Hebrews 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God, Your Refuge

He has a price on his head.  No place to lay his head. But somehow he keeps his head.  He turns his focus to God and finds refuge! Refuge is a favorite word of David’s in the Psalms. But never did David use the word more poignantly than in Psalm 57—a song of David when he fled from Saul into the cave. On his face, lost in shadows and thought, nowhere to turn. But then he remembers he is not alone.  And from the recesses of the cave his voice floats:

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me.
For my soul rests in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.”

Make God your refuge. Not your job, your spouse, your reputation, or your retirement account. Make God your refuge! Let Him encircle you. Let Him be the foundation upon which you stand! And that foundation will support you right into eternity.

from Facing Your Giants

Hebrews 6
New International Version (NIV)
6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Isaiah 42:1-9

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.”

The Power Of Compassion

August 10, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench. —Isaiah 42:3

Francis Schaeffer, author and Christian apologist, struggled to spell words correctly because of dyslexia. At the college he attended, spelling errors lowered the grade on all written assignments. During his first year, a professor told Schaeffer, “This is the best philosophy paper I’ve ever read, but it’s the worst spelling. What am I going to do? I can’t pass you.”

Francis Schaeffer

Francis replied, “Sir, I could never spell. Could you please just read what I’m saying and not worry about the spelling?”

After a long pause, the professor replied, “You know, Mr. Schaeffer, I think we’ll do that.” His wise, compassionate response encouraged a gifted young man who would later help many of the searching generation during the 1960s and 70s to find their way to faith in Christ.

Isaiah said of the promised Messiah, “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth” (Isa. 42:3). The image is of a gentle, yet powerful Person who sets prisoners free and encourages those who are fainthearted and tempted to despair.

Jesus came to free us from sin, not to condemn us for our condition. Today, He offers salvation and encouragement to all who turn to Him.

No condemnation now I dread,
I am my Lord’s and He is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine. —Wesley
When we come to Christ in our brokenness, He makes us whole.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 10, 2013

The Holy Suffering of the Saint

Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good . . . —1 Peter 4:19

Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.

The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, “God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult.” That is why Jesus said that self-pity was of the devil (see Matthew 16:21-23). We must be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy for us to tarnish God’s character because He never argues back; He never tries to defend or vindicate Himself. Beware of thinking that Jesus needed sympathy during His life on earth. He refused the sympathy of people because in His great wisdom He knew that no one on earth understood His purpose (see Matthew 16:23). He accepted only the sympathy of His Father and the angels (see Luke 15:10).

Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, “God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.” Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Making a Little a Lot - #6935

Friday, August 9, 2013

I'm convinced my wife could be a missionary just about anywhere in the world. She is so resourceful, and that's what missionaries need to be. We've sort of been missionaries in the United States over many years of ministry to teenagers and more recently to Native Americans, and our ministry budget - like most ministry budgets - has been somewhat limited over the years. That's where my wife's resourcefulness comes into play.

For example, I remember the time that we had a hundred teenagers show up for a gathering when we weren't really expecting that many. She only had enough ground beef to put into these sloppy Joe sandwiches for about 40 people. Now, you're gonna need a whip and a chair if you have some teenagers you can't feed! You don't really want to have those wild animals on the loose and unfed. So, she quickly found some dried bread crumbs, pulled out a recipe she had gotten from a home economist, and mixed all of that in with the ground beef. Well, not the recipe, but the rest. And it made that ground beef go a lot farther. In fact, we fed a hundred hungry teenagers with only enough for forty! We had some left over. Listen, sometimes you need someone who can make a little a lot.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Making a Little a Lot."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from that familiar story in Mark chapter 6. I'll begin reading at verse 37, after the disciples have concluded that this group of 5,000 people is not going to be fed. They're getting hungry. Jesus has been teaching quite a while, and here's their suggestion: "Send them away; the meeting's over." But Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat." It's not in here, but you can almost hear them going, "What? How in the world are we going to feed them? What do you think; we got a catering service here? How are we going to do this?"

"Well they said to Him, 'That would take eight months of a man's wages. Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?' 'How many loaves do you have?' He asked. Go and see.' When they found out, they said, 'Five and two fish.' Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven..." It says, "He gave thanks and broke the loaves, gave them to His disciples to set before the people. He divided the fish among them. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish."

That's kind of like our sloppy Joe situation we had there when we were trying to feed all those teenagers. It wasn't enough. We had a whole lot more need than we had resource. The disciples' solution to a "not enough" situation was to give up. But Jesus said, "Instead, I want you to round up all the 'not enough' that you can. It won't be enough; it won't cover it. But I want you to gather all that you can and I'll make it more than enough."

Okay, that brings us to your situation. What's your "not enough"? You say, "Well, I can't see where the money's going to come from. I can't see I'm going to have enough strength to face what I've got right now. I don't know where I'm going to find the time to get all this done. I don't know how I'm going to have the resources to do it all. I don't know how I'm going to find the resources to make this relationship work anymore." Do you hear the Lord saying, "Bring Me your 'not enough.' Find all you can."

