Max Lucado Daily: A Radical Reconstruction
God promises a special blessing. A sacred delight. It’s not a gimmick to give goose bumps or a mental attitude that has to be pumped up. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart. Observe the sequence in the Beatitudes. We recognize we are in need—we’re poor in spirit. Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency—we mourn. We quit calling the shots—we’re meek. We are so grateful for his presence that we yearn for more—we hunger and thirst. We forgive others—we’re merciful. We change our outlook—we’re pure in heart. We love others—we’re peacemakers. We endure injustice—we’re persecuted.
It’s no casual shift of attitude. It is a demolition of the old and a creation of the new. The more radical the change, the greater the joy. And it is worth every effort, for this is the joy of God! A special blessing….a sacred delight.
From The Applause of Heaven
James 3
Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Habakkuk 3:17–19
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed[a] instruments.
Footnotes:
Habakkuk 3:19 Hebrew my stringed
Insight
The book of Habakkuk is one of the twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, given this label because of the comparatively shorter length of their prophetic works. Habakkuk’s short book contains only three chapters and is a dialogue between the prophet and God, organized around Habakkuk’s prayers or complaints and God’s answers. Because chapter 3 is bracketed by musical notations—(shigionoth, v. 1; “on my stringed instruments,” v. 19), it’s probable that the prophet may have been a Levite and a temple musician. Like other prophets, Habakkuk laments the wickedness of his time. Though Judah experienced a brief period of renewal under Josiah, the people had radically turned away from God under the wicked influence of kings Manasseh and Amon. In our passage today, Habakkuk affirms his trust in God no matter what (vv. 17–19).
“Though”
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:18
In 2017, the opportunity to help people in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the US prompted a group of us to travel to Houston. Our goal was to encourage people who’d been impacted by the storm. In the process, our own faith was challenged and strengthened as we stood with them in their damaged church buildings and homes.
The radiant faith exhibited by a number of these people in the wake of Harvey is what we see expressed by Habakkuk at the end of his seventh-century bc prophecy. The prophet predicted that tough times were on the way (1:5–2:1); things would get worse before they got better. The end of the prophecy finds him pondering the potential of earthly losses and the word though makes a threefold appearance: “Though the fig tree does not bud . . . ; though the olive crop fails . . . ; though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls” (3:17).
How do we position ourselves in the face of unimaginable losses such as the loss of health or employment, the death of a loved one, or a devastating natural disaster? Habakkuk’s “Ode for Tough Times” calls us to confident faith and trust in God, who is the source of salvation (v. 18), strength, and stability (v. 19) for yesterday, today, and forever. In the end, those who trust Him will never be disappointed. By Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
How has God met your need during difficult times? How can you encourage others when they face a crisis?
Father, even when life is tough and uncertain, please keep my faith anchored in You, my source of salvation and strength.
To learn more about the prophet Habakkuk, visit christianuniversity.org/OT226.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, August 11, 2019
This Experience Must Come
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha…saw him no more. —2 Kings 2:11-12
It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah” for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, “I cannot continue without my ‘Elijah.’ ” Yet God says you must continue.
Alone at Your “Jordan” (2 Kings 2:14). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your “Elijah.” You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your “Jordan” alone.
Alone at Your “Jericho” (2 Kings 2:15). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your “Elijah” do great things. Yet when you come alone to your “Jericho,” you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your “Elijah,” you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.
Alone at Your “Bethel” (2 Kings 2:23). At your “Bethel” you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your “Elijah”— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray! Biblical Ethics, 107 R
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Saturday, August 10, 2019
2 Kings 9, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Everything Needed for Joy
Robert had cerebral palsy. The disease kept him from riding a bike, or going for a walk. But it didn't keep him from graduating from high school or attending university. Having cerebral palsy didn't keep him from teaching at a Junior College or from venturing overseas on five missions trips. And Robert's disease didn't prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal.
He moved to Lisbon, alone. He rented a room, found a restaurant owner who fed him after the rush hour and a tutor who instructed him in the language. And daily in the park, he passed out booklets about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord. I heard Robert speak. He could've asked for sympathy or pity. He did just the opposite. A Bible in his lap, he held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, "I have everything I need for joy." So do we.
From The Applause of Heaven
2 Kings 9
One day Elisha the prophet ordered a member of the guild of prophets, “Get yourself ready, take a flask of oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi. When you find him, get him away from his companions and take him to a back room. Take your flask of oil and pour it over his head and say, ‘God’s word: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and get out of there as fast as you can. Don’t wait around.”
4-5 The young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. On arrival he found the army officers all sitting around. He said, “I have a matter of business with you, officer.”
Jehu said, “Which one of us?”
“With you, officer.”
6-10 He got up and went inside the building. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “God’s word, the God of Israel: I’ve anointed you to be king over the people of God, over Israel. Your assignment is to attack the regime of Ahab your master. I am avenging the massacre of my servants the prophets—yes, the Jezebel-massacre of all the prophets of God. The entire line of Ahab is doomed. I’m wiping out the entire bunch of that sad lot. I’ll see to it that the family of Ahab experiences the same fate as the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, the dogs will eat her carcass in the open fields of Jezreel. No burial for her!” Then he opened the door and made a run for it.
11 Jehu went back out to his master’s officers. They asked, “Is everything all right? What did that crazy fool want with you?”
He said, “You know that kind of man—all talk.”
12 “That’s a lie!” they said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
He said, “He told me this and this and this—in effect, ‘God’s word: I anoint you king of Israel!’”
13 They sprang into action. Each man grabbed his robe; they piled them at the top of the steps for a makeshift throne. Then they blew the trumpet and declared, “Jehu is king!”
14-15 That ignited the conspiracy of Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi against Joram.
Meanwhile, Joram and the entire army were defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram. Except that Joram had pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he got from the Arameans in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.
Jehu said, “If you really want me as king, don’t let anyone sneak out of the city and blab the news in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu mounted a chariot and rode to Jezreel, where Joram was in bed, resting. King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.
17 A sentry standing duty on the watchtower in Jezreel saw the company of Jehu arrive. He said, “I see a band of men.”
Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him out to meet them and inquire, ‘Is anything wrong?’”
18 The horseman rode out to meet Jehu and said, “The king wants to know if there’s anything wrong.”
Jehu said, “What’s it to you whether things are right or wrong? Fall in behind me.”
The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning.”
19 The king then sent a second horseman. When he reached them he said, “The king wants to know if there’s anything wrong.”
Jehu said, “What’s it to you whether things are right or wrong? Fall in behind me.”
20 The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning. The driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi—crazy!”
21 Joram ordered, “Get my chariot ready!” They hitched up his chariot. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah, each in his own chariot, drove out to meet Jehu. They met in the field of Naboth of Jezreel.
22 When Joram saw Jehu he called out, “Good day, Jehu!”
Jehu answered, “What’s good about it? How can there be anything good about it as long as the promiscuous whoring and sorceries of your mother Jezebel pollute the country?”
23 Joram wheeled his chariot around and fled, yelling to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!”
24 Jehu pulled on his bow and released an arrow; it hit Joram between the shoulder blades and went right through his heart. He slumped to his knees in his chariot.
25-26 Jehu ordered Bidkar, his lieutenant, “Quick—throw him into the field of Naboth of Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind Ahab his father? That’s when God pronounced this doom upon him: ‘As surely as I saw the blood of murdered Naboth and his sons yesterday, you’ll pay for it on this exact piece of ground. God’s word!’ So take him and throw him out in the field. God’s instructions carried out to the letter!”
27 Ahaziah king of Judah saw what was going on and made his escape on the road toward Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, yelling out, “Get him, too!” Jehu’s troops shot and wounded him in his chariot on the hill up to Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to make it as far as Megiddo; there he died.
28 His aides drove on to Jerusalem. They buried him in the family plot in the City of David.
29 In the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.
30-31 When Jezebel heard that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she made herself up—put on eyeshadow and arranged her hair—and posed seductively at the window. When Jehu came through the city gate, she called down, “So, how are things, ‘Zimri,’ you dashing king-killer?”
32 Jehu looked up at the window and called, “Is there anybody up there on my side?” Two or three palace eunuchs looked out.
33 He ordered, “Throw her down!” They threw her out the window. Her blood spattered the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her under his horse’s hooves.
34 Then Jehu went inside and ate his lunch. During lunch he gave orders, “Take care of that damned woman; give her a decent burial—she is, after all, a king’s daughter.”
35-36 They went out to bury her, but there was nothing left of her but skull, feet, and hands. They came back and told Jehu. He said, “It’s God’s word, the word spoken by Elijah the Tishbite:
In the field of Jezreel,
dogs will eat Jezebel;
37 The body of Jezebel will be like
dog-droppings on the ground in Jezreel.
Old friends and lovers will say,
‘I wonder, is this Jezebel?’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 15:12–21
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant[a] of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
Footnotes:
Acts 15:17 Or rest
Insight
A little detail mentioned in Acts 15:12—“the whole assembly became silent”—is significant. A “sharp dispute and debate” had arisen (v. 2), with Paul and Barnabas on one side and certain believers on the other. These believers insisted that non-Jewish Christians had to adhere to Jewish law and be circumcised. The text tells us, “After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them” (v. 7). We can imagine how heated that discussion must have been, but Peter outlined a rational defense of the gentiles’ faith (v. 7). He noted how they too had the Holy Spirit, just as the Jewish believers did (v. 8). Peter added, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we [Jewish believers] are saved, just as they [gentile believers] are” (v. 11). Peter’s calm response to the dispute, along with the testimony of Paul and Barnabas, preserved and enhanced unity in the church.
