally close out your work day as you're traveling home. I used to call it "closing your mental briefcase" while you're on the way home. You have to consciously get outside of yourself and focus on how each family member was in the morning when you left. What was each one looking forward to? What were they dreading? What were they planning on? How was each one feeling? And then you enter their lives again before you are ever with them. Sort of with them before you're with them! When you walk through the door you're already in touch with these most important people in your life. Then, like a dad returning home from one of those big trips, you bring gifts through the door with you - like a sincere and specific question about some part of their day, or maybe a caring touch for each member of your family, or a word of encouragement for each one. Seek out each family member. Focus on them for a couple of minutes. Make them feel like they're the only person in the world. Give them all of you, at least for a short time. And if you make up your mind to bring blessing through the door with you, I'll tell you, the people at your house are going to be looking forward to your return! Come home with a commitment to give a gift - a gift of you, to each person you love.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
2 Timothy 4, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one lif
e, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one life, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
"the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks"
August 27
Let the Redeemed Say So
You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.
Colossians 3:10 (NCV)
I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as he sees his lost sheep come straggling into the fold--the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, "Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room in your kingdom for one more?" The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, "Come in, this is your home."
Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new.
The Psalmist David would tell us that those who have been redeemed will say so! If we're not saying so, perhaps it's because we've forgotten what it is like to be redeemed. Let the redeemed of the earth say so!
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
August 27, 2008
An Audience Of One
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 6:1-6
[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. -Philippians 2:7
When I worked as a young journalist for Campus Life magazine, my assistant kept a plaque on her desk with this two-line poem: Only one lif
e, 'twill soon be past / Only what's done for Christ will last.
Reading that plaque brought me up short every time. Although I believed its truth, how could I put it into practice? How should my faith in the invisible world affect my day-to-day life in the visible world?
According to Jesus, it's what God thinks of us that matters, not what others think. Jesus instructed us to pray in a closed room, where no one could see us, rather than in a public place where we might get credit for being spiritual (Matt. 6:6). In other words, live for God and not others.
Do we clamor for attention and achievement? Jesus invites us to let go of that competitive struggle, to trust that God's opinion of us is the only one that ultimately counts.
How would our lives differ if we truly played to an audience of One? Certainly our sense of ego and rivalry would fade, because we would no longer need to worry about proving ourselves to others. We could concentrate instead on pleasing God by living in a way that would attract people to Jesus. - Philip Yancey
Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee! -Herbert
Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 27, 2008
Living Your Theology
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . -John 12:35
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. "If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" ( Matthew 6:23 ). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.
The most difficult person to deal with is the one who has the prideful self-satisfaction of a past experience, but is not working that experience out in his everyday life. If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. Beware of any belief that makes you self-indulgent or self-gratifying; that belief came from the pit of hell itself, regardless of how beautiful it may sound.
Your theology must work itself out, exhibiting itself in your most common everyday relationships. Our Lord said, ". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20 ). In other words, you must be more moral than the most moral person you know. You may know all about the doctrine of sanctification, but are you working it out in the everyday issues of your life? Every detail of your life, whether physical, moral, or spiritual, is to be judged and measured by the standard of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Footprints the Tide Can't Touch - #5643 - August 27, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Oh, man, we love the ocean! We love to walk the beach and if my wife has a head-start on me, I can figure out which way she went - Oh, I kid her about being a little paddle footed - she leaves behind footprints that make a slight "V" in the sand. Of course, when the tide starts coming in you can forget all the footprints any of us left that day! When the waves finish giving the beach a bath, you can't even tell anyone walked there today. Notice when they want to commemorate the careers of those Hollywood stars. They have them put their footprints in cement in the sidewalk, not in sand at the beach.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Footprints the Tide Can't Touch."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 12:2. You see, we only get to walk this beach once. What kind of marks do we leave behind? How much will it matter that you and I have ever walked this way? Daniel 12:2-3 says this, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Now, the verse before it talks about eternal issues. It says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." That's why it's so important to lead people to righteousness. Two eternal destinations: everlasting life - that's heaven of course, and everlasting shame and contempt - that's hell. Now, he goes on here to say that you and I can have a vital part in which destination it will be for the people we know. If we lead them to righteousness, we'll shine like the stars forever and ever. People you influence for Jesus Christ will be the lasting legacy of your life. Everlasting! Footprints that are in cement, not in sand!
The problem is we get distracted from the eternal, don't we? We spent most of our time and our energy on earth stuff. We want to make a financial mark, a career mark, an educational mark, but the tide will one day come along and erase all those footprints we left in the sand. Someone else will get your position, they'll get your money, they'll get your house. Or maybe we'll get involved in causes that will help improve things a little but have no impact on eternity - sand. Or we'll just get so busy or self-occupied that we neglect the people around us for our schedule, our goals, and our security.
There's another poem I heard often as a young man and it puts everything in perspective, "Only one life, 'twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." Daniel affirms the ultimate lasting thing you can do with your life is to lead someone else to eternal life. Take somebody to heaven with you! Is there going to be anybody there because of you? Are you working on leaving that kind of mark on the people around you? Maybe you've become distracted by leaving marks in the sand; marks that just won't matter in eternity. The Lord's saying, "I've planted you among those people because I'm trusting you to tell them about Me. To let them know I love them enough to give My life for them. To tell them the difference I've made for you and how I can make all the difference for them."
How are you doing on the project that really matters; bringing people you know to heaven with you? It is, after all, what Jesus gave His life for. It ought to be what our lives are about, don't you think? Could it be that you've misplaced your priorities? That most of the marks of your life are in the sand of earth stuff rather than in the cement of eternity? Why don't you begin to use your influence to bring people you know to Jesus Christ - the relationship they've been looking for their whole life? The tides of time can never erase a life that you have brought to Jesus.
You may not have made many tracks in earth's sand, but marks you have made in eternity cement will be there for a hundred billion years and more - people who are in heaven because of you!
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