So, what you do is number one, you give all your resources - not enough - but all your resources to Jesus. Number two, you act as if there will be enough. Jesus had them sit down. He said, "Get ready to eat lunch" even though there was no lunch for them. So you start to act as if it's going to be there. By faith in your Lord you do that, and then be grateful for the 'not enough' that you already have. That's the hard part to say, "Lord, I know this isn't enough, but I'm grateful for what I've got." The Bible says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain."

I'm married to a woman who can take a little and make it a lot. Better than that, my Lord - your Lord - can do that a thousand times over with any 'not enough.'

Jeremiah 50 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We’re Made Whole

Sin sees the world with no God in it! Where we might think of sin as slip-ups or missteps, God views sin as a godless attitude that leads to godless actions.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”  Sin proclaims, “It’s your life, right?  Pump your body with drugs, your mind with greed, your nights with pleasure.”  The godless life is a a me-dominated, childish life, a life of doing what we feel like doing, whenever we feel like doing it.

God says to love.  I choose to hate. God instructs, forgive.  I opt to get even.  God calls for self-control.  I promote self-indulgence.  This is sin.

Jesus took the punishment for that sin, and made us whole. God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong on him.

Trust his work for you, then trust His work in you.

From Come Thirsty

Jeremiah 50
New International Version (NIV)
A Message About Babylon

50 This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians[a]:

2 “Announce and proclaim among the nations,
    lift up a banner and proclaim it;
    keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;
    Bel will be put to shame,
    Marduk filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
    and her idols filled with terror.’
3 A nation from the north will attack her
    and lay waste her land.
No one will live in it;
    both people and animals will flee away.
4 “In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together
    will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.
5 They will ask the way to Zion
    and turn their faces toward it.
They will come and bind themselves to the Lord
    in an everlasting covenant
    that will not be forgotten.
6 “My people have been lost sheep;
    their shepherds have led them astray
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
    and forgot their own resting place.
7 Whoever found them devoured them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
    the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8 “Flee out of Babylon;
    leave the land of the Babylonians,
    and be like the goats that lead the flock.
9 For I will stir up and bring against Babylon
    an alliance of great nations from the land of the north.
They will take up their positions against her,
    and from the north she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like skilled warriors
    who do not return empty-handed.
10 So Babylonia[b] will be plundered;
    all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.
11 “Because you rejoice and are glad,
    you who pillage my inheritance,
because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain
    and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother will be greatly ashamed;
    she who gave you birth will be disgraced.
She will be the least of the nations—
    a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.
13 Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
    but will be completely desolate.
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;
    they will scoff because of all her wounds.
14 “Take up your positions around Babylon,
    all you who draw the bow.
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,
    for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her on every side!
    She surrenders, her towers fall,
    her walls are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance of the Lord,
    take vengeance on her;
    do to her as she has done to others.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
    and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword of the oppressor
    let everyone return to their own people,
    let everyone flee to their own land.
17 “Israel is a scattered flock
    that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
    was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
    was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
    on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
    but none will be found,
    for I will forgive the remnant I spare.
21 “Attack the land of Merathaim
    and those who live in Pekod.
Pursue, kill and completely destroy[c] them,”
declares the Lord.
    “Do everything I have commanded you.
22 The noise of battle is in the land,
    the noise of great destruction!
23 How broken and shattered
    is the hammer of the whole earth!
How desolate is Babylon
    among the nations!
24 I set a trap for you, Babylon,
    and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured
    because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
    and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
    in the land of the Babylonians.
26 Come against her from afar.
    Break open her granaries;
    pile her up like heaps of grain.
Completely destroy her
    and leave her no remnant.
27 Kill all her young bulls;
    let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe to them! For their day has come,
    the time for them to be punished.
28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon
    declaring in Zion
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,
    vengeance for his temple.
29 “Summon archers against Babylon,
    all those who draw the bow.
Encamp all around her;
    let no one escape.
Repay her for her deeds;
    do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day has come,
    the time for you to be punished.
32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall
    and no one will help her up;
I will kindle a fire in her towns
    that will consume all who are around her.”
33 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“The people of Israel are oppressed,
    and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
    refusing to let them go.
34 Yet their Redeemer is strong;
    the Lord Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
    so that he may bring rest to their land,
    but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Babylonians!”
    declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
    and against her officials and wise men!
36 A sword against her false prophets!
    They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!
    They will be filled with terror.
37 A sword against her horses and chariots
    and all the foreigners in her ranks!
    They will become weaklings.
A sword against her treasures!
    They will be plundered.
38 A drought on[d] her waters!
    They will dry up.
For it is a land of idols,
    idols that will go mad with terror.
39 “So desert creatures and hyenas will live there,
    and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
    or lived in from generation to generation.
40 As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
    along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell in it.
41 “Look! An army is coming from the north;
    a great nation and many kings
    are being stirred up from the ends of the earth.
42 They are armed with bows and spears;
    they are cruel and without mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
    and his hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”
45 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
    what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians:
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;
    its cry will resound among the nations.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 14:1-11

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

Belonging

August 9, 2013 — by Joe Stowell

In my Father’s house are many mansions . . . . I go to prepare a place for you. —John 14:2

My dad was full of stories about his hometown. So you can imagine how excited I was as a child when he took our family there every summer. We fished the St. Joseph River together and visited his boyhood farm where all of his stories came to life. Although that place was never really my home, whenever I visit that town—now with grown children and grandchildren of my own—it fills me with a nostalgic sense of belonging.

