Max Lucado Daily: The Uncommon
Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them. Luke 17:33
Heaven may just have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.
It’s a place you won’t want to miss.
Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope. Paul’s bucket. David’s sling. and Samson’s jawbone.
Wrap your hand around the staff which split the sea and smote the rock.
Sniff the ointment which soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart.
I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will be.
The risk-takers: Rahab who sheltered the spy. The brethren who smuggled Paul.
The conquerors: David, slinging a stone. Samson, swinging a bone. Moses, lifting a rod.
Mary at Jesus’ feet. What she gave cost much. But somehow she knew what he would give—would cost more!
John 4:27-54
New International Version (NIV)
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Many Samaritans Believe
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Jesus Heals an Official’s Son
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
This Do In Remembrance
December 7, 2011 — by Randy Kilgore
When [Jesus] had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you.” —1 Corinthians 11:24
When a US Navy vessel arrives or departs from the military bases in Pearl Harbor, the crew of that ship lines up in dress uniform. They stand at attention at arm’s length on the outer edges of the deck, in salute to the soldiers, sailors, and civilians who died on December 7, 1941. It is a stirring sight, and participants often list it among the most memorable moments of their military career.
Even for spectators on shore, the salute triggers an incredible emotional connection, but especially between the servants of today and the servants of yesterday. It grants nobility to the work of today’s sailor, while giving dignity to the sacrifice of those from the past.
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-29), it was surely with an eye toward creating this same kind of emotional bond. Our participation in the Lord’s Table honors His sacrifice while also granting us a connection to Him unlike any other act of remembrance.
Just as the Navy carefully prescribes the way it salutes the fallen, so too Scripture teaches us how to remember Jesus’ sacrifice (1 Cor. 11:26-28). These acts of reverence and thanksgiving serve to honor past action while giving purpose to present service.
Action Suggestion:
Read with fresh eyes the detailed instructions Scripture
offers for the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11, and
experience anew its power in your spiritual journey.
The Lord’s Supper— Christ’s memorial that He left for us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Repentance
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation . . . —2 Corinthians 7:10
Conviction of sin is best described in the words:
My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.
Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight . . .” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.
The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Something Happens When You Have to Speak - #6498
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I guess you could call it the two faces of Ian. See, Ian is a friend of mine who is the leader of a very effective youth ministry in New Zealand. And as you converse with him personally, well, it's obvious that he has a stutter. And sometimes it makes it difficult for him to complete his sentence, and I'm sure it's probably very frustrating for him. And while it's noticeable, it's not really that important to anybody. Actually he is a Godly, magnetic leader, stutter or not.
Now, the first time I ever saw him in a public setting was in front of 3,000 teenagers in a national youth convention in New Zealand. And to tell you the truth, I felt bad for Ian because I wondered how he was going to be able to communicate effectively to kids with that stutter. To my amazement I discovered that as he spoke there was no stutter. His speech was perfect! He preached and emceed that meeting flawlessly. That's what's so amazing about Ian. He stutters in private, but something happens when he has to speak well. He does...just like you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Something Happens When You Have to Speak."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke 21:12-15. "They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors all on account of My name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict."
Well, the context of what Jesus is talking about here is really, you know, official persecution by the government, persecuting Christians. But I think it can be broadly applied to any believer who is in a pressure situation, especially where a Christian witness is involved. After all, God told Moses and Jeremiah He would give them the words to say. Here's His promise: "I will give you the words and the wisdom. You may not have it before you get there, but when you're in that situation, I will send through you the words and the wisdom that you need, and it will have an irresistible impact."
Well, when my friend Ian has to communicate and suddenly his stutter leaves him in those public situations, he seems to be beyond himself. He's carried beyond his usual limitations. You know, that's exactly what God wants to do for you and me. That has been the consistent experience of believers throughout the centuries.
Let's say you're going to be in a pressure situation where you're going to have to represent Christ, or where you really should. You say, "Well, I couldn't do that. I don't know what I'd say. It's easy for the fast talking guys like you, Ron. You can do that, but I can't talk like that." Well, God promises to take you outside of yourself and beyond your limitations. He'll write the script, and like an actor you'll just be delivering His words.
You may be in or you might be approaching a pressure situation where you feel inadequate to say what needs to be said. Well, Jesus said here, "Make up your mind not to worry about it." God wants to display His power by giving you words and wisdom that you don't even know you have. And you and the people who are listening to you will know it was God and not you.
My friend Ian has seen it happen again and again, and so will you. Something happens when you have to speak.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Psalm 69, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Are You Listening?
Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. Matthew 7:8
Once there was a man who dared God to speak: Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight.
And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, and waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
And God waited for the man to respond. And he waited … and waited.
But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, he decided God had done nothing. Finally he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?
And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?
Psalm 69[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5 You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Lord, the LORD Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But I pray to you, LORD,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18 Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.
19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
22 May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
24 Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.
29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 37:1-11
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
Fret-Free Living
December 6, 2011 — by Dave Branon
Do not fret—it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Does it bother you to see how much attention is paid in today’s culture to people who stand for all the wrong things? Perhaps it is entertainment stars who get the headlines while espousing immoral philosophies in their music, movies, or programs. Or it could be leaders who openly thumb their noses at right-living standards.
It would be easy to fret about this and wring our hands in despair, but Psalm 37 suggests a better way. Listen to David’s wise advice: “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity” (v.1).
While it is right to be “salt and light” (Matt. 5:13-14) in this tasteless, dark world—attempting to counter sin by reflecting Jesus’ light wherever possible—we cannot let negative forces cause us to live in anger and wrath (Ps. 37:8). Instead, we must rely on God to have the ultimate say about evildoers: “They shall soon be cut down like the grass” (v.2). Beyond that, we should take David’s approach: (1) “Trust in the Lord, and do good.” (2) “Feed on His faithfulness.” (3) “Delight yourself also in the Lord.” (4) “Commit your way to the Lord.” (5) “Rest in the Lord” (vv.3-7).
We may not like what we see and hear from some aspects of society, but remember this: God is in control. Trust Him to do what is right. And don’t fret.
When tragedy, heartache, and sorrow abound,
When evil appears to have conquered the right,
We center our heart on our Father’s great love,
For He will bring hope in the darkest of night. —D. De Haan
Don’t despair because of evil; God will have the last word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
"My Rainbow in the Cloud"
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth —Genesis 9:13
It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.
Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22).
When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Rewards of Not Moving - #6497
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Oh, the frequent flyer bonus. That's one of the smartest ideas the airlines ever had I think. You know, you don't usually have to think twice about what airline you're going to book with. If they've got a flight going to the city that I'm going to anywhere near the time I need to go, you know I'm going to try and stick with that one company. Oh, I'm just a loyal kind of guy! No. See, the airline credits me with mileage awards that convert ultimately into discounts, and upgrades, and even free trips. They're getting a little harder to get, but you know, it's still a pretty good deal. Now, that bonus incentive sure has worked in getting me to stay with one carrier. And I understand it's worked on millions of other flyers too. The golden principle here is pretty simple: the biggest rewards are for those who stick with the same carrier.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Rewards of Not Moving."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 10:35. "So do not throw away your confidence." Okay, hang in there, okay? Now, in other words, stay where you've been. "It will be..." (here is the bonus) "...richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised." Well, the message here is pretty simple. Stay with what you've been committed to, and the rewards will be rich. Persevere so you'll receive.