The Power of Encouragement
The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done. Acts 15:12
When he was a young boy, Benjamin West attempted to draw a picture of his sister, but he succeeded only in making a mess. His mother saw his creation, kissed him on the head, and remarked, “Why, it’s Sally!” He would later say that it was that kiss that made him an artist—and the great American painter he would become. Encouragement is a powerful thing!
Like a child learning to paint, Paul didn’t have much credibility early on in his ministry, but Barnabas affirmed his calling. It was through Barnabas’s encouragement that the church accepted Saul as a fellow believer (Acts 9:27). Barnabas would also encourage the fledgling church of Antioch, helping it to become one of the most influential in the book of Acts (11:22–23). And it was through Barnabas’s encouragement, as well as Paul’s, that the Jerusalem church embraced the gentile believers as Christians (15:19). So, in many ways, the story of the early church is really a story of encouragement.
The same should apply to our own lives. We might think encouragement is merely saying something nice to someone. But if we think that way, we fail to recognize the lasting power it possesses. It’s one of the means by which God shapes our individual lives as well as the life of the church.
Let’s thank God for the moments we receive encouragement and strive to pass it along to others. By Peter Chin
Reflect & Pray
How has encouragement shaped your life story in some way? Who encouraged you, and how did they do it? How will you encourage someone in your life this week?
Father, help me encourage others as You have encouraged me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, August 10, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L
Robert had cerebral palsy. The disease kept him from riding a bike, or going for a walk. But it didn't keep him from graduating from high school or attending university. Having cerebral palsy didn't keep him from teaching at a Junior College or from venturing overseas on five missions trips. And Robert's disease didn't prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal.
He moved to Lisbon, alone. He rented a room, found a restaurant owner who fed him after the rush hour and a tutor who instructed him in the language. And daily in the park, he passed out booklets about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord. I heard Robert speak. He could've asked for sympathy or pity. He did just the opposite. A Bible in his lap, he held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, "I have everything I need for joy." So do we.
From The Applause of Heaven
2 Kings 9
One day Elisha the prophet ordered a member of the guild of prophets, “Get yourself ready, take a flask of oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi. When you find him, get him away from his companions and take him to a back room. Take your flask of oil and pour it over his head and say, ‘God’s word: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and get out of there as fast as you can. Don’t wait around.”
4-5 The young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. On arrival he found the army officers all sitting around. He said, “I have a matter of business with you, officer.”
Jehu said, “Which one of us?”
“With you, officer.”
6-10 He got up and went inside the building. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “God’s word, the God of Israel: I’ve anointed you to be king over the people of God, over Israel. Your assignment is to attack the regime of Ahab your master. I am avenging the massacre of my servants the prophets—yes, the Jezebel-massacre of all the prophets of God. The entire line of Ahab is doomed. I’m wiping out the entire bunch of that sad lot. I’ll see to it that the family of Ahab experiences the same fate as the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, the dogs will eat her carcass in the open fields of Jezreel. No burial for her!” Then he opened the door and made a run for it.
11 Jehu went back out to his master’s officers. They asked, “Is everything all right? What did that crazy fool want with you?”
He said, “You know that kind of man—all talk.”
12 “That’s a lie!” they said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
He said, “He told me this and this and this—in effect, ‘God’s word: I anoint you king of Israel!’”
13 They sprang into action. Each man grabbed his robe; they piled them at the top of the steps for a makeshift throne. Then they blew the trumpet and declared, “Jehu is king!”
14-15 That ignited the conspiracy of Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi against Joram.
Meanwhile, Joram and the entire army were defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram. Except that Joram had pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he got from the Arameans in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.
Jehu said, “If you really want me as king, don’t let anyone sneak out of the city and blab the news in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu mounted a chariot and rode to Jezreel, where Joram was in bed, resting. King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.
17 A sentry standing duty on the watchtower in Jezreel saw the company of Jehu arrive. He said, “I see a band of men.”
Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him out to meet them and inquire, ‘Is anything wrong?’”
18 The horseman rode out to meet Jehu and said, “The king wants to know if there’s anything wrong.”
Jehu said, “What’s it to you whether things are right or wrong? Fall in behind me.”
The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning.”
19 The king then sent a second horseman. When he reached them he said, “The king wants to know if there’s anything wrong.”
Jehu said, “What’s it to you whether things are right or wrong? Fall in behind me.”
20 The sentry said, “The messenger reached them, but he’s not returning. The driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi—crazy!”
21 Joram ordered, “Get my chariot ready!” They hitched up his chariot. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah, each in his own chariot, drove out to meet Jehu. They met in the field of Naboth of Jezreel.
22 When Joram saw Jehu he called out, “Good day, Jehu!”
Jehu answered, “What’s good about it? How can there be anything good about it as long as the promiscuous whoring and sorceries of your mother Jezebel pollute the country?”
23 Joram wheeled his chariot around and fled, yelling to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!”
24 Jehu pulled on his bow and released an arrow; it hit Joram between the shoulder blades and went right through his heart. He slumped to his knees in his chariot.
25-26 Jehu ordered Bidkar, his lieutenant, “Quick—throw him into the field of Naboth of Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind Ahab his father? That’s when God pronounced this doom upon him: ‘As surely as I saw the blood of murdered Naboth and his sons yesterday, you’ll pay for it on this exact piece of ground. God’s word!’ So take him and throw him out in the field. God’s instructions carried out to the letter!”
27 Ahaziah king of Judah saw what was going on and made his escape on the road toward Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, yelling out, “Get him, too!” Jehu’s troops shot and wounded him in his chariot on the hill up to Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to make it as far as Megiddo; there he died.
28 His aides drove on to Jerusalem. They buried him in the family plot in the City of David.
29 In the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.
30-31 When Jezebel heard that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she made herself up—put on eyeshadow and arranged her hair—and posed seductively at the window. When Jehu came through the city gate, she called down, “So, how are things, ‘Zimri,’ you dashing king-killer?”
32 Jehu looked up at the window and called, “Is there anybody up there on my side?” Two or three palace eunuchs looked out.
33 He ordered, “Throw her down!” They threw her out the window. Her blood spattered the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her under his horse’s hooves.
34 Then Jehu went inside and ate his lunch. During lunch he gave orders, “Take care of that damned woman; give her a decent burial—she is, after all, a king’s daughter.”
35-36 They went out to bury her, but there was nothing left of her but skull, feet, and hands. They came back and told Jehu. He said, “It’s God’s word, the word spoken by Elijah the Tishbite:
In the field of Jezreel,
dogs will eat Jezebel;
37 The body of Jezebel will be like
dog-droppings on the ground in Jezreel.
Old friends and lovers will say,
‘I wonder, is this Jezebel?’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 15:12–21
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant[a] of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
Footnotes:
Acts 15:17 Or rest
Insight
A little detail mentioned in Acts 15:12—“the whole assembly became silent”—is significant. A “sharp dispute and debate” had arisen (v. 2), with Paul and Barnabas on one side and certain believers on the other. These believers insisted that non-Jewish Christians had to adhere to Jewish law and be circumcised. The text tells us, “After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them” (v. 7). We can imagine how heated that discussion must have been, but Peter outlined a rational defense of the gentiles’ faith (v. 7). He noted how they too had the Holy Spirit, just as the Jewish believers did (v. 8). Peter added, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we [Jewish believers] are saved, just as they [gentile believers] are” (v. 11). Peter’s calm response to the dispute, along with the testimony of Paul and Barnabas, preserved and enhanced unity in the church.
The Power of Encouragement
The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done. Acts 15:12
When he was a young boy, Benjamin West attempted to draw a picture of his sister, but he succeeded only in making a mess. His mother saw his creation, kissed him on the head, and remarked, “Why, it’s Sally!” He would later say that it was that kiss that made him an artist—and the great American painter he would become. Encouragement is a powerful thing!
Like a child learning to paint, Paul didn’t have much credibility early on in his ministry, but Barnabas affirmed his calling. It was through Barnabas’s encouragement that the church accepted Saul as a fellow believer (Acts 9:27). Barnabas would also encourage the fledgling church of Antioch, helping it to become one of the most influential in the book of Acts (11:22–23). And it was through Barnabas’s encouragement, as well as Paul’s, that the Jerusalem church embraced the gentile believers as Christians (15:19). So, in many ways, the story of the early church is really a story of encouragement.
The same should apply to our own lives. We might think encouragement is merely saying something nice to someone. But if we think that way, we fail to recognize the lasting power it possesses. It’s one of the means by which God shapes our individual lives as well as the life of the church.
Let’s thank God for the moments we receive encouragement and strive to pass it along to others. By Peter Chin
Reflect & Pray
How has encouragement shaped your life story in some way? Who encouraged you, and how did they do it? How will you encourage someone in your life this week?
Father, help me encourage others as You have encouraged me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, August 10, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The vital relationship which the Christian has to the Bible is not that he worships the letter, but that the Holy Spirit makes the words of the Bible spirit and life to him. The Psychology of Redemption, 1066 L
Friday, August 9, 2019
2 Kings 8, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE CHILD IS THE FATHER OF THE MAN
“The child is the father of the man,” wrote William Wordsworth. If you want direction for the future, then read your life backward. Job placement experts asked over seventy thousand people this question: “What things have you done in life that you enjoyed doing and believe you did well?” In every case people reverted to the same pattern of functioning. Or to put it succinctly, our past presents our future.