Jesus talked with His disciples about His home in heaven, which He left to come and live among us. What a joy it must have been for Him to tell His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions . . . . I go to prepare a place for you, . . . that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). No doubt Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2), was looking forward to returning to His heavenly home and taking His Father’s sons and daughters there to be with Him.

The thought of Jesus taking us to His Father’s home fills us with great anticipation and compels us to tell others the good news about the Son who came to rescue us from this fallen place.

Now I belong to Jesus;
Jesus belongs to me—
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity. —Clayton
Only Jesus can fill us with a sense of belonging like we’ve never known before.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 9, 2013

Prayer in the Father’s Hearing

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41

When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . ” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name . . .” (John 16:26). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.

Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?

Hebrews 5 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God’s Sanctuary

The purpose of the church is to provide bread and swords!  To the spiritually hungry, the church offers bread–spiritual nourishment.  To the fugitive, the church offers swords–weapons of truth:

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Food and equipment.  The church exists to provide both.  Does it always succeed? No, not always. People-helping is never a tidy trade, because people who need help don’t lead tidy lives. Jesus calls the church to lean in the direction of compassion.

At the end of the day, the question is not how many laws were broken but rather, how many desperate were nourished and equipped?  God’s sanctuary—where He gives food to the hungry and tools to the soldiers.  May your church provide both for you.  And may you be a part of a church that does the same for others.

from Facing Your Giants

Hebrews 5
New International Version (NIV)
5 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.”[a]
6 And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Falling Away

11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 34:1-10

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Reflections On Windows

August 8, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. —Psalm 119:18

Much of the scenery I saw during our vacation in Alaska was through the windows of moving vehicles. I was thankful for glass that allowed me to see the beauty while remaining warm and dry. But the windows also presented a challenge. When it rained, water drops on the outside obscured the view. When the temperature changed, condensation caused fog to develop on the inside.

Those challenges help me understand why it is impossible for us to see life the way God intended it. Sin obscures the beauty of life that God wants us to enjoy. Sometimes sin is inside—our selfishness creates a fog that makes us see ourselves as more important than we are and causes us to forget about others’ interests. Sometimes sin is outside. The injustice of others causes our tears to fall like rain, preventing us from seeing the goodness of God. Sin of any kind keeps us from seeing the wonder and glory of life as God designed it.

For now, even though “we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror” (1 Cor. 13:12 nlt), we see enough to know that God is good (Ps. 34:8). The many wonderful things that God has revealed will help us to forsake sin and work to minimize its consequences in the world.

Lord, improve our vision. Clear the fog that comes from
self-centered thinking. Help us to uphold justice,
to offer comfort to others, and to wipe away the tears
that have been left by the storms of life.
The only way to see life clearly is to focus on Christ.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 8, 2013


Prayer in the Father’s Honor

. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God —Luke 1:35

If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child— the right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, “Why did you want me to turn here or to go over there? ’Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ ” (Luke 2:49). Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.

Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father.

Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, suffering so that His own purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to “. . . fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . .” (Colossians 1:24). And when we think of what it takes to “fill up,” there is always something yet to be done.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

How to Free the Hostages - #6934

Thursday, August 8, 2013

I guess I'd call it one of the ugly words of our time - the word hostage. We've all seen our share of hostage situations haven't we? Some are right here in the United States. When someone has taken a hostage or several hostages, the first thing they do is they bring in the hostage negotiating team and they do their very best to use their psychology and human relations to talk that person into releasing their hostages.

Sometimes the person will give up and the hostages go free. But often the negotiations fail, and then it can get a little more violent. Well, in come the highly trained commando units, the SWAT teams, and if necessary they'll shoot the hostage taker, because that's the only way the hostages can be saved. Now, can you imagine just rushing in there to rescue the hostages without first dealing with the one who is holding them? We do it all the time.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Free the Hostages."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in Mark chapter 3, and I'll begin reading at verse 26. Here's what Jesus says, "If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." Jesus says here that it's necessary, if we're going to take people back from the strong man, and we know from the context that strong man is Satan, that we first have to tie him up - to bind him to deal with the hostage taker. See, you don't negotiate with the Devil out of his hostages. You don't shoot the Devil, but you tie his hands. That's Jesus' strategy.

Now, who are these people that are referred to here as "his possessions?" Well, they're some people you know; those people in your life whose lives the Devil is pretty much having his way with. They may not know it's the Devil - probably don't. You can tell pretty much that they're away from the Lord. It might even be someone you love very much.