Now, this is addressed to people, if you look at the context, whose commitment to Christ is being tested by very hard times. You can almost imagine in modern terms we might say to them, "Well, you know, it might be tempting to change carriers right now, but the bonuses, the rewards, are for those who stay put, who stay with the same carrier." That's a principle that covers a lot of living. Those who stay put get the biggest rewards.
It's true of marriage. Oh, people get restless in a marriage; the grass...it looks a little greener somewhere else. Or it gets tough and it's hard to work through this really stormy time. But the best of married love and the best intimacy earth has to offer isn't in the passionate days of courtship and the honeymoon. It comes from the long years of weathering storms and facing problems and refusing to run when it's hard. One day the sun rises on a trust, a belonging, a safety that you can only know by staying with the same partner. It's a joy that the "bailer-outers" will never know.
I've seen it in ministry; people who jump from place to place. They never know the tremendous payoff of sticking it out in one place. They're never there for the harvest; they sow the seed and they leave before the harvest. See, a harvest comes only by patient, persevering work. So often the jumpers leave just before the results start to come. It's like we get to the Red Sea and leave before it parts. They put in the work, but they never see the bonuses. They just keep changing carriers.
It's just true in so many areas of life; sticking with a friend instead of changing friends all the time because it got a little rocky, committing yourself to a cause and sticking with it, or seeing a job through when you feel like quitting. Most importantly, follow Christ patiently, doggedly, stubbornly every day for a lifetime. Even when you can't feel anything, when you can't hear His voice, it is the loyal followers of Christ who see Him as nobody else does.
There's a song that says, "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows." That is so true. Stay with the same company, and you'll really enjoy the rewards of not moving.
Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. Matthew 7:8
Once there was a man who dared God to speak: Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight.
And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, and waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
And God waited for the man to respond. And he waited … and waited.
But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, he decided God had done nothing. Finally he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?
And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?
Psalm 69[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5 You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Lord, the LORD Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But I pray to you, LORD,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18 Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.
19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
22 May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
24 Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.
29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 37:1-11
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
Fret-Free Living
December 6, 2011 — by Dave Branon
Do not fret—it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Does it bother you to see how much attention is paid in today’s culture to people who stand for all the wrong things? Perhaps it is entertainment stars who get the headlines while espousing immoral philosophies in their music, movies, or programs. Or it could be leaders who openly thumb their noses at right-living standards.
It would be easy to fret about this and wring our hands in despair, but Psalm 37 suggests a better way. Listen to David’s wise advice: “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity” (v.1).
While it is right to be “salt and light” (Matt. 5:13-14) in this tasteless, dark world—attempting to counter sin by reflecting Jesus’ light wherever possible—we cannot let negative forces cause us to live in anger and wrath (Ps. 37:8). Instead, we must rely on God to have the ultimate say about evildoers: “They shall soon be cut down like the grass” (v.2). Beyond that, we should take David’s approach: (1) “Trust in the Lord, and do good.” (2) “Feed on His faithfulness.” (3) “Delight yourself also in the Lord.” (4) “Commit your way to the Lord.” (5) “Rest in the Lord” (vv.3-7).
We may not like what we see and hear from some aspects of society, but remember this: God is in control. Trust Him to do what is right. And don’t fret.
When tragedy, heartache, and sorrow abound,
When evil appears to have conquered the right,
We center our heart on our Father’s great love,
For He will bring hope in the darkest of night. —D. De Haan
Don’t despair because of evil; God will have the last word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
"My Rainbow in the Cloud"
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth —Genesis 9:13
It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.
Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22).
When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Rewards of Not Moving - #6497
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Oh, the frequent flyer bonus. That's one of the smartest ideas the airlines ever had I think. You know, you don't usually have to think twice about what airline you're going to book with. If they've got a flight going to the city that I'm going to anywhere near the time I need to go, you know I'm going to try and stick with that one company. Oh, I'm just a loyal kind of guy! No. See, the airline credits me with mileage awards that convert ultimately into discounts, and upgrades, and even free trips. They're getting a little harder to get, but you know, it's still a pretty good deal. Now, that bonus incentive sure has worked in getting me to stay with one carrier. And I understand it's worked on millions of other flyers too. The golden principle here is pretty simple: the biggest rewards are for those who stick with the same carrier.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Rewards of Not Moving."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 10:35. "So do not throw away your confidence." Okay, hang in there, okay? Now, in other words, stay where you've been. "It will be..." (here is the bonus) "...richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised." Well, the message here is pretty simple. Stay with what you've been committed to, and the rewards will be rich. Persevere so you'll receive.
Now, this is addressed to people, if you look at the context, whose commitment to Christ is being tested by very hard times. You can almost imagine in modern terms we might say to them, "Well, you know, it might be tempting to change carriers right now, but the bonuses, the rewards, are for those who stay put, who stay with the same carrier." That's a principle that covers a lot of living. Those who stay put get the biggest rewards.
It's true of marriage. Oh, people get restless in a marriage; the grass...it looks a little greener somewhere else. Or it gets tough and it's hard to work through this really stormy time. But the best of married love and the best intimacy earth has to offer isn't in the passionate days of courtship and the honeymoon. It comes from the long years of weathering storms and facing problems and refusing to run when it's hard. One day the sun rises on a trust, a belonging, a safety that you can only know by staying with the same partner. It's a joy that the "bailer-outers" will never know.
I've seen it in ministry; people who jump from place to place. They never know the tremendous payoff of sticking it out in one place. They're never there for the harvest; they sow the seed and they leave before the harvest. See, a harvest comes only by patient, persevering work. So often the jumpers leave just before the results start to come. It's like we get to the Red Sea and leave before it parts. They put in the work, but they never see the bonuses. They just keep changing carriers.
It's just true in so many areas of life; sticking with a friend instead of changing friends all the time because it got a little rocky, committing yourself to a cause and sticking with it, or seeing a job through when you feel like quitting. Most importantly, follow Christ patiently, doggedly, stubbornly every day for a lifetime. Even when you can't feel anything, when you can't hear His voice, it is the loyal followers of Christ who see Him as nobody else does.
There's a song that says, "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows." That is so true. Stay with the same company, and you'll really enjoy the rewards of not moving.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Psalm 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Avoid Selfishness
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Philippians 2:3, NASB
The word…for selfishness shares a root form with the words strife and contentious. It suggests a self-preoccupation that hurts others…
Selfishness is an obsession with self that excludes others, hurting everyone.
Looking after your personal interests is proper life management. Doing so to the exclusion of the rest of the world is selfishness.
Psalm 3
Psalm 3[a]
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 John 4:7-21
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Well-Loved
December 5, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
We love Him because He first loved us. —1 John 4:19
A friend described his grandmother as one of the greatest influences in his life. Throughout his adult years, he has kept her portrait next to his desk to remind himself of her unconditional love. “I really do believe,” he said, “that she helped me learn how to love.”
Not everyone has had a similar taste of human love, but through Christ each of us can experience being well-loved by God. In 1 John 4, the word love occurs 27 times, and God’s love through Christ is cited as the source of our love for God and for others. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (v.10). “We have known and believed the love that God has for us” (v.16). “We love Him because He first loved us” (v.19).