The Bible says, “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives helping others” (Ephesians 2:10). You are heaven’s custom design. What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you– “Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 8
Years before, Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought to life, “Leave here and go, you and your family, and live someplace else. God has ordered a famine in the land; it will last for seven years.” The woman did what the Holy Man told her and left. She and her family lived as aliens in the country of Philistia for seven years. Then, when the seven years were up, the woman and her family came back. She went directly to the king and asked for her home and farm.
4-5 The king was talking with Gehazi, servant to the Holy Man, saying, “Tell me some stories of the great things Elisha did.” It so happened that as he was telling the king the story of the dead person brought back to life, the woman whose son was brought to life showed up asking for her home and farm.
Gehazi said, “My master the king, this is the woman! And this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!”
6 The king wanted to know all about it, and so she told him the story. The king assigned an officer to take care of her, saying, “Make sure she gets everything back that’s hers, plus all profits from the farm from the time she left until now.”
7 Elisha traveled to Damascus. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, was sick at the time. He was told, “The Holy Man is in town.”
8 The king ordered Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the Holy Man. Ask God through him, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
9 Hazael went and met with Elisha. He brought with him every choice thing he could think of from Damascus—forty camel-loads of items! When he arrived he stood before Elisha and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, sent me here to ask you, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
10-11 Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’ The fact is, though—God showed me—that he’s doomed to die.” Elisha then stared hard at Hazael, reading his heart. Hazael felt exposed and dropped his eyes. Then the Holy Man wept.
12 Hazael said, “Why does my master weep?”
“Because,” said Elisha, “I know what you’re going to do to the children of Israel:
burn down their forts,
murder their youth,
smash their babies,
rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “Am I a mongrel dog that I’d do such a horrible thing?”
“God showed me,” said Elisha, “that you’ll be king of Aram.”
14 Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked, “So, what did Elisha tell you?”
“He told me, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’”
15 But the very next day, someone took a heavy quilt, soaked it in water, covered the king’s face, and suffocated him.
Now Hazael was king.
16-19 In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He was thirty-two years old when he began his rule, and was king for eight years in Jerusalem. He copied the way of life of the kings of Israel, marrying into the Ahab family and continuing the Ahab line of sin—from God’s point of view, an evil man living an evil life. But despite that, because of his servant David, God was not ready to destroy Judah. He had, after all, promised to keep a lamp burning through David’s descendants.
20-21 During Jehoram’s reign, Edom revolted against Judah’s rule and set up their own king. Jehoram responded by taking his army of chariots to Zair.
Edom surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke through the lines and hit Edom hard. But his infantry deserted him.
22 Edom continues in revolt against Judah right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time.
23-24 The rest of the life and times of Jehoram, the record of his rule, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Jehoram died and was buried in the family grave in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
25-27 In the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began his reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king; he ruled only a year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He lived and ruled just like the Ahab family had done, continuing the same evil-in-God’s-sight line of sin, related by both marriage and sin to the Ahab clan.
28-29 He joined Joram son of Ahab king of Israel in a war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The archers wounded Joram. Joram pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he had received in the fight with Hazael. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed in Jezreel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Song of Songs 8:6–7
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy[a] is fierce as the grave.[b]
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he[c] would be utterly despised.
Footnotes:
Song of Solomon 8:6 Or ardor
Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew as Sheol
Song of Solomon 8:7 Or it
Insight
Over the centuries, the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) has been a challenge to Bible scholars, resulting in a variety of interpretations of this unique portion of Scripture. Because of the intimacy of this inspired poetry, some Jewish scholars have read it as an allegory describing the relationship between God and Israel. As such, parts of Song of Solomon are read today at Passover—the spring feast celebrating God’s rescuing love for Israel. Some Christian scholars (beginning with early church father Origen) have understood it to be picturing Christ and the church. Today, some scholars see the Song more literally—celebrating the love shared by a husband and wife within the framework of marriage. It’s a mysterious book that celebrates the beauty of love.
Indestructible Love
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. Song of Songs 8:7
When we first saw the stream in our backyard, it was just a thin vein of water trickling through a bed of rocks in the heat of the summer. Heavy wooden planks served as a bridge we could easily cross. Months later, torrents of rain pounded our area for several days in a row. Our tame little creek swelled into a quick-moving river four-feet deep and ten-feet wide! The force of this water heaved the bridgeboards up and deposited them several feet away.
Rushing water has the potential to overwhelm almost anything that stands in its path. Yet there’s something that’s indestructible in the face of a flood or other forces that might threaten to destroy it—love. “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (Song of Songs 8:7). Love’s persistent strength and intensity is often present in romantic relationships, but it’s only fully expressed in the love God has for people through His Son, Jesus Christ.
When the things we consider to be sturdy and dependable are swept away, our disappointment can open the door to a new understanding of God’s love for us. His affection is higher and deeper and stronger and longer lasting than anything on earth. Whatever we face, we face with Him beside us—holding us up, helping us along, and reminding us that we’re loved. By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
How can you be sure God will always love you? What’s the outcome of God’s love in your life?
Heavenly Father, thank You for comforting me with Your love during times of rejection or loss. Help me to believe I can depend on You to meet every need in my soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 09, 2019
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?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 09, 2019
Silent Guys - #8500
Barber shops are interesting places to do a study of the male half of the human race. It's really "Guy's World." That's what made me take special notice of the dad who came into the barber shop with his two young daughters. They were doing fine, and it was really neat to see how the three of them got along. I smiled at that dad and I said, "Your daughters are really well-behaved. It must be interesting to have them here. It's kind of a 'guy's world' isn't it?" "Yeah," he replied. "Not much talking."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Silent Guys."
Now if you ask most women, that's part of the problem in our relationships. This guy thing called "not much talking." Or at least not much talking about what's really going on inside us. Oh, we'll talk about work and sports and cars and "stuff." But too many men just don't talk much about what they're feeling; about what they need, about what's hurting, what they're hoping for, what's wrong.
It was never meant to be this way. Just go back to the creation of guys. Adam was king of his domain there in the Garden of Eden, managing things for His Creator. But even with all of that, according to Genesis 2:18, our word for today from the Word of God, "the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" So, God created woman because a man's work and achievements could never be enough to complete him; he needed relationship. He needed someone outside of himself to share his life with.
Man was never meant to be an island, keeping everything to himself. We were never meant to be some Lone Ranger, wearing a mask to cover up our identity. God made us to need a shared life. But sadly, a lot of us men have somewhere bought the lie that manhood means keeping your deepest feelings to yourself. Some of us got it from a father who seldom let anyone into what was behind his macho mask. And if you had a dad like that, you know how frustrating it was; you never really knew where you stood with him; you wished that he would express his love to you, his approval, his joy, and even his hurts. You never knew him. Then we grow up and we repeat that cycle and then we do it to those we love.
The people who love you and the people you love desperately need for you to express your tenderness, your hurts, your expectations, and your needs. Even if you never saw that or got it yourself, if you could just risk letting them know that you don't have it all together; that sometimes you're weak, sometimes you struggle, sometimes you're wrong, you're unsure, it would open up a depth of closeness and healing you never thought you could experience. They'll trust you more not less. And if you're a woman in the life of a man who struggles to express his feelings, be very careful when he does. Some men don't say it because of the harsh things that happen when they do.
Men who don't talk much, who don't express what's inside, end up leaving a painful trail of tears around them, frustrated sons, wives who don't know where they stand, daughters who are love-starved, and terribly vulnerable to the sexual mistakes of a girl who's unsure of her father's love.
One thing I love about Jesus - He sets men free to feel, to forgive, to love, because they've experienced His love and His forgiveness as men who have accepted for themselves His sacrifice on the cross for every sin of their life. Which, if you've never done that, it's a step I pray you'll take this very day. In fact, that can begin when you say to Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. I've been running this thing long enough. It's time You run it. You were supposed to run it all along. You died for all the things I've done wrong because I have been running it. So this day, Jesus, I belong to You."
If you're ready for Jesus to drive, finally, let me invite you to go to our website. It's called ANewStory.com, because a new story could start for you there.
It doesn't have to be so lonely. It doesn't have to be so full of hurt that builds up inside like a volcano. The man who risks letting people inside is a man who is finally free. And a man who is giving the people he loves one of the greatest gifts he can give them - Himself.
“The child is the father of the man,” wrote William Wordsworth. If you want direction for the future, then read your life backward. Job placement experts asked over seventy thousand people this question: “What things have you done in life that you enjoyed doing and believe you did well?” In every case people reverted to the same pattern of functioning. Or to put it succinctly, our past presents our future.
The Bible says, “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives helping others” (Ephesians 2:10). You are heaven’s custom design. What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you– “Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 8
Years before, Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought to life, “Leave here and go, you and your family, and live someplace else. God has ordered a famine in the land; it will last for seven years.” The woman did what the Holy Man told her and left. She and her family lived as aliens in the country of Philistia for seven years. Then, when the seven years were up, the woman and her family came back. She went directly to the king and asked for her home and farm.
4-5 The king was talking with Gehazi, servant to the Holy Man, saying, “Tell me some stories of the great things Elisha did.” It so happened that as he was telling the king the story of the dead person brought back to life, the woman whose son was brought to life showed up asking for her home and farm.
Gehazi said, “My master the king, this is the woman! And this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!”
6 The king wanted to know all about it, and so she told him the story. The king assigned an officer to take care of her, saying, “Make sure she gets everything back that’s hers, plus all profits from the farm from the time she left until now.”