I know that you've prayed for those hostages. You want to have them freed. You talk to them sometimes about the Lord; you worry about them. But so often we miss what Jesus said is the first step - tying up the one who is holding the hostage. You can't neutralize the Devil with a program, or a committee, or words, or a task force, or marches, or demonstrations. He is bound only by the prayer of God's people. And I don't mean, "Now I lay me down to sleep" or "Bless the missionaries" kind of prayers. This is prayer that aims all the majestic power of Jesus Christ at the enemy who is holding the lives we care about.

The book of Revelation says "...they overcame him by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb." You plead the blood of Jesus; you come against the Devil's grip on those people. And you come under the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The Devil's death warrant was signed in the blood of Jesus. This isn't a human struggle. It's a clash of supernatural kingdoms.

See the person you want to rescue from being a hostage of the enemy? You can't just go running in to try to bring them out. You've got to first fight on your knees. Deal with the one who is holding the hostage. Turn Jesus loose on them! It says in Mark 3:11, "Whenever the evil spirits saw Jesus they fell down before Him and cried, 'You are the Son of God!'" They didn't even fight. They just fell down.

When the Devil is confronted with the presence, and the power, and the name of Jesus Christ, he surrenders and the hostages can go free.

Jeremiah 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Look at What You Have

Linger too long in the stench of your hurt, and you’ll smell like the toxin you despise.  I spent too much of a summer sludging through sludge.  Oil field work is dirty at best.  But the dirtiest job of all?  Shoveling silt out of empty oil tanks. The foreman saved such jobs for the summer help.  Thanks boss!  My mom burned my work clothes.  The stink stuck!

Your hurts can do the same.  The better option?  Look at what you have.  Your hurts and pain took much, but Christ gave you more! Catalog His kindnesses.  Everything from sunsets to salvation—look at what you have.

Let Jesus be the friend you need.  Talk to Him.  Spare no detail.  Disclose your fear and describe your dread. Will your hurt disappear? Who knows?  And in a sense, does it matter? You have a friend for life. What could be better than that?

from Facing Your Giants

Jeremiah 29

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jehoiachin[d] and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3 He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[e] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— 17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse[f] and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19 For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

20 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ 23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26 ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. 27 So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28 He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

29 Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, 32 this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against me.’”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion


Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Childhood Beginnings

August 7, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. —Mark 10:45

Last summer, our church invited a young man to join the staff. As Caleb shared how he grew up in Costa Rica while his family was serving Christ there, he reflected on the words of 2 Timothy 3:14-17. From his childhood, he reminisced, he had known the Bible. His mother and father had taught him the truths of the Scriptures that were “able to make [him] wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (v.15). He acknowledged that his preparation to be a pastor had begun when he was still a child.

Our congregation had the opportunity to “meet” his family in Costa Rica via a video-conferencing call. Caleb’s dad challenged his son using the words of Jesus about Himself in Mark 10:45. He said, “Caleb, remember our family motto, ‘We are here to serve, not to be served.’” It was easy to understand how this young man had developed his maturity of faith.

The children God has entrusted to us are precious gifts. A good foundation will help them to develop into mature believers who are “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). With God’s help we can pass on the baton of faith to future generations. What a great privilege to be servants like Jesus.

Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life’s pathway
God’s lamp, His holy Word. —Fennema
Children are God’s precious jewels— help them shine for Christ.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 7, 2013

Prayer in the Father’s House

. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49

Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?

The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “. . . I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Familiar Faces In The Rescue - #6933

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

I've got a lot of friends in law enforcement, and they don't usually show a lot of emotion. But the Cleveland police chief said, "Yes, law enforcement people do cry." I think some of them did when three women, missing for a decade, were suddenly found alive. They'd been imprisoned in a nondescript house by a man who kidnapped them years ago and living horrors that we may never fully know.

A neighbor heard screams coming from that house and went to investigate. A woman locked inside cried, "I've been kidnapped! I want to leave right now." It took kicking in the door, but he got her out. Later, the police brought out the other two kidnapped captives. The frantic 911 call from Amanda Berry was riveting. "Help me! I'm Amanda Berry. I've been missing for 10 years and I'm out here. I'm free now." No wonder police officers cried.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Familiar Faces In The Rescue."

As I watched this powerful story unfold, it reminded me of some things I can't afford to forget through people who are at the heart of this story. Like people who refused to give up on the loved one they've lost. Like Amanda Berry's mom, who refused to believe it was hopeless. She just kept her daughter's picture and story in front of people; she prayed relentlessly. Amanda's mom didn't live to see her prayers answered, but we all did.

A lot of us have an "Amanda"; someone who, for one reason or another, seems hopelessly gone; emotionally, spiritually or even physically. But the celebration in Cleveland shouts, "Never stop fighting for the person you love." Reach out to them. Love them when they give you no reason. Pray for God to do what only He can do. Keep the porch light on.

I love that story where Jesus comes upon the funeral procession of a young man. The Bible says He saw the grieving mother and "His heart went out to her." Then He did what only He could do. He brought her son back to life. And here's the best part. It says, "Jesus gave him back to his mother" (Luke7:15). He's still doing things like that; restoring lost loved ones to the people who care for them. That's the hope that keeps us fighting for them. As long as there's breath, there's hope.