God’s love is not a slowly dripping faucet or a well we must dig for ourselves. It is a rushing stream that flows from His heart into ours. Whatever our family background or experiences in life—whether we feel well-loved by others or not—we can know love. We can draw from the Lord’s inexhaustible source to know His loving care for us, and we can pass it on to others.
In Christ our Savior, we are well-loved.
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know—
Spirit, breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so! —Robinson
Nothing is more powerful than God’s love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 05, 2011
"The Temple of the Holy Spirit"
. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Safe Place to Unload - #6496
Monday, December 5, 2011
The barber shop I used to go to was definitely a man's world, and you got more than a haircut when you went there; you got an ear full. See, something seems to happen when men sit down in that barber chair. It's as if they were administered truth serum, and they start to suddenly talk openly about their relationships, and their marriage, and their kids, and their frustrations, whether you want to hear it or not.
I guess that happens in bars, too, that's what I'm told. The barber, the bar tender, maybe the beautician; I haven't been to one in a long time. But I hear that it is that way with beauticians too. They all seem to be like safe people that you can sort of unload on. Unfortunately, I guess they can listen, but they usually can't help much. There's something in us that's looking for somewhere we can really let out what we're always holding in. You need it; I need it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Safe Place to Unload."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in Hebrews 4:13-16. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we possess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Man, that's a great passage!
See, all of us carry a heart full of emotions that we don't feel safe to share. We need to. If we don't, they just boil up inside. But we cover them, we mask them, we redirect them. Why? Well, we're afraid that the person's attitude, the one we'll tell, might change if they know what we really feel. There's this little boy or girl inside of us that's so insecure and scared, but well covered. Oh yeah, the older we get, we know how to cover it up with our mask. We're just like, "Hey, I've got it together."
And yet there's this deep anger or hurt inside that we don't want anyone else to see, and it hurts. There's a fear, there's doubt, there's an agonizing struggle with some sin, secret longings. Well, here's the good news: God already knows.
That's what this passage says. In one translation, "Everything is naked and open before Him." We can't surprise Him. You don't go to Him and hear Him say, "Oh, you're kidding! Really? I didn't know that." He already knows! And since He already knows the deepest secrets of your soul, He's the one safe place to unload. You can be scared there, you can be wounded with Him, you can be weak, you can be wiped out. For once you don't have to have it all together. You don't have to look good. You don't have to be in control. You don't have to wonder if He's going to turn His back on you.
The tragedy is we often don't take advantage of this opportunity for openness with God. We come to Him all wrapped up in some kind of prayer talk. We skirt the real issues. We refuse to put the right name on what we're feeling, because it might scare us to call it what it really is. We come all dressed up. But the Bible says we actually come naked into His presence; He knows what we really look like. So let's start our praying where we really are; not where we should be. When you do, something supernatural happens. You go to the Throne of Grace and you get mercy and grace to help. It opens up that area to God's healing power. See, honesty does that. You know the truth; the truth will set you free. You start to become what you ought to be by admitting that you're not.
So who needs the barber, or the beautician, or the bartender to confess to? We've got a Savior, and He knows you, and He feels with you, and He's walked your trail. He alone is the safe place to unload the deepest secrets of your soul.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Philippians 2:3, NASB
The word…for selfishness shares a root form with the words strife and contentious. It suggests a self-preoccupation that hurts others…
Selfishness is an obsession with self that excludes others, hurting everyone.
Looking after your personal interests is proper life management. Doing so to the exclusion of the rest of the world is selfishness.
Psalm 3
Psalm 3[a]
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 John 4:7-21
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Well-Loved
December 5, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
We love Him because He first loved us. —1 John 4:19
A friend described his grandmother as one of the greatest influences in his life. Throughout his adult years, he has kept her portrait next to his desk to remind himself of her unconditional love. “I really do believe,” he said, “that she helped me learn how to love.”
Not everyone has had a similar taste of human love, but through Christ each of us can experience being well-loved by God. In 1 John 4, the word love occurs 27 times, and God’s love through Christ is cited as the source of our love for God and for others. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (v.10). “We have known and believed the love that God has for us” (v.16). “We love Him because He first loved us” (v.19).
God’s love is not a slowly dripping faucet or a well we must dig for ourselves. It is a rushing stream that flows from His heart into ours. Whatever our family background or experiences in life—whether we feel well-loved by others or not—we can know love. We can draw from the Lord’s inexhaustible source to know His loving care for us, and we can pass it on to others.
In Christ our Savior, we are well-loved.
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know—
Spirit, breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so! —Robinson
Nothing is more powerful than God’s love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 05, 2011
"The Temple of the Holy Spirit"
. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Safe Place to Unload - #6496
Monday, December 5, 2011
The barber shop I used to go to was definitely a man's world, and you got more than a haircut when you went there; you got an ear full. See, something seems to happen when men sit down in that barber chair. It's as if they were administered truth serum, and they start to suddenly talk openly about their relationships, and their marriage, and their kids, and their frustrations, whether you want to hear it or not.
I guess that happens in bars, too, that's what I'm told. The barber, the bar tender, maybe the beautician; I haven't been to one in a long time. But I hear that it is that way with beauticians too. They all seem to be like safe people that you can sort of unload on. Unfortunately, I guess they can listen, but they usually can't help much. There's something in us that's looking for somewhere we can really let out what we're always holding in. You need it; I need it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Safe Place to Unload."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in Hebrews 4:13-16. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we possess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Man, that's a great passage!
See, all of us carry a heart full of emotions that we don't feel safe to share. We need to. If we don't, they just boil up inside. But we cover them, we mask them, we redirect them. Why? Well, we're afraid that the person's attitude, the one we'll tell, might change if they know what we really feel. There's this little boy or girl inside of us that's so insecure and scared, but well covered. Oh yeah, the older we get, we know how to cover it up with our mask. We're just like, "Hey, I've got it together."
And yet there's this deep anger or hurt inside that we don't want anyone else to see, and it hurts. There's a fear, there's doubt, there's an agonizing struggle with some sin, secret longings. Well, here's the good news: God already knows.
That's what this passage says. In one translation, "Everything is naked and open before Him." We can't surprise Him. You don't go to Him and hear Him say, "Oh, you're kidding! Really? I didn't know that." He already knows! And since He already knows the deepest secrets of your soul, He's the one safe place to unload. You can be scared there, you can be wounded with Him, you can be weak, you can be wiped out. For once you don't have to have it all together. You don't have to look good. You don't have to be in control. You don't have to wonder if He's going to turn His back on you.
The tragedy is we often don't take advantage of this opportunity for openness with God. We come to Him all wrapped up in some kind of prayer talk. We skirt the real issues. We refuse to put the right name on what we're feeling, because it might scare us to call it what it really is. We come all dressed up. But the Bible says we actually come naked into His presence; He knows what we really look like. So let's start our praying where we really are; not where we should be. When you do, something supernatural happens. You go to the Throne of Grace and you get mercy and grace to help. It opens up that area to God's healing power. See, honesty does that. You know the truth; the truth will set you free. You start to become what you ought to be by admitting that you're not.
So who needs the barber, or the beautician, or the bartender to confess to? We've got a Savior, and He knows you, and He feels with you, and He's walked your trail. He alone is the safe place to unload the deepest secrets of your soul.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
2 Samuel 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: God is Eternal
“God is…greater than we can understand! No one knows how old he is.” Job 36:26
Scripture says that the number of God’s years is unsearchable. We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we’ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when God was not God. He has never not been, for he is eternal. God is not bound by time.