7 Elisha traveled to Damascus. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, was sick at the time. He was told, “The Holy Man is in town.”
8 The king ordered Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the Holy Man. Ask God through him, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
9 Hazael went and met with Elisha. He brought with him every choice thing he could think of from Damascus—forty camel-loads of items! When he arrived he stood before Elisha and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, sent me here to ask you, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
10-11 Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’ The fact is, though—God showed me—that he’s doomed to die.” Elisha then stared hard at Hazael, reading his heart. Hazael felt exposed and dropped his eyes. Then the Holy Man wept.
12 Hazael said, “Why does my master weep?”
“Because,” said Elisha, “I know what you’re going to do to the children of Israel:
burn down their forts,
murder their youth,
smash their babies,
rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “Am I a mongrel dog that I’d do such a horrible thing?”
“God showed me,” said Elisha, “that you’ll be king of Aram.”
14 Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked, “So, what did Elisha tell you?”
“He told me, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’”
15 But the very next day, someone took a heavy quilt, soaked it in water, covered the king’s face, and suffocated him.
Now Hazael was king.
16-19 In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He was thirty-two years old when he began his rule, and was king for eight years in Jerusalem. He copied the way of life of the kings of Israel, marrying into the Ahab family and continuing the Ahab line of sin—from God’s point of view, an evil man living an evil life. But despite that, because of his servant David, God was not ready to destroy Judah. He had, after all, promised to keep a lamp burning through David’s descendants.
20-21 During Jehoram’s reign, Edom revolted against Judah’s rule and set up their own king. Jehoram responded by taking his army of chariots to Zair.
Edom surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke through the lines and hit Edom hard. But his infantry deserted him.
22 Edom continues in revolt against Judah right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time.
23-24 The rest of the life and times of Jehoram, the record of his rule, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Jehoram died and was buried in the family grave in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
25-27 In the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began his reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king; he ruled only a year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He lived and ruled just like the Ahab family had done, continuing the same evil-in-God’s-sight line of sin, related by both marriage and sin to the Ahab clan.
28-29 He joined Joram son of Ahab king of Israel in a war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The archers wounded Joram. Joram pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he had received in the fight with Hazael. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed in Jezreel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Song of Songs 8:6–7
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy[a] is fierce as the grave.[b]
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he[c] would be utterly despised.
Footnotes:
Song of Solomon 8:6 Or ardor
Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew as Sheol
Song of Solomon 8:7 Or it
Insight
Over the centuries, the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) has been a challenge to Bible scholars, resulting in a variety of interpretations of this unique portion of Scripture. Because of the intimacy of this inspired poetry, some Jewish scholars have read it as an allegory describing the relationship between God and Israel. As such, parts of Song of Solomon are read today at Passover—the spring feast celebrating God’s rescuing love for Israel. Some Christian scholars (beginning with early church father Origen) have understood it to be picturing Christ and the church. Today, some scholars see the Song more literally—celebrating the love shared by a husband and wife within the framework of marriage. It’s a mysterious book that celebrates the beauty of love.
Indestructible Love
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. Song of Songs 8:7
When we first saw the stream in our backyard, it was just a thin vein of water trickling through a bed of rocks in the heat of the summer. Heavy wooden planks served as a bridge we could easily cross. Months later, torrents of rain pounded our area for several days in a row. Our tame little creek swelled into a quick-moving river four-feet deep and ten-feet wide! The force of this water heaved the bridgeboards up and deposited them several feet away.
Rushing water has the potential to overwhelm almost anything that stands in its path. Yet there’s something that’s indestructible in the face of a flood or other forces that might threaten to destroy it—love. “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (Song of Songs 8:7). Love’s persistent strength and intensity is often present in romantic relationships, but it’s only fully expressed in the love God has for people through His Son, Jesus Christ.
When the things we consider to be sturdy and dependable are swept away, our disappointment can open the door to a new understanding of God’s love for us. His affection is higher and deeper and stronger and longer lasting than anything on earth. Whatever we face, we face with Him beside us—holding us up, helping us along, and reminding us that we’re loved. By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Reflect & Pray
How can you be sure God will always love you? What’s the outcome of God’s love in your life?
Heavenly Father, thank You for comforting me with Your love during times of rejection or loss. Help me to believe I can depend on You to meet every need in my soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 09, 2019
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?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 09, 2019
Silent Guys - #8500
Barber shops are interesting places to do a study of the male half of the human race. It's really "Guy's World." That's what made me take special notice of the dad who came into the barber shop with his two young daughters. They were doing fine, and it was really neat to see how the three of them got along. I smiled at that dad and I said, "Your daughters are really well-behaved. It must be interesting to have them here. It's kind of a 'guy's world' isn't it?" "Yeah," he replied. "Not much talking."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Silent Guys."
Now if you ask most women, that's part of the problem in our relationships. This guy thing called "not much talking." Or at least not much talking about what's really going on inside us. Oh, we'll talk about work and sports and cars and "stuff." But too many men just don't talk much about what they're feeling; about what they need, about what's hurting, what they're hoping for, what's wrong.
It was never meant to be this way. Just go back to the creation of guys. Adam was king of his domain there in the Garden of Eden, managing things for His Creator. But even with all of that, according to Genesis 2:18, our word for today from the Word of God, "the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" So, God created woman because a man's work and achievements could never be enough to complete him; he needed relationship. He needed someone outside of himself to share his life with.
Man was never meant to be an island, keeping everything to himself. We were never meant to be some Lone Ranger, wearing a mask to cover up our identity. God made us to need a shared life. But sadly, a lot of us men have somewhere bought the lie that manhood means keeping your deepest feelings to yourself. Some of us got it from a father who seldom let anyone into what was behind his macho mask. And if you had a dad like that, you know how frustrating it was; you never really knew where you stood with him; you wished that he would express his love to you, his approval, his joy, and even his hurts. You never knew him. Then we grow up and we repeat that cycle and then we do it to those we love.
The people who love you and the people you love desperately need for you to express your tenderness, your hurts, your expectations, and your needs. Even if you never saw that or got it yourself, if you could just risk letting them know that you don't have it all together; that sometimes you're weak, sometimes you struggle, sometimes you're wrong, you're unsure, it would open up a depth of closeness and healing you never thought you could experience. They'll trust you more not less. And if you're a woman in the life of a man who struggles to express his feelings, be very careful when he does. Some men don't say it because of the harsh things that happen when they do.
Men who don't talk much, who don't express what's inside, end up leaving a painful trail of tears around them, frustrated sons, wives who don't know where they stand, daughters who are love-starved, and terribly vulnerable to the sexual mistakes of a girl who's unsure of her father's love.
One thing I love about Jesus - He sets men free to feel, to forgive, to love, because they've experienced His love and His forgiveness as men who have accepted for themselves His sacrifice on the cross for every sin of their life. Which, if you've never done that, it's a step I pray you'll take this very day. In fact, that can begin when you say to Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. I've been running this thing long enough. It's time You run it. You were supposed to run it all along. You died for all the things I've done wrong because I have been running it. So this day, Jesus, I belong to You."
If you're ready for Jesus to drive, finally, let me invite you to go to our website. It's called ANewStory.com, because a new story could start for you there.
It doesn't have to be so lonely. It doesn't have to be so full of hurt that builds up inside like a volcano. The man who risks letting people inside is a man who is finally free. And a man who is giving the people he loves one of the greatest gifts he can give them - Himself.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
2 Kings 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SCULPTED FROM NOTHING INTO SOMETHING UNIQUE
You are more than statistical chance— more than a marriage of heredity and society. Thanks to God, you have been “sculpted from nothing into something” (Psalm 139:15). He made you you-nique. Secular thinking, as a whole, doesn’t buy this. Society simply says, “You can be anything you want to be.”
But can you? God never prefabs or mass-produces people. “I make all things new,” he declares (Revelation 21:5). So, you can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that” (Galatians 6:4 MSG). When you do the most what you do the best, you put a smile on God’s face. What could be better than that?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 7
Elisha said, “Listen! God’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing.”
2 The attendant on whom the king leaned for support said to the Holy Man, “You expect us to believe that? Trapdoors opening in the sky and food tumbling out?”
“You’ll watch it with your own eyes,” he said, “but you will not eat so much as a mouthful!”
3-4 It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, “What are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.”
5-8 So after the sun went down they got up and went to the camp of Aram. When they got to the edge of the camp, surprise! Not a man in the camp! The Master had made the army of Aram hear the sound of horses and a mighty army on the march. They told one another, “The king of Israel hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!” Panicked, they ran for their lives through the darkness, abandoning tents, horses, donkeys—the whole camp just as it was—running for dear life. These four lepers entered the camp and went into a tent. First they ate and drank. Then they grabbed silver, gold, and clothing, and went off and hid it. They came back, entered another tent, and looted it, again hiding their plunder.
9 Finally they said to one another, “We shouldn’t be doing this! This is a day of good news and we’re making it into a private party! If we wait around until morning we’ll get caught and punished. Come on! Let’s go tell the news to the king’s palace!”
10 So they went and called out at the city gate, telling what had happened: “We went to the camp of Aram and, surprise!—the place was deserted. Not a soul, not a sound! Horses and donkeys left tethered and tents abandoned just as they were.”
11-12 The gatekeepers got the word to the royal palace, giving them the whole story. Roused in the middle of the night, the king told his servants, “Let me tell you what Aram has done. They knew that we were starving, so they left camp and have hid in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we’ll capture them alive and take the city.’”