Of course, a key player in freeing the Cleveland captives is that neighbor, who, disregarding the risks, jumps in to help someone in trouble. Somewhere on our "street" we all know someone like that. Behind a facade that looks fine, they may be living a nightmare, desperately needing someone who will care about them, who will listen; someone who will look for the needs behind their deeds, who will be the voice and the face of Jesus for them.

And then there's that prisoner who's desperate to be free, whose only hope is a rescuer. That's where I show up in the picture. That was me and a lot of folks like me, in a very dark place, unable to get out by myself until somebody heard the cry of my heart. I didn't have to stay there one day longer.

Jesus came all the way from heaven to rescue a world of people held captive by the darkness inside them. "Sin" the Bible calls it; our deadly addiction to defying God and doing life "my way" instead of His way. And we can't seem to stop. The Bible says, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin," (John 8:34) and I can't argue with that. The selfishness, the anger, the dark desires, the wounding words, the endless lies - nobody wants to be that way, but we are. We're prisoners in a dark place, until the Rescuer shows up at our door. And finally, here's our word for today from the Word of God, in Galatians 1:3. Jesus says, "He gave Himself for our sins to rescue us" (Galatians 1:3). Wow! And "If the Son makes you free, (the Bible says) you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). He didn't just come to the door. He died on a cross.

So here's my story: "I've been missing. I'm free now, and I'm home!"

The turning point in any life is the day you welcome Jesus as your personal Rescuer from that "dark place" called sin. Maybe you're ready for that new beginning. Would you join me at our website, ANewStory.com and let today be your day to go free.

Jeremiah 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Such a Friend

In Proverbs 18:24 we read, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  David found such a friend in the son of Saul.

Oh to have a friend like Jonathan.  A soul mate who protects you, who seeks nothing but your interests, wants nothing but your happiness.  An ally who lets you be you.  No need to weigh thoughts or measure words.  God gave David such a friend.

And God gave you one as well.  David found a companion in a prince of Israel; you can find a friend in the King of Israel, Jesus Christ.  He has made a covenant with you.  Among His final words were these, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus also said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them away from Me!”

Do you long for one true friend?  You have One!

from Facing Your Giants

Jeremiah 28

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin[c] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 7 Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

12 After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.’”

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 1 John 4:1-6

New International Version (NIV)
On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

The Standoff

August 6, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4

When a local bookstore rearranged its shelves, I noticed an increase in the number of titles relating to sorcery and witchcraft. In fact, the religion section had become a virtual “standoff” between light and darkness. Christian titles flanked one side of the aisle, while roughly the same number of occult books lined the other side.

Sometimes we may think of God and Satan in the same way I thought of the books in that bookstore. We see them as opposing but equal forces with the same unlimited power. However, God is God and Satan is not. God is stronger than any force of darkness. He does what He pleases (Ps. 135:6), while Satan’s power is limited to what God allows. When Satan supposed that misfortune would make Job curse God, God told Satan, “Behold, all that [Job] has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person” (Job 1:12). Satan had to play by God’s rules.

Because God is in charge over everything, as Christ’s followers we don’t need to be paralyzed by fear of Satan’s power over our lives or the lives of the believers around us. He tempts us and tries to influence us, but the Bible assures us, “He who is in [us] is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all! —Perronet
The powers of evil around you are no match for the power of Jesus within you.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 6, 2013

The Cross in Prayer

In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26

We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.

“. . . I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . .” (John 16:26-27). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then “in that day” you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Trying to Carry Your Father's Load - #6932

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

I saw this precious sight at the airport. There were a hundred bleary-eyed travelers waiting for luggage at the carousel. Maybe you've been one of those. That wasn't the precious sight I saw; nothing precious about that. But I heard this little exclamation behind me, and it was a little boy barely old enough to be walking. He was standing next to his Daddy. Now, his Dad had apparently just returned from a business trip, and next to him on the floor was this big old briefcase. The little guy, using all his strength, fully extending his body is trying to push this big briefcase. The briefcase was just about bigger than the little boy was. There was no way he could pick it up, but he was trying; pushing and pulling with everything he had. That was something I'm sure his father could handle easily, but the little guy was just too weak to push it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trying to Carry Your Father's Load."

As David writes to us in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 55, he is pushing or trying to carry a very heavy load. Verse 2, "My thoughts trouble me." Now, you may be able to relate to some of what he says about his load. He says, "I've really got a lot of inner turmoil right now." Now verse 11, "There are destructive forces at work in the city." You may have some of those destructive forces in your life right now. Then in that same verse he says, "Threats and lies never leave its' streets." Maybe you've got a little of that going on in your life.

And in verse 18 of Psalm 55 he talks about "...the battle being waged against me. Many oppose me." That come up on any of your load yet? Then in verse 20 he says, "My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant." Maybe you can share in that part of the load where someone that you've trusted and loved has turned on you and hurt you, and even violated a covenant.