But when Jesus came to the earth, all this changed. He heard for the first time a phrase never used in heaven: “Your time is up.” As a child, he had to leave the Temple because his time was up. As a man, he had to leave Nazareth because his time was up. And as a Savior, he had to die because his time was up. For thirty-three years, the stallion of heaven lived on the corral of time.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom’s Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7 At the end of four[a] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.[b]’”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”
15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”[c]
21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”
37 So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Colossians 1:19-29
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul’s Labor for the Church
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Peace
December 4, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
You, who once were alienated . . . now He has reconciled. —Colossians 1:21
In the days of Adam and Eve, peace was lost. As soon as they ate the forbidden fruit and realized their nakedness, they started blaming each other (Gen. 3:12-13) and introduced conflict to God’s peaceful planet. Sadly, all of their descendants, including us, have followed their bad example. We blame others for our own bad choices and become angry when no one will accept the guilt. Blaming others for our unhappiness breaks apart families, churches, communities, and nations. We can’t make peace because we’re preoccupied with placing the blame.
Christmas is the season of peace. The Old Testament tells the story of how God set the stage to introduce the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Jesus came to break the cycle of sin and blame by making peace for us with God “through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Instead of blaming us for all the trouble we cause, He bore the blame for all of us. He is now recruiting followers who, having received His forgiveness, want others to receive it as well.
When we accept forgiveness from God, we lose our desire to withhold it from others. And when we live in peace with God, we are eager to make peace with others. We can both give and receive the gift of peace this Christmas.
At Christmastime we celebrate
The coming of the Prince of Peace;
Though now our world is locked in strife,
One day He’ll make all conflict cease. —Sper
Jesus took our place to give us His peace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 04, 2011
The Law of Opposition
To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
“God is…greater than we can understand! No one knows how old he is.” Job 36:26
Scripture says that the number of God’s years is unsearchable. We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we’ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when God was not God. He has never not been, for he is eternal. God is not bound by time.
But when Jesus came to the earth, all this changed. He heard for the first time a phrase never used in heaven: “Your time is up.” As a child, he had to leave the Temple because his time was up. As a man, he had to leave Nazareth because his time was up. And as a Savior, he had to die because his time was up. For thirty-three years, the stallion of heaven lived on the corral of time.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom’s Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7 At the end of four[a] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.[b]’”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”
15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”[c]
21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”
37 So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Colossians 1:19-29
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul’s Labor for the Church
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Peace
December 4, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
You, who once were alienated . . . now He has reconciled. —Colossians 1:21
In the days of Adam and Eve, peace was lost. As soon as they ate the forbidden fruit and realized their nakedness, they started blaming each other (Gen. 3:12-13) and introduced conflict to God’s peaceful planet. Sadly, all of their descendants, including us, have followed their bad example. We blame others for our own bad choices and become angry when no one will accept the guilt. Blaming others for our unhappiness breaks apart families, churches, communities, and nations. We can’t make peace because we’re preoccupied with placing the blame.
Christmas is the season of peace. The Old Testament tells the story of how God set the stage to introduce the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Jesus came to break the cycle of sin and blame by making peace for us with God “through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Instead of blaming us for all the trouble we cause, He bore the blame for all of us. He is now recruiting followers who, having received His forgiveness, want others to receive it as well.
When we accept forgiveness from God, we lose our desire to withhold it from others. And when we live in peace with God, we are eager to make peace with others. We can both give and receive the gift of peace this Christmas.
At Christmastime we celebrate
The coming of the Prince of Peace;
Though now our world is locked in strife,
One day He’ll make all conflict cease. —Sper
Jesus took our place to give us His peace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, December 04, 2011
The Law of Opposition
To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7
Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.
Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.
Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.
And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.
Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
John 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Water for the Soul
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John 7:37 NKJV
Are you anyone? If so, then step up to the well. You qualify for his water.
All ages are welcome. Both genders invited. No race excluded. Scoundrels. Scamps. Rascals and rubes. All welcome. You don’t have to be rich to drink, religious to drink, successful to drink; you simply need to follow the instructions on what—or better, who—to drink. Him. In order for Jesus to do what water does, you must let him penetrate your heart. Deep, deep inside.
Internalize him. Ingest him. Welcome him into the inner workings of your life. Let Christ be the water of your soul.
John 4
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 12:22-34
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Sandcastles
December 3, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Luke 12:34
When our kids were young, my wife Martie and I enjoyed family vacations in Florida visiting our parents. It was especially wonderful to be there in the warmth for a brief respite from the Michigan wind-chill factor. I couldn’t wait to just relax on the beach with a good book. But my kids had other ideas. They wanted my help building sandcastles. Reluctantly, I’d get up to help, only to be quickly consumed by the project at hand. Before I knew it, I had spent hours creating an impressive castle—not thinking that it was only a matter of time until the tide would wash away all my hard work.
We often make the same mistake in life, spending lots of time and energy building our own little “castles” of stuff and basking in our accomplishments. It all may seem worthwhile, but in the end it’s worthless.
In Luke 12, Jesus challenged His followers to sell their possessions and give to the poor, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v.34). In other words, the way we spend our time and resources says a lot about our eternal perspective. As the old hymn goes, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” So what have you done today that will last for eternity?
Who measures how we’ve done in life
And judges our success?
Our God, who gives rewards to those
Who live in righteousness. —Branon
God wants you to spend your time and treasure building His kingdom, not your own.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 03, 2011
"Not by Might nor by Power"
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John 7:37 NKJV
Are you anyone? If so, then step up to the well. You qualify for his water.
All ages are welcome. Both genders invited. No race excluded. Scoundrels. Scamps. Rascals and rubes. All welcome. You don’t have to be rich to drink, religious to drink, successful to drink; you simply need to follow the instructions on what—or better, who—to drink. Him. In order for Jesus to do what water does, you must let him penetrate your heart. Deep, deep inside.
Internalize him. Ingest him. Welcome him into the inner workings of your life. Let Christ be the water of your soul.
John 4
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 12:22-34
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Sandcastles
December 3, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Luke 12:34
When our kids were young, my wife Martie and I enjoyed family vacations in Florida visiting our parents. It was especially wonderful to be there in the warmth for a brief respite from the Michigan wind-chill factor. I couldn’t wait to just relax on the beach with a good book. But my kids had other ideas. They wanted my help building sandcastles. Reluctantly, I’d get up to help, only to be quickly consumed by the project at hand. Before I knew it, I had spent hours creating an impressive castle—not thinking that it was only a matter of time until the tide would wash away all my hard work.
We often make the same mistake in life, spending lots of time and energy building our own little “castles” of stuff and basking in our accomplishments. It all may seem worthwhile, but in the end it’s worthless.
In Luke 12, Jesus challenged His followers to sell their possessions and give to the poor, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v.34). In other words, the way we spend our time and resources says a lot about our eternal perspective. As the old hymn goes, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” So what have you done today that will last for eternity?
Who measures how we’ve done in life
And judges our success?
Our God, who gives rewards to those
Who live in righteousness. —Branon
God wants you to spend your time and treasure building His kingdom, not your own.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, December 03, 2011
"Not by Might nor by Power"
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
Friday, December 2, 2011
2 Samuel 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Love That Never Fails
Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:8
A love that never fails! Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Has human love ever failed you? I’m guessing your answer may be, “Yes it has—more times than I like to admit!”