13 One of his advisors answered, “Let some men go and take five of the horses left behind. The worst that can happen is no worse than what could happen to the whole city. Let’s send them and find out what’s happened.”
14 They took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the army of Aram with the orders, “Scout them out; find out what happened.”
15 They went after them all the way to the Jordan. The whole way was strewn with clothes and equipment that Aram had dumped in their panicked flight. The scouts came back and reported to the king.
16 The people then looted the camp of Aram. Food prices dropped overnight—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel—God’s word to the letter!
17 The king ordered his attendant, the one he leaned on for support, to be in charge of the city gate. The people, turned into a mob, poured through the gate, trampling him to death. It was exactly what the Holy Man had said when the king had come to see him.
18-20 Every word of the Holy Man to the king—“A handful of meal for a shekel, two handfuls of grain for a shekel this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” with the attendant’s sarcastic reply to the Holy Man, “You expect us to believe that? Trapdoors opening in the sky and food tumbling out?” followed by the response, “You’ll watch it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat so much as a mouthful”—proved true. The final stroke came when the people trampled the man to death at the city gate.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Timothy 1:5–14
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,[b] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.[c] 13 Follow the pattern of the sound[d] words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Footnotes:
2 Timothy 1:9 Or with
2 Timothy 1:9 Greek before times eternal
2 Timothy 1:12 Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit
2 Timothy 1:13 Or healthy
Insight
Paul’s second New Testament letter to Timothy represents some of the apostle’s last recorded words. Imprisoned in Rome for preaching the gospel and declaring Jesus as Lord rather than Caesar, Paul believed his execution was near (2 Timothy 1:8, 11–12; 2:8–9; 4:6). Sensing his days were numbered, his words reflect his confidence in God, his care for the body of Christ, and his affections for a spiritual son—Timothy—who Paul described as a most trusted co-worker (Philippians 2:19–22).
A Legacy of Faith
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5
Long before the decisive moment when Billy Graham came to faith in Christ at age sixteen, his parents’ devotion to Jesus was evident. They’d both come to faith while growing up within a family of believers. After their marriage, Billy’s parents continued that legacy by lovingly nurturing their children, including praying and reading Scripture and attending church faithfully with them. The solid foundation Graham’s parents laid for Billy was part of the soil God used to bring him to faith and, eventually, to his calling as a bold evangelist.
The apostle Paul’s young protégé Timothy also benefited from a strong spiritual foundation. Paul wrote, “Your sincere faith . . . first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5). This legacy helped prepare and steer Timothy’s heart toward faith in Christ.
Now Paul urged Timothy to carry on this faith tradition (v. 5), to “fan into flame the gift of God” within him through the Holy Spirit, who “gives us power” (vv. 6–7). Because of the power of the Spirit, Timothy could fearlessly live for the gospel (v. 8). A strong spiritual legacy doesn’t guarantee we’ll come to faith, but the example and mentoring of others can help prepare the way. And after we receive Jesus as Savior, the Spirit will guide us in service, in living for Him, and even in nurturing the faith of others. By Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Who or what did God use to help to lay the foundation for your faith? How can you help to do this in someone’s life today?
God, thank You for the believers who helped shape my faith. Help me to rely on Christ’s Spirit for the strength to boldly witness for You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 08, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 08, 2019
Permanently Sealed - #8499
Of course I'm too young to be having senior moments. Although I think I might have been having them since I was about 25. One of those is when you seal an envelope and you suddenly realize you left something out; maybe the check or the letter that was supposed to go in it. And you've already gone to the trouble of addressing it, putting your return address on it, maybe even stamping the envelope. This is why more and more people are just doing it on the Internet of course. But it's too bad if you did that with the envelope. You're going to have to open it up, you know, even though you sealed it. Good luck. You probably won't be able to use that envelope. Once it's sealed, it's meant to stay that way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Permanently Sealed."
When something is designed to stay sealed, you're going to do damage when you try to break that seal, especially if that seal is supposed to be for the rest of your life.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Malachi 2:13, God responds to some of His children who have been wondering where God has gone in their lives. God says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings...You ask, 'Why?'" Okay, now wait! These are spiritually frustrated people. They're at the altar, they're desperately trying to get through to God, but nothing is happening. The reason for this spiritual breakdown is somewhat surprising.
God says, "It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one?...And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring...'I hate divorce,' says the Lord God of Israel."
Those are strong words, but they leave no question how deeply God feels about the permanence of the bond of marriage. It is designed by Him to be a permanent seal. And when you try to break that seal, everyone gets a part of them torn up. And God says here that these people will not be able to get their relationship with Him back on track until they have dealt with the problems in their marriage. Then those three sledge hammer words, "I hate divorce." Let's make clear, God doesn't say he hates divorced people, but He really hates divorce.
And if our God hates divorce, we don't dare take it lightly. In fact, we need to hate what God hates; in this case, divorce. That means fighting for, sacrificing for, and desperately praying for a marriage that we may want to give up on. To make sure we have done everything that could possibly be done to save that what was meant to be permanently sealed. We need to take every possible measure, including counseling and concerted prayer to hold that marriage together. And we can't be encouraging what God is so against. The moment we even allow for the possibility of divorce, we greatly increase the likelihood that it will happen.
In God's eyes, a marriage was never meant to end. He heard our vows and He expects us to keep them. He was the unseen witness at our wedding. When we go against the Master Plan, some of us can see how divorce twists and damages so many things. Like the children, for example. It distorts the lives of everyone touched by that broken marriage. Nothing is ever really working the right way again. It eats away at the worth of both partners. It creates a lifetime of awkward and unnatural situations. And apparently, it breaks the heart of God.
I'm so thankful for Ezekiel 36:26 where God says, "I will put a new heart within you. And I will take the old heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh." Let's be praying for God to do heart surgery where it looks like the end of a marriage is inevitable. He still does marriage miracles.
Marriage is designed to seal two people together permanently. When you break that seal, it just does so much damage.
You are more than statistical chance— more than a marriage of heredity and society. Thanks to God, you have been “sculpted from nothing into something” (Psalm 139:15). He made you you-nique. Secular thinking, as a whole, doesn’t buy this. Society simply says, “You can be anything you want to be.”
But can you? God never prefabs or mass-produces people. “I make all things new,” he declares (Revelation 21:5). So, you can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that” (Galatians 6:4 MSG). When you do the most what you do the best, you put a smile on God’s face. What could be better than that?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 7
Elisha said, “Listen! God’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing.”
2 The attendant on whom the king leaned for support said to the Holy Man, “You expect us to believe that? Trapdoors opening in the sky and food tumbling out?”
“You’ll watch it with your own eyes,” he said, “but you will not eat so much as a mouthful!”
3-4 It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, “What are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.”
5-8 So after the sun went down they got up and went to the camp of Aram. When they got to the edge of the camp, surprise! Not a man in the camp! The Master had made the army of Aram hear the sound of horses and a mighty army on the march. They told one another, “The king of Israel hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!” Panicked, they ran for their lives through the darkness, abandoning tents, horses, donkeys—the whole camp just as it was—running for dear life. These four lepers entered the camp and went into a tent. First they ate and drank. Then they grabbed silver, gold, and clothing, and went off and hid it. They came back, entered another tent, and looted it, again hiding their plunder.
9 Finally they said to one another, “We shouldn’t be doing this! This is a day of good news and we’re making it into a private party! If we wait around until morning we’ll get caught and punished. Come on! Let’s go tell the news to the king’s palace!”
10 So they went and called out at the city gate, telling what had happened: “We went to the camp of Aram and, surprise!—the place was deserted. Not a soul, not a sound! Horses and donkeys left tethered and tents abandoned just as they were.”
11-12 The gatekeepers got the word to the royal palace, giving them the whole story. Roused in the middle of the night, the king told his servants, “Let me tell you what Aram has done. They knew that we were starving, so they left camp and have hid in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we’ll capture them alive and take the city.’”
13 One of his advisors answered, “Let some men go and take five of the horses left behind. The worst that can happen is no worse than what could happen to the whole city. Let’s send them and find out what’s happened.”
14 They took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the army of Aram with the orders, “Scout them out; find out what happened.”
15 They went after them all the way to the Jordan. The whole way was strewn with clothes and equipment that Aram had dumped in their panicked flight. The scouts came back and reported to the king.
16 The people then looted the camp of Aram. Food prices dropped overnight—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel—God’s word to the letter!
17 The king ordered his attendant, the one he leaned on for support, to be in charge of the city gate. The people, turned into a mob, poured through the gate, trampling him to death. It was exactly what the Holy Man had said when the king had come to see him.
18-20 Every word of the Holy Man to the king—“A handful of meal for a shekel, two handfuls of grain for a shekel this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” with the attendant’s sarcastic reply to the Holy Man, “You expect us to believe that? Trapdoors opening in the sky and food tumbling out?” followed by the response, “You’ll watch it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat so much as a mouthful”—proved true. The final stroke came when the people trampled the man to death at the city gate.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Timothy 1:5–14
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,[b] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.[c] 13 Follow the pattern of the sound[d] words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Footnotes:
2 Timothy 1:9 Or with
2 Timothy 1:9 Greek before times eternal
2 Timothy 1:12 Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit
2 Timothy 1:13 Or healthy
Insight
Paul’s second New Testament letter to Timothy represents some of the apostle’s last recorded words. Imprisoned in Rome for preaching the gospel and declaring Jesus as Lord rather than Caesar, Paul believed his execution was near (2 Timothy 1:8, 11–12; 2:8–9; 4:6). Sensing his days were numbered, his words reflect his confidence in God, his care for the body of Christ, and his affections for a spiritual son—Timothy—who Paul described as a most trusted co-worker (Philippians 2:19–22).