That's a lot to push. That's a lot to carry. You might be doubled over right now with the load. Well, I want you to hear David's bottom line in the midst of all this weighty problem he has. Verse 22, "Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Oh, man! This is awesome! What a promise!

What are you doing pushing that load of yours; trying to carry it yourself? "Give it to Me" He says. "Cast your burden on Me." You may be missing the peace that comes from release. And it's said so many times through the Old Testament, like when David was up against Goliath, David said, "The battle is David's?" No, he said, "The battle is the Lord's." You need to remember that in your battle. This isn't your battle. Send your Father to fight it. Let your Father carry it. This is a load you were never meant to carry.

David struggled to keep it released. He says in Psalm 55:17, "Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice." All day long you've got to have this repeated release of that load; the one you've tried to carry yourself. And your Father is looking at you like that father was looking at his little boy at the airport. Kind of saying, "Why do you insist on collapsing under a burden that I could carry so easily?"

There we are, the little guy trying to lift the load of responsibility that we are just too weak to carry. You can burn out trying to carry it by yourself. Your Father is ready to carry it for you.

Jeremiah 27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God Looks at the Heart

First Samuel 16:7 says:  "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Those words were written for misfits and outcasts.  God uses them all.  Moses ran from justice, but God used him.  Jonah ran from God, but God used him.  Rahab ran a brothel. Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all.
And David?  God saw a teenage boy serving him in the backwoods of Bethlehem.  Human eyes saw a gangly teenager, smelling like sheep. Yet, "the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one."  God saw what no one else saw:  a God-seeking heart.
Others measure your waist size or wallet.  Not God.  He examines hearts.  When He finds one set on Him, he calls it and claims it.Your Father knows your heart, and because He does, He has a place reserved-just for you!
From Facing Your Giants

Jeremiah 27

New International Version (NIV)
Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah[a] son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.

8 “‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord.”’”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea, the movable stands and the other articles that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin[b] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion


READ: Psalm 69:29-36

New International Version (NIV)
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.

The Other Eighty Percent

August 5, 2013

Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. —Psalm 69:34

Recently I saw a billboard stating that 80 percent of all life on Earth is found in the seas. That staggering number is difficult to process, largely because most of that life is out of sight.

As I considered this, it reminded me of how much greater God’s creation is than we typically appreciate. While we can easily have our breath taken away by a majestic mountain range or a panoramic sunset, we sometimes fail to see His extraordinary work in the details that require more careful study and examination. Not only is much of God’s creation hidden by the oceans, but other parts are also too small for our eyes to observe. From the microscopically small to the unsearched reaches of the universe, it is all the work of our Creator. In those magnificent structures—seen and unseen—God’s creative glory is revealed (Rom. 1:20).

As we grow to understand the wonder of creation, it must always point us to the Creator Himself—and call us to worship Him. As the psalmist said, “Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them” (Ps. 69:34). If creation itself gives praise to the Creator, we can and should certainly join the chorus. What a mighty God we serve! —Bill Crowder

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed! —Boberg

The wonder of creation causes us to say, “What a wonderful God!”

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 5, 2013

The Bewildering Call of God

’. . . and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34

God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.

This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

When You're Moving From Rest to Risk - #6931

Monday, August 5, 2013

Did you ever notice this little law of life? Just about the time you get comfortable in a place, the scenery changes. You're all comfy at home as a little child, and you think this is a world you can handle. You just figured out your house and the yard, and suddenly somebody plunges you into this unfamiliar jungle of kindergarten with all these crazy kids in this classroom. And then you get pretty comfortable in elementary school. You say, "Hey, I know how to handle this place. I've conquered this place." And no sooner do you get on top of that, and they plunge you into the junior high zoo.

Then there's high school. Just about the time you're really confident in junior high, boom, you're in the huge world of high school. And then after that you're plunged into college, and you think, "Well, I think I've got college figured out." Hello? Now you are plunged into life! Of course, parents get to go through all those new beginnings with their kids. Being grown up doesn't mean you're beyond those "shake ups" that are caused by new beginnings. No, you might be staring at a new beginning right now. Well, I've got news for you!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Moving From Rest to Risk."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 33. Let me set the stage for you a little bit. Moses and his people are at Sinai. At one point, this very imposing mountain out in the wilderness had been a new beginning place for them. They left Egypt, and this is where God asks them to park for a while. They've met the Lord there. But by now Sinai, which maybe once looked new and dangerous, has become the easy, familiar, comfortable place. It's the place where they've had a lot of encounters with the Lord actually.

In chapter 33, verse 1, it comes as a shock perhaps when the Lord says to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land I promised you." Leave this place, this safe place, this familiar place? To something better, but it's something different, something unknown, something risky. Can you relate at all? Maybe God seems to be saying to you, "It's time to move on. You're on the edge of change right now in your life."