I Corinthians 13:8 promises that “love never fails.”
Not God’s kind of love anyway.
I sense you may be so thirsty for this type of love. Those who should have loved you didn’t. Those who could have loved you didn’t. You were left at the hospital. Left at the altar. Left with an empty bed. Left with a broken heart. Left with your question “Does anybody love me?”
Listen to heaven’s answer. God loves you—with a love that never fails.
Personally. Powerfully. Passionately.
Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded! God loves you with an unfailing love. And His love—if you will let it—can fill you! Come thirsty—and drink deeply!
2 Samuel 14
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 When the woman from Tekoa went[c] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”
She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”
9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”
10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”
11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”
“As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”
“Speak,” he replied.
13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.
15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’
17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”
“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.
19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”
21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”
23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.
25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels[d] by the royal standard.
27 Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”
33 So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 145:8-21
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.[a]
14 The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Never Too Busy
December 2, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. —Psalm 145:18
College students rent a house from my sister and her husband. One night, a thief attempted to break in. When the young woman living there called the police to tell them that a break-in was in progress, the operator responded in an unusual way: “You’ll have to call back in the morning. We’re just too busy right now.” That response was very disturbing! The young woman had done the right thing by calling the police, but for some reason her plea for help was disregarded. That kind of indifference is upsetting.
But indifference never happens when we go to God in prayer. We may not always feel that God is listening, but He is. He cares, and He will respond. The Bible reminds us that we can take comfort in the fact that our God is deeply concerned with what concerns our hearts: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps. 145:18). When we call out to Him, we will never get a disinterested response.
Rather than distancing Himself from us when we cry to Him, our heavenly Father draws close to us in our time of need. He is never too busy for His child’s prayers—He hears us when we call.
For answered prayer we thank You, Lord,
We know You’re always there
To hear us when we call on You;
We’re grateful for Your care. —Branon
You’ll never get a busy signal on the prayer line to heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 02, 2011
Christian Perfection
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Garbage Picker Vision - #6495
Friday, December 2, 2011
You never knew when my wife was going to have one of her attacks. No, it wasn't a medical condition, but it used to happen as we were driving through our neighborhood on garbage night. And suddenly she'd go, "Stop! Wait!" And I'd say, "What's the matter?" And she'd say, "Look at that chair." Actually it was the remains of a chair, broken, pretty gross I thought. And then she'd say, "Hey, let's take it." I think there's a name for that. Isn't it garbage picking?
Well, of course, my sons were in the back seat. They'd just roll their eyes and go, "Oh, no, Mom. Please, please don't do this to us." Well, the only compromise we ever worked out is that she would allow us to come back after it was dark, which was merciful. Do this by cover of night.
Now, a couple of weeks later, and this happened many times, I would come in the house and say, "Hey, that's a beautiful chair! Where'd you get that? Where'd you get the money for it?" And she'd say, "There wasn't any money. Remember that chair we got out of the garbage?" Well, yeah, my wife was a garbage picker, but she could look at some old piece of furniture; she could see something that the rest of us just don't see.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Garbage Picker Vision."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 1:40-42, early in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who had heard what John the Baptist had said and who had followed Jesus. Now, the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).' And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter).'"
You probably know that's the word for rock. Now, honestly, I don't think that's what other people saw when they saw Peter. They saw Simon, they saw kind of a flaky, erratic kind of guy. You know, they'd go through the neighborhood and say, "Well, Peter's a...you know, he's kind of unpredictable, you never know what he's going to say. He puts his foot in his mouth." But when Jesus looked at him, He saw a rock.
Now, I'm married to someone who can see past what's broken and ugly. That's why we stop for things other people have thrown away. She sees what it could be and she makes it into something beautiful and useful. See, that was the wonderful vision Jesus saw through His eyes when He looked at people. Some people saw John, the son of thunder, but Jesus said, "I'm going to make him the apostle of love." Some people saw in Mary Magdalene a demon-possessed prostitute, but Jesus said, "I see a loyal, devoted follower of Christ here."
See, a lot of people saw in Zacchaeus garbage, greed, and dishonesty, but Jesus saw the potential of a man who could be a somebody by giving, instead of taking. And He looks at you like that. Maybe others can only see what's broken in you, ugly in you, but He sees what you can be. He sees what you're created to be. And He wants us to develop that "garbage picker" vision. To be a parent who can look past the garbage that your child might be giving out and see what he could be. Tell him about his potential, not just his problems. To see in a friend or a leader or a helper someone who could be more than they are. Don't just say, "You're a mess." Say, "Do you know what? You're better than this. I see in you a treasure that God created. I see under that mask a sensitive person, an insightful person, a leader, a listener, a fighter for what's right," whatever potential God gives you to see in them.
Somewhere near you is an assignment with a name; someone waiting for another person to see the Peter, or the rock, in them. Stop for someone that others might be walking past or even throwing away or trashing. Pick them up and patiently build them into all they were meant to be.
Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:8
A love that never fails! Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Has human love ever failed you? I’m guessing your answer may be, “Yes it has—more times than I like to admit!”
I Corinthians 13:8 promises that “love never fails.”
Not God’s kind of love anyway.
I sense you may be so thirsty for this type of love. Those who should have loved you didn’t. Those who could have loved you didn’t. You were left at the hospital. Left at the altar. Left with an empty bed. Left with a broken heart. Left with your question “Does anybody love me?”
Listen to heaven’s answer. God loves you—with a love that never fails.
Personally. Powerfully. Passionately.
Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded! God loves you with an unfailing love. And His love—if you will let it—can fill you! Come thirsty—and drink deeply!
2 Samuel 14
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 When the woman from Tekoa went[c] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”
She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”
9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”
10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”
11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”
“As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”
“Speak,” he replied.
13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.
15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’
17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
18 Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”
“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.
19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”
21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”
23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.
25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels[d] by the royal standard.
27 Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”
33 So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 145:8-21
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.[a]
14 The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Never Too Busy
December 2, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. —Psalm 145:18
College students rent a house from my sister and her husband. One night, a thief attempted to break in. When the young woman living there called the police to tell them that a break-in was in progress, the operator responded in an unusual way: “You’ll have to call back in the morning. We’re just too busy right now.” That response was very disturbing! The young woman had done the right thing by calling the police, but for some reason her plea for help was disregarded. That kind of indifference is upsetting.
But indifference never happens when we go to God in prayer. We may not always feel that God is listening, but He is. He cares, and He will respond. The Bible reminds us that we can take comfort in the fact that our God is deeply concerned with what concerns our hearts: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps. 145:18). When we call out to Him, we will never get a disinterested response.
Rather than distancing Himself from us when we cry to Him, our heavenly Father draws close to us in our time of need. He is never too busy for His child’s prayers—He hears us when we call.
For answered prayer we thank You, Lord,
We know You’re always there
To hear us when we call on You;
We’re grateful for Your care. —Branon
You’ll never get a busy signal on the prayer line to heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 02, 2011
Christian Perfection
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Garbage Picker Vision - #6495
Friday, December 2, 2011
You never knew when my wife was going to have one of her attacks. No, it wasn't a medical condition, but it used to happen as we were driving through our neighborhood on garbage night. And suddenly she'd go, "Stop! Wait!" And I'd say, "What's the matter?" And she'd say, "Look at that chair." Actually it was the remains of a chair, broken, pretty gross I thought. And then she'd say, "Hey, let's take it." I think there's a name for that. Isn't it garbage picking?