A Legacy of Faith
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5
Long before the decisive moment when Billy Graham came to faith in Christ at age sixteen, his parents’ devotion to Jesus was evident. They’d both come to faith while growing up within a family of believers. After their marriage, Billy’s parents continued that legacy by lovingly nurturing their children, including praying and reading Scripture and attending church faithfully with them. The solid foundation Graham’s parents laid for Billy was part of the soil God used to bring him to faith and, eventually, to his calling as a bold evangelist.
The apostle Paul’s young protégé Timothy also benefited from a strong spiritual foundation. Paul wrote, “Your sincere faith . . . first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5). This legacy helped prepare and steer Timothy’s heart toward faith in Christ.
Now Paul urged Timothy to carry on this faith tradition (v. 5), to “fan into flame the gift of God” within him through the Holy Spirit, who “gives us power” (vv. 6–7). Because of the power of the Spirit, Timothy could fearlessly live for the gospel (v. 8). A strong spiritual legacy doesn’t guarantee we’ll come to faith, but the example and mentoring of others can help prepare the way. And after we receive Jesus as Savior, the Spirit will guide us in service, in living for Him, and even in nurturing the faith of others. By Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Who or what did God use to help to lay the foundation for your faith? How can you help to do this in someone’s life today?
God, thank You for the believers who helped shape my faith. Help me to rely on Christ’s Spirit for the strength to boldly witness for You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 08, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 08, 2019
Permanently Sealed - #8499
Of course I'm too young to be having senior moments. Although I think I might have been having them since I was about 25. One of those is when you seal an envelope and you suddenly realize you left something out; maybe the check or the letter that was supposed to go in it. And you've already gone to the trouble of addressing it, putting your return address on it, maybe even stamping the envelope. This is why more and more people are just doing it on the Internet of course. But it's too bad if you did that with the envelope. You're going to have to open it up, you know, even though you sealed it. Good luck. You probably won't be able to use that envelope. Once it's sealed, it's meant to stay that way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Permanently Sealed."
When something is designed to stay sealed, you're going to do damage when you try to break that seal, especially if that seal is supposed to be for the rest of your life.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Malachi 2:13, God responds to some of His children who have been wondering where God has gone in their lives. God says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings...You ask, 'Why?'" Okay, now wait! These are spiritually frustrated people. They're at the altar, they're desperately trying to get through to God, but nothing is happening. The reason for this spiritual breakdown is somewhat surprising.
God says, "It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one?...And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring...'I hate divorce,' says the Lord God of Israel."
Those are strong words, but they leave no question how deeply God feels about the permanence of the bond of marriage. It is designed by Him to be a permanent seal. And when you try to break that seal, everyone gets a part of them torn up. And God says here that these people will not be able to get their relationship with Him back on track until they have dealt with the problems in their marriage. Then those three sledge hammer words, "I hate divorce." Let's make clear, God doesn't say he hates divorced people, but He really hates divorce.
And if our God hates divorce, we don't dare take it lightly. In fact, we need to hate what God hates; in this case, divorce. That means fighting for, sacrificing for, and desperately praying for a marriage that we may want to give up on. To make sure we have done everything that could possibly be done to save that what was meant to be permanently sealed. We need to take every possible measure, including counseling and concerted prayer to hold that marriage together. And we can't be encouraging what God is so against. The moment we even allow for the possibility of divorce, we greatly increase the likelihood that it will happen.
In God's eyes, a marriage was never meant to end. He heard our vows and He expects us to keep them. He was the unseen witness at our wedding. When we go against the Master Plan, some of us can see how divorce twists and damages so many things. Like the children, for example. It distorts the lives of everyone touched by that broken marriage. Nothing is ever really working the right way again. It eats away at the worth of both partners. It creates a lifetime of awkward and unnatural situations. And apparently, it breaks the heart of God.
I'm so thankful for Ezekiel 36:26 where God says, "I will put a new heart within you. And I will take the old heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh." Let's be praying for God to do heart surgery where it looks like the end of a marriage is inevitable. He still does marriage miracles.
Marriage is designed to seal two people together permanently. When you break that seal, it just does so much damage.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
James 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE BIG IDEA FOR YOUR UNIQUENESS!
Scripture says “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
I just heard a groan. “But Max, my work is simply that—work! It pays my bills.” “Job satisfaction? I have no clue how to find my skill.” “Honor God? After the mess I’ve made of my life?”
Here’s the big idea: Use your uniqueness to make a big deal out of God every day of your life. At the convergence of all three: what you do, why you do it, and where you do it…is the cure for the common life. Your sweetspot! You have one, you know. Your life has a plot; your years have a theme. You can do something in a manner that no one else can. And when you find it and do it, another sweet spot is discovered!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
James 2
My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, “Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!” and either ignore the street person or say, “Better sit here in the back row,” haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted?
5-7 Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name—“Christian”—used in your baptisms?
8-11 You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period.
12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.
14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 12:26–31
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent[a] of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at[b] the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes:
2 Samuel 12:30 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
2 Samuel 12:31 Hebrew pass through
Insight
The book of 2 Samuel appears to portray David’s exploitation of Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah as connected to his failures as a king. The account emphasizes David’s guilt and portrays Uriah and Bathsheba as victims of an abuse of power (2 Samuel 12:1–17). In addition, the narrative seems to connect David’s actions to his failure as king to lead his troops. Instead, David remains in the comforts of Jerusalem and sends Joab (11:1–2)—a practice Joab appears strongly critical of in 12:27–28. It’s only after finding out that Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah (11:3–4)—a member of the king's trusted inner circle (23:24, 39)—that David sent for her, perhaps knowing that with her husband in battle she was defenseless. The king had been called to care for God’s people (5:12), but instead he used his power to abuse and betray.
Back in the Battle
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
As a child, she had hurled vicious words at her parents. Little did she know that those words would be her last interaction with them. Now, even after years of counseling, she can’t forgive herself. Guilt and regret paralyze her.
We all live with regrets—some of them quite terrible. But the Bible shows us a way through the guilt. Let’s look at one example.
There’s no sugarcoating what King David did. It was the time “when kings go off to war,” but “David remained in Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1). Away from the battle, he stole another man’s wife and tried to cover it up with murder (vv. 2–5, 14–15). God stopped David’s downward plunge (12:1–13), but the king would live the rest of his life with the knowledge of his sins.
While David was rising from the ashes, his general, Joab, was winning the battle David should have been leading (12:26). Joab challenged David, “Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it” (v. 28). David finally got back to his God-appointed place as the leader of his nation and his army (v. 29).
When we permit our past to crush us, in effect we’re telling God His grace isn’t enough. Regardless of what we’ve done, our Father extends His complete forgiveness to us. We can find, as David did, grace enough to get back in the battle. By Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
What regrets gnaw at your soul? Who in your life might be a safe person to talk to for the reassurance of God’s grace?
Father, may we truly realize Your love defines us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
The Race For Life - #8498
Maybe it's because of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Yeah, as a boy I watched that ancient show on TV. I was fascinated watching my Mountie hero racing across the snow with his dog team. I even wore pants that were marked "husky."
And then there was my ministry trip to Alaska one February where I got to see dog team races in the snowy streets of Anchorage. They call it the "Fur Rondy." Now, those memories reignited recently because our son retraced that trip to lay the groundwork for a historic conference for Native Alaskan young people.
For whatever reason, I'm intrigued with this continent's legendary dog team "Super Bowl." It's called the Iditarod. Not just because of the event itself, but oh, because of its dramatic history. This rigorous race to Nome retraces the route of the original race in 1925. Except then it wasn't a sporting event. It was a race for life.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Race For Life."
In January of 1925, Nome was this remote outpost, faced suddenly with a deadly outbreak of diphtheria, and virtually no vaccine to stop it. The National Health Department in Washington concluded "an epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable." That meant up to 75% of the children in and around Nome could die.
Well, a train brought the needed antitoxin as far as the train could go - to Nenana. That's 640 miles from Nome. From there, it had to be dog teams, taking the mail route that they called the Iditarod Trail. That was usually a 25-day trip, and that was way too long to save the lives in Nome.
Knowing that their mission was life-or-death, the mushers and their dogs defied the weather; they defied the odds to do what had never been done before. Like the Pony Express, one team went as far as they could, then handed it off to another musher and his dogs. And history records that the winter of '25 was one of the worst ever, with temperatures that plunged to 60 below. Then the blizzard closed in around them. The only doctor in Nome said, "All hope is in the hands of the dogs and their heroic mushers."
At 5:30 in the morning on January 30, the final musher drove his dogs - and the serum - into the streets of a sleeping Nome. It took twenty men; it took 150 dogs to get it there. Amazingly, they made the trip in just five and a half days, breaking the world record, and more importantly, saving hundreds of lives.
The drama of that desperate race to Nome touches something deep inside me, because it's a picture of a race for life where the stakes are even higher; a race that began on an old rugged cross 2,000 years ago. Our word for today from the Word of God in 1 John 3:16 and then chapter 4, verse 9, says this: "Jesus Christ laid down His life for us that we might live through Him." The news of His death for our sins and His game-changing resurrection - that's the only "serum" that can save a person from a hellish eternity and give them heaven instead.
And from generation to generation that life-saving message has been entrusted into the hands of every person who's been saved by hearing it. And today, it's in my hands and it's in the hands of every person who belongs to this Jesus.