A new beginning can be triggered by a lot of things; maybe a change at work, a change in your family, maybe in your health, a graduation, retirement, an accident. Well, here's Moses on the edge of something new. He's nervous...and so are you. And God has a word for him. In fact when Moses says, "Teach me Your ways" in Exodus 33:13, we then get God's answer to him. And our word for today from the Word of God, Exodus 33:14, "The Lord replied, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

The scenery changes, the cast changes, the location changes, the script changes, but the Director is the same. The presence is what makes the risk not really risky. His presence is what made this place bearable and beautiful. It's the same in the next place. He's the same in the next stage of your life; in the next season. That's the important thing. He will not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I want you to imagine Jesus now, standing in front of you, looking you in the eye, and you're standing together in front of that new thing. He puts a hand on your shoulders, grips you tightly and He says these words, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

No matter what the risk, no matter what the change you're facing, isn't that enough to go on?

Hebrews 4, bible reading and devotionals.

Max Lucado Daily: Amazed at Jesus

“When the Lord Jesus comes . . . all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus.”

Amazed at Jesus . . . Paul doesn’t measure the joy of encouraging the apostles or embracing our loved ones. If we will be amazed at these, which we certainly will, he does not say. What he does say is that we will be amazed at Jesus.

What we have only seen in our thoughts, we will see with our eyes . . . What we’ve seen in a glimpse, we will then see in full view. And . . . we will be amazed.

Hebrews 4
New International Version (NIV)
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[a] 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”[b]
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[c] 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”[d]
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 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.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 2:8-19

New International Version (NIV)
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Take Time To Ponder

August 4, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher

Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. —Luke 2:19

Parents love to remember the developmental milestones of their children. They will record in a baby book when their little ones first roll over, then crawl, and take their first steps. Often they will take photographs and save baby clothing to bring back the memories of those precious experiences.

According to Luke 2:19, Mary, the mother of Jesus, kept a baby book of sorts—in her heart. She treasured the promises that had been given about her Son and “pondered them.” The Greek word for “ponder” means “placing together for comparison.” Mary had heard of great things concerning her Son from angels and shepherds (1:32; 2:17-18). As His life unfolded, she would compare those promises with how her Son acted to fulfill them.

Our faith will be strengthened and we will be encouraged when we meditate on what the Scriptures say about God and compare it with the way He works in our own lives (John 14:21). He is a God who answers prayer (1 John 5:14-15), comforts us in our suffering (2 Cor. 1:3-4), and provides for our needs (Phil. 4:19).

When we take time to ponder, we will see the faithfulness of our great God.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! —Chisholm
God gives by promise that we may take by faith.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 4, 2013

The Brave Friendship of God

He took the twelve aside . . . —Luke 18:31

Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.

We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

Jeremiah 24 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Chapters in Life

Certain chapters in this life seem so unnecessary—like nostrils on the pre-born. Like suffering.  Loneliness.  Disease. Holocausts.  Martyrdom.  Hurricanes, earthquakes and monsoons.

If we assume this world exists just for pre-grave happiness, these atrocities disqualify it from doing so!  But what if this earth is the womb?  Might these challenges, severe as they may be, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come?

The apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4:17:  “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”

Eternal glory?  I’d like a large cup of that,  wouldn’t you?

Everything in this life is preparing us for the next.

Jeremiah 24

Two Baskets of Figs

After Jehoiachin[c] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.[d] 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

8 “‘But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. 9 I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse[e] and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. 10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.’”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Corine

August 3, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. —1 Peter 4:9

A group of us were helping to put together packets of material at an Our Daily Bread event in Orlando last winter when Corine greeted us. It was mid-morning, and she was sure we must be hungry and thirsty. I told her we were “fine,” and she replied, “I know you’re fine, but you need something to eat.” A few minutes later she came back with cold water and snacks.

Throughout the 2 days we were there, Corine came by to check on us, bring us food or water, and take away our trash. On one occasion, I thanked her and said, “You have the gift of hospitality, don’t you, Corine!” She looked down and replied, “I don’t know. But you write the devotional articles, and I’ll clean up. And God will be glorified.”

Corine’s desire is to bring God glory by helping people. She definitely has the gift of hospitality and practices it well. God has graced each of His children with skills and abilities so that He can minister to others through us. You can find those gifts listed in Romans 12:4-13, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Ephesians 4:7-12, and 1 Peter 4:9-11.

The Lord has gifted us “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 4:11).

All Christians have been gifted
By grace from God above,
Equipped to build and strengthen
The church in faith and love. —Fitzhugh
You are one of a kind— designed to glorify God as only you can.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 3, 2013

The Compelling Purpose of God

He . . . said to them, ’Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem . . —Luke 18:31

Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “. . . He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem . . .” (Luke 9:51).

The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . .” (John 15:16).

We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside . . .” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.

Jeremiah 23, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Giant-Slayer

God called David a “man after His own heart!”  One might read his story and wonder what God saw in him.  He fell as often as he stood. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba.  He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family.  Raging David.  Weeping David.  Bloodthirsty.  God-hungry.  Eight wives.  One God.  A man after God’s own heart?

That God saw him as such gives hope to us all.  David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint.  Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing.  But we need David’s story…most of us do.  Giants lurk in our neighborhoods.  Giants of rejection, failure, and revenge.  We must face them.  Yet we need not face them alone.