Well, of course, my sons were in the back seat. They'd just roll their eyes and go, "Oh, no, Mom. Please, please don't do this to us." Well, the only compromise we ever worked out is that she would allow us to come back after it was dark, which was merciful. Do this by cover of night.
Now, a couple of weeks later, and this happened many times, I would come in the house and say, "Hey, that's a beautiful chair! Where'd you get that? Where'd you get the money for it?" And she'd say, "There wasn't any money. Remember that chair we got out of the garbage?" Well, yeah, my wife was a garbage picker, but she could look at some old piece of furniture; she could see something that the rest of us just don't see.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Garbage Picker Vision."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 1:40-42, early in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who had heard what John the Baptist had said and who had followed Jesus. Now, the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).' And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter).'"
You probably know that's the word for rock. Now, honestly, I don't think that's what other people saw when they saw Peter. They saw Simon, they saw kind of a flaky, erratic kind of guy. You know, they'd go through the neighborhood and say, "Well, Peter's a...you know, he's kind of unpredictable, you never know what he's going to say. He puts his foot in his mouth." But when Jesus looked at him, He saw a rock.
Now, I'm married to someone who can see past what's broken and ugly. That's why we stop for things other people have thrown away. She sees what it could be and she makes it into something beautiful and useful. See, that was the wonderful vision Jesus saw through His eyes when He looked at people. Some people saw John, the son of thunder, but Jesus said, "I'm going to make him the apostle of love." Some people saw in Mary Magdalene a demon-possessed prostitute, but Jesus said, "I see a loyal, devoted follower of Christ here."
See, a lot of people saw in Zacchaeus garbage, greed, and dishonesty, but Jesus saw the potential of a man who could be a somebody by giving, instead of taking. And He looks at you like that. Maybe others can only see what's broken in you, ugly in you, but He sees what you can be. He sees what you're created to be. And He wants us to develop that "garbage picker" vision. To be a parent who can look past the garbage that your child might be giving out and see what he could be. Tell him about his potential, not just his problems. To see in a friend or a leader or a helper someone who could be more than they are. Don't just say, "You're a mess." Say, "Do you know what? You're better than this. I see in you a treasure that God created. I see under that mask a sensitive person, an insightful person, a leader, a listener, a fighter for what's right," whatever potential God gives you to see in them.
Somewhere near you is an assignment with a name; someone waiting for another person to see the Peter, or the rock, in them. Stop for someone that others might be walking past or even throwing away or trashing. Pick them up and patiently build them into all they were meant to be.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
2 Samuel 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Full Victory
n all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. Romans 8:37
When it comes to healing our spiritual condition, we don’t have a chance. We might as well be told to pole-vault the moon.
Romans 8:37 says: “In all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us.”
We don’t have what it takes to be healed. Our only hope is that God will step into our hurt and helplessness and do it for us!
Which is exactly what he’s done!
I wish we would take him at his word. When he says we’re forgiven, let’s unload the guilt. When he says we’re valuable, let’s believe him. When he says we’re provided for, let’s stop worrying.
God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless!
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”
Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
5 “Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
“Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”
12 “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”
16 “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”
But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate[a] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”
25 “No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”
The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.” 29 So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”[b]
35 Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”
36 As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 1:3-5,13-21
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:13-21
New International Version (NIV)
Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Advent Themes
December 1, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:13
I believe that all Scripture is related and all Scripture is relevant. Nevertheless, I was surprised when my November reading in the book of 1 Peter touched on all four themes of Advent—that period of time on the church calendar when many Christians prepare to celebrate the first coming of Christ while looking forward to His second coming. During Advent, we emphasize hope, peace, joy, and love, which God sent with Christ.
HOPE. We have an inheritance reserved in heaven, a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5).
PEACE. We will love life and see good days if we turn from evil and do good and if we seek peace, for the Lord watches over the righteous and hears their prayers (3:10-12).
JOY. We have inexpressible joy even though we have trials because our faith is being tested and proven genuine. The end of this faith is the salvation of our souls (1:6-9).
LOVE. We can love one another with a pure heart because we have been born again through the Word of God which lives and abides forever (1:22-23).
Because Christ came the first time, we can live with hope, peace, joy, and love till He comes again.
The hope we have in Jesus Christ
Brings joy into our heart;
And when we know the love of God,
His peace He will impart. —Sper
If you’re looking for hope, peace, joy, and love this Christmas season, look to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 01, 2011
The Law and the Gospel
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “. . . sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Just Wearing the Shirt - #6494
Thursday, December 1, 2011
I have two adult friends who own Princeton University sweatshirts. Now, Al has one because he put in four very challenging years at that university and he graduated from there. And the other day I met a friend, Dave, at the grocery store, and he had his Princeton University sweatshirt on. I said, "I didn't know you went to Princeton?" Well, you know me; I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions. No, he informed me that he had bought that shirt at a discount store for $12. He said, "Oh, I didn't go to Princeton, I just wear the shirt!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Wearing the Shirt."
Now, in Luke 6:46 Jesus is talking to believers, I think, and He says, "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do the things that I say?" Now, you know, these folks had the right vocabulary; they knew to say, "Lord." In fact they knew to even say it twice, "Lord, Lord." But something had happened to their commitment. It was just words.
My friend, Dave, who had just bought the shirt at the discount store, hadn't really paid the price that goes with identifying with Princeton. Now, when Al, who graduated from there, wears the shirt, it's backed up by years of sacrifice and work. Maybe you're proud to wear Jesus' shirt, but you're not paying the price of living consistently for Him. You've got the shirt; you've not got the life that backs it up.
You know, Alexander the Great was trying a young soldier in his tent who had been accused of cowardice, and he brought this young man in and he said, "Now, young man, what were you accused of?" And the soldier said, "Sir, desertion in battle." And Alexander leaned forward a little bit. He said, "What is your name?" The young man hesitantly said, "Alexander, Sir." And at that point the General leaped to his feet, he grabbed that young man by his collar, and he pulled him up nose to nose and he said, "Young man, either you change your life, or you change your name!"
Now you are carrying, as a Christian, the name of Christ - the holy name of Christ - on your life. Make sure your life backs up the name you wear.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 7:21-23. I have to tell you, for me these are some of the most unsettling verses in the Bible. Jesus is speaking: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Oh, many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.'" Wow, those have to be some of the most chilling words in the Bible, "I never knew you."
Now, if we want to go back to my friend who was just wearing the Princeton shirt, we might say spiritually here that these are people who are not only wearing the shirt; they have a complete Christian wardrobe. In fact, it sounds like these may be Christian leaders who are before the Great White Throne Judgment, and they're going before the Lord. Some of them have worked for Him; they've been activists for Him, they've preached, they've done miracles. These aren't just back pew sitters. Yet, Jesus is basically saying here that it isn't the one who says all the right words, "Lord, Lord." It's the one who does His will. And later He will say, "It is the will of my Father in heaven that everyone comes to Him through Me."
It's possible you have Christianity and you've missed Christ; there's never been that moment when you have made Him personally yours, when you personalized what He did on the cross. And every day you wait puts you deeper and deeper into the spiritual danger zone.
Someone listening today, you've got all the right words, you've got all the right beliefs, and maybe you've said it even publicly. But you have never surrendered your heart and your will to Jesus Christ. That reality can be concealed until you see your Lord.