Getting Jesus' message to the people within my reach is not some casual, "get around to it sometime" thing. No, it is urgent beyond words. In the Bible's words, it's snatching "others from the fire" (Jude 23), it's rescuing "those who are being led away to death," it's holding "back those who are being led away to slaughter" (Proverbs 24:11). People I know. People I see all the time. People whose forever depends on what I know about Jesus. They're one heartbeat away from meeting God. Waiting any longer to tell them is gambling with their eternity.
Somewhere along the way, the cause for which Jesus died has become, well, like the Iditarod, a spectator sport, lots of activity but no thought about the lives at stake. But those of us who've been saved by the serum of the Gospel are responsible before God to get that serum to those who are going to die without it. Jesus expects that the driving passion of His people and His church, will be the passion that kept Him on the cross, "to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10).
My brother, my sister, this really is a race for life.
Scripture says “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
I just heard a groan. “But Max, my work is simply that—work! It pays my bills.” “Job satisfaction? I have no clue how to find my skill.” “Honor God? After the mess I’ve made of my life?”
Here’s the big idea: Use your uniqueness to make a big deal out of God every day of your life. At the convergence of all three: what you do, why you do it, and where you do it…is the cure for the common life. Your sweetspot! You have one, you know. Your life has a plot; your years have a theme. You can do something in a manner that no one else can. And when you find it and do it, another sweet spot is discovered!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
James 2
My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, “Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!” and either ignore the street person or say, “Better sit here in the back row,” haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted?
5-7 Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name—“Christian”—used in your baptisms?
8-11 You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period.
12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.
14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 12:26–31
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent[a] of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at[b] the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes:
2 Samuel 12:30 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
2 Samuel 12:31 Hebrew pass through
Insight
The book of 2 Samuel appears to portray David’s exploitation of Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah as connected to his failures as a king. The account emphasizes David’s guilt and portrays Uriah and Bathsheba as victims of an abuse of power (2 Samuel 12:1–17). In addition, the narrative seems to connect David’s actions to his failure as king to lead his troops. Instead, David remains in the comforts of Jerusalem and sends Joab (11:1–2)—a practice Joab appears strongly critical of in 12:27–28. It’s only after finding out that Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah (11:3–4)—a member of the king's trusted inner circle (23:24, 39)—that David sent for her, perhaps knowing that with her husband in battle she was defenseless. The king had been called to care for God’s people (5:12), but instead he used his power to abuse and betray.
Back in the Battle
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
As a child, she had hurled vicious words at her parents. Little did she know that those words would be her last interaction with them. Now, even after years of counseling, she can’t forgive herself. Guilt and regret paralyze her.
We all live with regrets—some of them quite terrible. But the Bible shows us a way through the guilt. Let’s look at one example.
There’s no sugarcoating what King David did. It was the time “when kings go off to war,” but “David remained in Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1). Away from the battle, he stole another man’s wife and tried to cover it up with murder (vv. 2–5, 14–15). God stopped David’s downward plunge (12:1–13), but the king would live the rest of his life with the knowledge of his sins.
While David was rising from the ashes, his general, Joab, was winning the battle David should have been leading (12:26). Joab challenged David, “Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it” (v. 28). David finally got back to his God-appointed place as the leader of his nation and his army (v. 29).
When we permit our past to crush us, in effect we’re telling God His grace isn’t enough. Regardless of what we’ve done, our Father extends His complete forgiveness to us. We can find, as David did, grace enough to get back in the battle. By Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
What regrets gnaw at your soul? Who in your life might be a safe person to talk to for the reassurance of God’s grace?
Father, may we truly realize Your love defines us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest. Disciples Indeed, 395 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
The Race For Life - #8498
Maybe it's because of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Yeah, as a boy I watched that ancient show on TV. I was fascinated watching my Mountie hero racing across the snow with his dog team. I even wore pants that were marked "husky."
And then there was my ministry trip to Alaska one February where I got to see dog team races in the snowy streets of Anchorage. They call it the "Fur Rondy." Now, those memories reignited recently because our son retraced that trip to lay the groundwork for a historic conference for Native Alaskan young people.
For whatever reason, I'm intrigued with this continent's legendary dog team "Super Bowl." It's called the Iditarod. Not just because of the event itself, but oh, because of its dramatic history. This rigorous race to Nome retraces the route of the original race in 1925. Except then it wasn't a sporting event. It was a race for life.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Race For Life."
In January of 1925, Nome was this remote outpost, faced suddenly with a deadly outbreak of diphtheria, and virtually no vaccine to stop it. The National Health Department in Washington concluded "an epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable." That meant up to 75% of the children in and around Nome could die.
Well, a train brought the needed antitoxin as far as the train could go - to Nenana. That's 640 miles from Nome. From there, it had to be dog teams, taking the mail route that they called the Iditarod Trail. That was usually a 25-day trip, and that was way too long to save the lives in Nome.
Knowing that their mission was life-or-death, the mushers and their dogs defied the weather; they defied the odds to do what had never been done before. Like the Pony Express, one team went as far as they could, then handed it off to another musher and his dogs. And history records that the winter of '25 was one of the worst ever, with temperatures that plunged to 60 below. Then the blizzard closed in around them. The only doctor in Nome said, "All hope is in the hands of the dogs and their heroic mushers."
At 5:30 in the morning on January 30, the final musher drove his dogs - and the serum - into the streets of a sleeping Nome. It took twenty men; it took 150 dogs to get it there. Amazingly, they made the trip in just five and a half days, breaking the world record, and more importantly, saving hundreds of lives.
The drama of that desperate race to Nome touches something deep inside me, because it's a picture of a race for life where the stakes are even higher; a race that began on an old rugged cross 2,000 years ago. Our word for today from the Word of God in 1 John 3:16 and then chapter 4, verse 9, says this: "Jesus Christ laid down His life for us that we might live through Him." The news of His death for our sins and His game-changing resurrection - that's the only "serum" that can save a person from a hellish eternity and give them heaven instead.
And from generation to generation that life-saving message has been entrusted into the hands of every person who's been saved by hearing it. And today, it's in my hands and it's in the hands of every person who belongs to this Jesus.
Getting Jesus' message to the people within my reach is not some casual, "get around to it sometime" thing. No, it is urgent beyond words. In the Bible's words, it's snatching "others from the fire" (Jude 23), it's rescuing "those who are being led away to death," it's holding "back those who are being led away to slaughter" (Proverbs 24:11). People I know. People I see all the time. People whose forever depends on what I know about Jesus. They're one heartbeat away from meeting God. Waiting any longer to tell them is gambling with their eternity.
Somewhere along the way, the cause for which Jesus died has become, well, like the Iditarod, a spectator sport, lots of activity but no thought about the lives at stake. But those of us who've been saved by the serum of the Gospel are responsible before God to get that serum to those who are going to die without it. Jesus expects that the driving passion of His people and His church, will be the passion that kept Him on the cross, "to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10).
My brother, my sister, this really is a race for life.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
2 Kings 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: YOUR WORK IS IMPORTANT TO GOD
God views your work worthy of its own engraved commandment. “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21 NASB).
Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God. And your work matters to society. Cities need plumbers. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the last. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise cane.
So, whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too” (John 5:17 NCV). Your career consumes half of your lifetime. Shouldn’t it broadcast God? Don’t those forty to sixty hours a week belong to him as well?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 6
One day the guild of prophets came to Elisha and said, “You can see that this place where we’re living under your leadership is getting cramped—we have no elbow room. Give us permission to go down to the Jordan where each of us will get a log. We’ll build a roomier place.”
Elisha said, “Go ahead.”
3 One of them then said, “Please! Come along with us!”
He said, “Certainly.”
4-5 He went with them. They came to the Jordan and started chopping down trees. As one of them was felling a timber, his axhead flew off and sank in the river.
“Oh no, master!” he cried out. “And it was borrowed!”
6 The Holy Man said, “Where did it sink?”
The man showed him the place.
He cut off a branch and tossed it at the spot. The axhead floated up.
7 “Grab it,” he said. The man reached out and took it.
8 One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, “At such and such a place I want an ambush set.”
9 The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: “Watch out when you’re passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there.”
10 So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him.
This kind of thing happened all the time.
11 The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, “Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?”
12 But one of his men said, “No, my master, dear king. It’s not any of us. It’s Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom.”
13 The king said, “Go and find out where he is. I’ll send someone and capture him.”
The report came back, “He’s in Dothan.”
14 Then he dispatched horses and chariots, an impressive fighting force. They came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, “Oh, master! What shall we do?”
16 He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.”
17 Then Elisha prayed, “O God, open his eyes and let him see.”
The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!
18 When the Arameans attacked, Elisha prayed to God, “Strike these people blind!” And God struck them blind, just as Elisha said.
19 Then Elisha called out to them, “Not that way! Not this city! Follow me and I’ll lead you to the man you’re looking for.” And he led them into Samaria.
20 As they entered the city, Elisha prayed, “O God, open their eyes so they can see where they are.” God opened their eyes. They looked around—they were trapped in Samaria!
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Father, shall I massacre the lot?”
22 “Not on your life!” said Elisha. “You didn’t lift a hand to capture them, and now you’re going to kill them? No sir, make a feast for them and send them back to their master.”
23 So he prepared a huge feast for them. After they ate and drank their fill he dismissed them. Then they returned home to their master. The raiding bands of Aram didn’t bother Israel anymore.