Focus on God.  The times David did, giants fell. The days he did not, David fell.  Lift your eyes, giant-slayer!  The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you!

From Facing Your Giants

Jeremiah 23

New International Version (NIV)
The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
    and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

Lying Prophets

9 Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.
10 The land is full of adulterers;
    because of the curse[b] the land lies parched
    and the pastures in the wilderness are withered.
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;
    even in my temple I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
    and led my people Israel astray.
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:
    They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
    and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
    not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
    they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.
23 “Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

False Prophecy

33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Praise to the God of All Comfort

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Our Daily Bread -- Pass It On

As you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. —2 Corinthians 1:7


As you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. —2 Corinthians 1:7

I’ve noticed through the years that those who have suffered are quick to comfort other sufferers. When a young couple suffers the loss of a child, another couple who also lost a child in the past asks if they can help. If a couple loses their main income, almost immediately another couple steps forward to offer their aid, remembering their own journey through foreclosure years earlier. Again and again we see the body of Christ supporting and encouraging one another. These Christians have learned that they can use the trials they’ve been through to reach out to others going through similar difficulties.

Have you been sick? Lost a loved one? Been imprisoned? Unfairly treated? In all of our trials, God promises to bring something good out of even our darkest moments (James 1:2-4). One key way this takes place is when we share the comfort He offered us with those who are now going through trials.

As Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, we are comforted by a Savior who knows our suffering, and we honor Him when we pass His comfort on to still others.

May we never leave someone to suffer alone. If we know the trail another is on, God will help us to guide that person to His presence—the surest comfort of all. —Randy Kilgore

Dear Lord, help us to step forward when
others around us are suffering trials similar to
what we’ve been through. Enable us to be a
comfort, as You have been to us in the past.

God comforts us so that we can comfort others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 2, 2013

The Teaching of Adversity

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world —John 16:33

The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling . . .” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life . . .” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Tim Tebow's Roller Coaster - #6930

Friday, August 2, 2013

The first time my dad shamed me into riding a roller coaster, honestly, I couldn't wait to get off. Roller coasters aren't always fun.

Now, Tim Tebow's roller coaster ride has taken a serious dive. When he came to the New York Jets he was the toast of the town. Then they barely played him. Then they released him after a season. And rumors have been circulating ever since about his future in the NFL.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tim Tebow's Roller Coaster."

It's been a wild ride for the quarterback known for his trademark - one-knee "Tebowing" prayer; Heisman Trophy winner as America's outstanding college player. And then called on mid-season to quarterback the faltering Denver Broncos - and leading them to the playoffs. And then traded to play in the "Big Apple." Then "see ya!" from the Jets. Discouraging? You bet. Tim Tebow even said that himself. Devastating? I doubt it, because even when the ride is crazy, Tim Tebow's coaster never leaves the tracks. See, He's anchored. He knows who he is without football.

And that's hard. To know who you are when you can't do what you do. When suddenly the company you worked so hard for decides they don't need you any more; when an illness or a disability robs you of your ability to work anymore. Or even when the children you've lived for leave you with an empty nest.

I still remember the day years ago when that doctor told me there was a dangerous growth on my vocal cords, and he sentenced me to weeks of voice rest to see if surgery could be avoided. I'm a speaker; that's what I do. And sometimes, I have to admit, it's been who I am. Suddenly, I had to contemplate losing the ability that, in many ways, defined me. If I could never speak again, would I know who I am?

So many of life's "I. D. cards" are like that. They're lose-able: the youthful beauty, the "Adonis" body, the fleeting accomplishments, the applause, the title. Even the one who promised to love you "till death do us part."

After Tim Tebow was released by the Jets, he tweeted a glimpse of where he's found his identity. It's our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 3:5,6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." A team may dump you, a friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a spouse, an employer. If they're where you get your worth, they take it with them when they walk out the door. See, we need an identity we can't lose.

That boyhood roller coaster really jerked me around. But no matter how rough the ride, it got me safely to my destination. That's the test of where I'm staking my value and my identity. Will it carry me all the way to my destination even when the bottom drops out?

That's why I'm going with Tim Tebow's "trust in the Lord" I. D. After all, we are in the Bible's words, "God's workmanship," "created by Him and for Him" (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:16). Thanks to Jesus, I've landed who I really am. My Bible tells me I am "complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10). Isn't that great? Complete! Nobody on earth gave me my worth, and nobody on earth can take it away.

I feel so safe, staking everything on the One who said, "I know (My sheep)...I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from Me" (John 10:27, 28 - NLT). I know He won't dump me; He died for me. He died for you. We didn't deserve it. The Bible says, "While we were still sinners Christ died for us." We did everything against Him; He did everything for us; taking our death penalty when He died on that cross, then walking out of His grave under His own power to show that He can give life and eternal life. And only He can, because He's the only One who has it to give. He's the only One who proved He has it.

Once you open your heart to Him, you are home in the identity and the relationship you were made for. Maybe you've never begun that relationship and you'd like to know how. Well, I want to invite you to join me at ANewStory.com.

When you know you belong to Jesus, you're finally safe forever. Let's make sure.