Today tell Him, "Jesus, finally I want to move You from my head to my heart. I don't want to just believe about You, I want to believe in You; I want to commit myself to You. Go to our website. There's so much there to help you. Make sure you belong to Jesus. It's YoursForLife.net.
Is it possible you're wearing the shirt; you're encouraging others to wear the shirt that says Found, but your heart is still lost? I encourage you to put aside just wearing the shirt and let Jesus become part of your heart, not just your spiritual wardrobe.
n all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. Romans 8:37
When it comes to healing our spiritual condition, we don’t have a chance. We might as well be told to pole-vault the moon.
Romans 8:37 says: “In all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us.”
We don’t have what it takes to be healed. Our only hope is that God will step into our hurt and helplessness and do it for us!
Which is exactly what he’s done!
I wish we would take him at his word. When he says we’re forgiven, let’s unload the guilt. When he says we’re valuable, let’s believe him. When he says we’re provided for, let’s stop worrying.
God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless!
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”
Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
5 “Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
“Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”
12 “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”
16 “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”
But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate[a] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”
25 “No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”
The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.” 29 So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”[b]
35 Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”
36 As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 1:3-5,13-21
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:13-21
New International Version (NIV)
Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Advent Themes
December 1, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:13
I believe that all Scripture is related and all Scripture is relevant. Nevertheless, I was surprised when my November reading in the book of 1 Peter touched on all four themes of Advent—that period of time on the church calendar when many Christians prepare to celebrate the first coming of Christ while looking forward to His second coming. During Advent, we emphasize hope, peace, joy, and love, which God sent with Christ.
HOPE. We have an inheritance reserved in heaven, a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5).
PEACE. We will love life and see good days if we turn from evil and do good and if we seek peace, for the Lord watches over the righteous and hears their prayers (3:10-12).
JOY. We have inexpressible joy even though we have trials because our faith is being tested and proven genuine. The end of this faith is the salvation of our souls (1:6-9).
LOVE. We can love one another with a pure heart because we have been born again through the Word of God which lives and abides forever (1:22-23).
Because Christ came the first time, we can live with hope, peace, joy, and love till He comes again.
The hope we have in Jesus Christ
Brings joy into our heart;
And when we know the love of God,
His peace He will impart. —Sper
If you’re looking for hope, peace, joy, and love this Christmas season, look to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 01, 2011
The Law and the Gospel
Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all —James 2:10
The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “. . . sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!
We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Just Wearing the Shirt - #6494
Thursday, December 1, 2011
I have two adult friends who own Princeton University sweatshirts. Now, Al has one because he put in four very challenging years at that university and he graduated from there. And the other day I met a friend, Dave, at the grocery store, and he had his Princeton University sweatshirt on. I said, "I didn't know you went to Princeton?" Well, you know me; I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions. No, he informed me that he had bought that shirt at a discount store for $12. He said, "Oh, I didn't go to Princeton, I just wear the shirt!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Wearing the Shirt."
Now, in Luke 6:46 Jesus is talking to believers, I think, and He says, "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do the things that I say?" Now, you know, these folks had the right vocabulary; they knew to say, "Lord." In fact they knew to even say it twice, "Lord, Lord." But something had happened to their commitment. It was just words.
My friend, Dave, who had just bought the shirt at the discount store, hadn't really paid the price that goes with identifying with Princeton. Now, when Al, who graduated from there, wears the shirt, it's backed up by years of sacrifice and work. Maybe you're proud to wear Jesus' shirt, but you're not paying the price of living consistently for Him. You've got the shirt; you've not got the life that backs it up.
You know, Alexander the Great was trying a young soldier in his tent who had been accused of cowardice, and he brought this young man in and he said, "Now, young man, what were you accused of?" And the soldier said, "Sir, desertion in battle." And Alexander leaned forward a little bit. He said, "What is your name?" The young man hesitantly said, "Alexander, Sir." And at that point the General leaped to his feet, he grabbed that young man by his collar, and he pulled him up nose to nose and he said, "Young man, either you change your life, or you change your name!"
Now you are carrying, as a Christian, the name of Christ - the holy name of Christ - on your life. Make sure your life backs up the name you wear.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 7:21-23. I have to tell you, for me these are some of the most unsettling verses in the Bible. Jesus is speaking: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Oh, many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.'" Wow, those have to be some of the most chilling words in the Bible, "I never knew you."
Now, if we want to go back to my friend who was just wearing the Princeton shirt, we might say spiritually here that these are people who are not only wearing the shirt; they have a complete Christian wardrobe. In fact, it sounds like these may be Christian leaders who are before the Great White Throne Judgment, and they're going before the Lord. Some of them have worked for Him; they've been activists for Him, they've preached, they've done miracles. These aren't just back pew sitters. Yet, Jesus is basically saying here that it isn't the one who says all the right words, "Lord, Lord." It's the one who does His will. And later He will say, "It is the will of my Father in heaven that everyone comes to Him through Me."
It's possible you have Christianity and you've missed Christ; there's never been that moment when you have made Him personally yours, when you personalized what He did on the cross. And every day you wait puts you deeper and deeper into the spiritual danger zone.
Someone listening today, you've got all the right words, you've got all the right beliefs, and maybe you've said it even publicly. But you have never surrendered your heart and your will to Jesus Christ. That reality can be concealed until you see your Lord.
Today tell Him, "Jesus, finally I want to move You from my head to my heart. I don't want to just believe about You, I want to believe in You; I want to commit myself to You. Go to our website. There's so much there to help you. Make sure you belong to Jesus. It's YoursForLife.net.
Is it possible you're wearing the shirt; you're encouraging others to wear the shirt that says Found, but your heart is still lost? I encourage you to put aside just wearing the shirt and let Jesus become part of your heart, not just your spiritual wardrobe.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
John 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Grace Makes All the Difference
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
If life is “because I have to”—where’s the joy in that?
Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations—all about stifling, suffocating ritual.
It happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it’s endless. There is always another class to attend, another person to teach, another mouth to feed.
Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:
Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves.
Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.
John 3:16-36
New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 5:12-19
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Actions And Results
November 30, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
If by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. —Romans 5:15
On November 24, 1971, a man known today as D. B. Cooper hijacked a commercial flight between Portland and Seattle by threatening to blow up the plane unless he received $200,000. After landing to receive a ransom, he ordered the plane back into the air. Then the rear stairs of the 727 aircraft were lowered, and he parachuted into the night. He was never captured, and the case is still unsolved. This act hastened the age of airport security in which trust and confidence have been replaced by suspicion and fear. What he did affected us all.
The Bible describes two actions that changed the world in a far more significant way. Through Adam’s choice, sin and death entered the world, “and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). But through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God provided a remedy for the results of sin. “Through one man’s [Adam’s] offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Christ’s] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (v.18).
Christ did what no one else could do when He broke the power of sin and death by His resurrection. He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will accept His gift. And for that, we thank Him with all our hearts.
When Adam sinned, death spread to all—
One act condemned the human race—
But Jesus’ death upon the cross
Provides mankind God’s saving grace. —Sper
The cross of Christ can cure the condemnation of Adam’s choice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The "Yes," the "No," and the "Wait" - #6493
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
My daughter wanted to put her fingers in the fan. Oh, she was a very little girl at the time. I said, "No." She cried. I think she thought I didn't love her and if I loved her I'd let her put her fingers in the fan. She really wanted to check it out!
It was sitting in the kitchen in our little house, rumbling along because it was the only ventilation in the house, one of those big exhaust fans. And I walked into the kitchen and I found her making her way toward it with her hand extended, wanting to check it out. Now, I could have said, "Oh, Honey, let me explain to you how many revolutions per minute those blades are turning and why it is going to cut off your fingers." She didn't know what cut meant...off, fingers, or any of that. All she knew was, she'd been told, "No" and she didn't like it.
You know, fathers have to do things like that because they love their children. God's a father, too. I'm so glad He's called that in the Bible, and He too has children who have their hearts set on something. But when He says, "No," we don't understand and we don't like it. But see, we wouldn't understand even if He did explain. If He tried to say, "Well, you're going to hurt yourself if you stick your fingers in that fan," because the fan just looks so good to us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'Yes,' the 'No,' and the 'Wait' of God."
Well, we're talking about the "yes," the "no," and the "wait" of God. Those times when He says, "Yes" to us when we pray; those times when we're headed for a fan and we're ready to stick our fingers in the fan. We don't even know that's going to hurt us, and He says, "No." And at times He says, "Wait." Now, I'll bet you in your life right now, in your praying, you have some "Yes's," you have some "No's," and you have some "Wait's."
Our word today from the Word of God, Psalm 37:4, 7, David says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Okay, that's "yes." I like that, don't you? Now listen to verse 7: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret."
Well, that's not that immediate "yes." That's more like, "wait" or even "no." And I think it's very encouraging when you understand how God works in our life, using a creative tension. And that creative tension is between answered and unanswered prayer.
At any moment in your life it is His will, I believe, that you have some of both. Yes you get to "delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." On the other hand, there are the "Wait for the Lord" kinds of answers as well, because that tension of answered and unanswered prayer is what helps you grow in Christ.
In other words, you need enough "yes's" to keep you going--to let you know that He is on your case. But you need enough "no's" and "wait's" to keep you growing so that you hang onto Him. Now, He will say, "Yes" to you and may have said, "Yes" recently. I'm sure He has. I'm sure you could look back and see prayer that He has recently answered. Well, that "yes" is to let you feel His interest in you, to feel His love, to feel His power, His personal involvement in the everyday things of your life. Take a good long look at it, and draw faith, and courage, and determination from those memories; from those yes's.
But He's also given you enough "no's" to keep you trusting Him. And those "no's," like the one a Daddy said one time to his little daughter are, "For your good." Strangely, all green lights make us self-sufficient. And if we get self-sufficient, that's the beginning of big trouble. God knows exactly how much you need of each and He knows when to give them to you. So draw strength from the answered prayer, learn faith from the unanswered prayer, and God will always keep that blessed tension in your life.
Like my daughter with all her fingers, you'll one day thank your Father for the things He denied or the things He postponed for your good. Relax, let your Father drive. You'll love the destination.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
If life is “because I have to”—where’s the joy in that?
Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations—all about stifling, suffocating ritual.
It happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it’s endless. There is always another class to attend, another person to teach, another mouth to feed.
Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:
Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves.
Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.
John 3:16-36
New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 5:12-19
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Actions And Results
November 30, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
If by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. —Romans 5:15
On November 24, 1971, a man known today as D. B. Cooper hijacked a commercial flight between Portland and Seattle by threatening to blow up the plane unless he received $200,000. After landing to receive a ransom, he ordered the plane back into the air. Then the rear stairs of the 727 aircraft were lowered, and he parachuted into the night. He was never captured, and the case is still unsolved. This act hastened the age of airport security in which trust and confidence have been replaced by suspicion and fear. What he did affected us all.
The Bible describes two actions that changed the world in a far more significant way. Through Adam’s choice, sin and death entered the world, “and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). But through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God provided a remedy for the results of sin. “Through one man’s [Adam’s] offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Christ’s] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (v.18).
Christ did what no one else could do when He broke the power of sin and death by His resurrection. He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will accept His gift. And for that, we thank Him with all our hearts.
When Adam sinned, death spread to all—
One act condemned the human race—
But Jesus’ death upon the cross
Provides mankind God’s saving grace. —Sper
The cross of Christ can cure the condemnation of Adam’s choice.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The "Yes," the "No," and the "Wait" - #6493
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
My daughter wanted to put her fingers in the fan. Oh, she was a very little girl at the time. I said, "No." She cried. I think she thought I didn't love her and if I loved her I'd let her put her fingers in the fan. She really wanted to check it out!
It was sitting in the kitchen in our little house, rumbling along because it was the only ventilation in the house, one of those big exhaust fans. And I walked into the kitchen and I found her making her way toward it with her hand extended, wanting to check it out. Now, I could have said, "Oh, Honey, let me explain to you how many revolutions per minute those blades are turning and why it is going to cut off your fingers." She didn't know what cut meant...off, fingers, or any of that. All she knew was, she'd been told, "No" and she didn't like it.
You know, fathers have to do things like that because they love their children. God's a father, too. I'm so glad He's called that in the Bible, and He too has children who have their hearts set on something. But when He says, "No," we don't understand and we don't like it. But see, we wouldn't understand even if He did explain. If He tried to say, "Well, you're going to hurt yourself if you stick your fingers in that fan," because the fan just looks so good to us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'Yes,' the 'No,' and the 'Wait' of God."
Well, we're talking about the "yes," the "no," and the "wait" of God. Those times when He says, "Yes" to us when we pray; those times when we're headed for a fan and we're ready to stick our fingers in the fan. We don't even know that's going to hurt us, and He says, "No." And at times He says, "Wait." Now, I'll bet you in your life right now, in your praying, you have some "Yes's," you have some "No's," and you have some "Wait's."
Our word today from the Word of God, Psalm 37:4, 7, David says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Okay, that's "yes." I like that, don't you? Now listen to verse 7: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret."
Well, that's not that immediate "yes." That's more like, "wait" or even "no." And I think it's very encouraging when you understand how God works in our life, using a creative tension. And that creative tension is between answered and unanswered prayer.
At any moment in your life it is His will, I believe, that you have some of both. Yes you get to "delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." On the other hand, there are the "Wait for the Lord" kinds of answers as well, because that tension of answered and unanswered prayer is what helps you grow in Christ.
In other words, you need enough "yes's" to keep you going--to let you know that He is on your case. But you need enough "no's" and "wait's" to keep you growing so that you hang onto Him. Now, He will say, "Yes" to you and may have said, "Yes" recently. I'm sure He has. I'm sure you could look back and see prayer that He has recently answered. Well, that "yes" is to let you feel His interest in you, to feel His love, to feel His power, His personal involvement in the everyday things of your life. Take a good long look at it, and draw faith, and courage, and determination from those memories; from those yes's.
But He's also given you enough "no's" to keep you trusting Him. And those "no's," like the one a Daddy said one time to his little daughter are, "For your good." Strangely, all green lights make us self-sufficient. And if we get self-sufficient, that's the beginning of big trouble. God knows exactly how much you need of each and He knows when to give them to you. So draw strength from the answered prayer, learn faith from the unanswered prayer, and God will always keep that blessed tension in your life.
Like my daughter with all her fingers, you'll one day thank your Father for the things He denied or the things He postponed for your good. Relax, let your Father drive. You'll love the destination.
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