24-25 At a later time, this: Ben-Hadad king of Aram pulled together his troops and launched a siege on Samaria. This brought on a terrible famine, so bad that food prices soared astronomically. Eighty shekels for a donkey’s head! Five shekels for a bowl of field greens!
26 One day the king of Israel was walking along the city wall. A woman cried out, “Help! Your majesty!”
27 He answered, “If God won’t help you, where on earth can I go for help? To the granary? To the dairy?”
28-29 The king continued, “Tell me your story.”
She said, “This woman came to me and said, ‘Give up your son and we’ll have him for today’s supper; tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her, ‘Your turn—bring your son so we can have him for supper.’ But she had hidden her son away.”
30-31 When the king heard the woman’s story he ripped apart his robe. Since he was walking on the city wall, everyone saw that next to his skin he was wearing coarse burlap. And he called out, “God do his worst to me—and more—if Elisha son of Shaphat still has a head on his shoulders at this day’s end.”
32 Elisha was sitting at home, the elders sitting with him. The king had already dispatched an executioner, but before the man arrived Elisha spoke to the elders: “Do you know that this murderer has just now sent a man to take off my head? Look, when the executioner arrives, shut the door and lock it. Don’t I even now hear the footsteps of his master behind him?”
33 While he was giving his instructions, the king showed up, accusing, “This trouble is directly from God! And what’s next? I’m fed up with God!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hosea 3:1–5
And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech[a] of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Insight
Hosea 14:1 captures the theme of the book of Hosea, “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.” This verse includes a key word of the book—return. Again and again in Hosea we see God, who is faithful and true to His covenant, calling unfaithful Israel to return to Him. The Hebrew word translated “return” (šûb, pronounced shoob) is a common Old Testament term. The verb form appears more than 1,050 times (the twelfth most frequently used verb in the Old Testament), and eighteen times in Hosea. The most theologically rich usages of it concern Israel’s turning to the Lord in repentance, as we see in Hosea 3:5: “Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.”
Will You Come Back?
Love [your wife] as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods. Hosea 3:1
Ron and Nancy’s marriage was deteriorating rapidly. She had an affair, but after some time she admitted her sin to God. She knew what He wanted her to do, but it was difficult. She shared the truth with Ron. Instead of asking for a divorce, Ron chose to give Nancy a chance to win his trust back by showing that she’d changed. In a miraculous way God restored their marriage.
Ron’s actions are a picture of God’s love and forgiveness shown toward sinners like you and me. The prophet Hosea understood this well. He was commanded by God to marry an unfaithful woman as a way to show Israel their status of unfaithfulness before Him (Hosea 1). If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, when Hosea’s wife left him, God told him to ask her to come back. He said, “Show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress” (3:1). After all their disobedience, God longed for a close relationship with His people. Just as Hosea loved his unfaithful wife, pursued her, and sacrificed for her, so God loved His people. His righteous anger and jealousy were motivated by His great love.
This same God longs for us today to be near Him. As we come to Him in faith, we can trust that in Him we will find complete fulfillment. By Estera Pirosca Escobar
Reflect & Pray
How will you respond to God’s love today? Is there someone you can share His great love with?
God in heaven, how great and amazing is Your love, even for a sinner like me! For all the wrong I’ve done, I don’t deserve Your love. Thank You for forgiving me, for buying me back, for restoring our relationship.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Missing Him - #8497
When Lee Stroebel writes a book, he brings to it all the skills and the disciplines that he learned as a journalist. Lee was a respected reporter and, by the way, an atheist. Today, he's a powerful representative of Jesus Christ and a leader in reaching people for Him. While preparing for a book he wrote, Lee interviewed a wide variety of noted people to get their perspective on Christ. One was a man who was a gifted evangelist in the 1940s, a man whose ministry actually paralleled Billy Graham's; in fact a man who was known by millions and actually expected to have a ministry like Billy Graham has had. But after he attended a liberal seminary to get more education, he shocked the Christian world by abandoning his faith. His media career in Canada gave him a lot of notoriety, and he often used that platform to express his unbelief.
Lee went to interview this now elderly man. When he was asked about things such as his belief in the Old Testament, he was very clear in expressing why he didn't believe. Finally, Lee asked him, "What do you think about Jesus?" He could never have expected the response he got. Suddenly, the old man, as Lee said, "teared up." And struggling to answer through those tears, he simply replied, "I miss Him."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Him."
For just a moment, would you set aside all the creeds, the institutions, the theological systems, the rituals, the meetings - most of which are important spiritual resources. But for a moment, set aside all the Christianity. And when you strip away all that, you're down to the central meaning of it all. It's all about Jesus. It's all about either being close to Him or missing Him.
The twelve men Jesus picked as His inner circle missed a lot that Jesus was trying to teach them, but they didn't miss the central issue. That's obvious in our word for today from the Word of God. In John 6, we're at a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Vast multitudes are following Him, no matter where He goes. Then He confronts them with the fact that this is going to be about more than miracles and meetings; it's going to involve the shedding of blood, the laying down of His life, and a price tag for those who follow Him.
John 6:66 says, "From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. 'You do not want to leave, too, do you?' Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'" See, they knew it was all about Jesus and He was the only One with anything that would last, that was worth living and dying for.
That's what Jesus was saying when He repeatedly said to people, "Follow Me." He didn't say "Follow My religion" or "Follow My followers" or "Follow My rules." He said, "Follow Me." It's all about Jesus. And if you know someone who's away from Him right now, here's how to pray for them, "Lord Jesus, help them realize how much they miss You." And as God gives you opportunity, remind them of how it was when they were close to Him.
Maybe you're the one who's away from Him. Satan would love to keep your focus on the Christians who hurt you, or the hypocrites who turned you off, or the sin that's taken you away. But it's not Christians you've left or church or some religious rules, it's Jesus you've left! Remember how it felt when you were close to Him? Don't you miss Him?
You don't have to miss Him one more day. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He's waiting for you to come home to Him. There's nothing you've done that He didn't take care of on that cross. And His love is unconditional. And maybe you have missed, up until this point, even having one day with Christ in your life. Oh, if you only knew the difference He could make, you'd run to Him.
He loved you enough to die on a cross for you; for your sin. He's powerful enough to walk out of His grave under His own power. He's ready to walk into your life today. I pray that this very day, if you've never begun a relationship with Him, you will say, "Jesus, I am Yours."
I think we could help you with that. Just go to our website today. It's ANewStory.com. If you could literally hear His voice where you are right now, here's what you'd hear Him saying: "I miss you. Come home."
God views your work worthy of its own engraved commandment. “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21 NASB).
Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God. And your work matters to society. Cities need plumbers. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the last. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise cane.
So, whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I keep working, too” (John 5:17 NCV). Your career consumes half of your lifetime. Shouldn’t it broadcast God? Don’t those forty to sixty hours a week belong to him as well?
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 6
One day the guild of prophets came to Elisha and said, “You can see that this place where we’re living under your leadership is getting cramped—we have no elbow room. Give us permission to go down to the Jordan where each of us will get a log. We’ll build a roomier place.”
Elisha said, “Go ahead.”
3 One of them then said, “Please! Come along with us!”
He said, “Certainly.”
4-5 He went with them. They came to the Jordan and started chopping down trees. As one of them was felling a timber, his axhead flew off and sank in the river.
“Oh no, master!” he cried out. “And it was borrowed!”
6 The Holy Man said, “Where did it sink?”
The man showed him the place.
He cut off a branch and tossed it at the spot. The axhead floated up.
7 “Grab it,” he said. The man reached out and took it.
8 One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, “At such and such a place I want an ambush set.”
9 The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: “Watch out when you’re passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there.”
10 So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him.
This kind of thing happened all the time.
11 The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, “Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?”
12 But one of his men said, “No, my master, dear king. It’s not any of us. It’s Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom.”
13 The king said, “Go and find out where he is. I’ll send someone and capture him.”
The report came back, “He’s in Dothan.”
14 Then he dispatched horses and chariots, an impressive fighting force. They came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, “Oh, master! What shall we do?”
16 He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.”
17 Then Elisha prayed, “O God, open his eyes and let him see.”
The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!
18 When the Arameans attacked, Elisha prayed to God, “Strike these people blind!” And God struck them blind, just as Elisha said.
19 Then Elisha called out to them, “Not that way! Not this city! Follow me and I’ll lead you to the man you’re looking for.” And he led them into Samaria.
20 As they entered the city, Elisha prayed, “O God, open their eyes so they can see where they are.” God opened their eyes. They looked around—they were trapped in Samaria!
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Father, shall I massacre the lot?”
22 “Not on your life!” said Elisha. “You didn’t lift a hand to capture them, and now you’re going to kill them? No sir, make a feast for them and send them back to their master.”
23 So he prepared a huge feast for them. After they ate and drank their fill he dismissed them. Then they returned home to their master. The raiding bands of Aram didn’t bother Israel anymore.
24-25 At a later time, this: Ben-Hadad king of Aram pulled together his troops and launched a siege on Samaria. This brought on a terrible famine, so bad that food prices soared astronomically. Eighty shekels for a donkey’s head! Five shekels for a bowl of field greens!
26 One day the king of Israel was walking along the city wall. A woman cried out, “Help! Your majesty!”
27 He answered, “If God won’t help you, where on earth can I go for help? To the granary? To the dairy?”
28-29 The king continued, “Tell me your story.”
She said, “This woman came to me and said, ‘Give up your son and we’ll have him for today’s supper; tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her, ‘Your turn—bring your son so we can have him for supper.’ But she had hidden her son away.”
30-31 When the king heard the woman’s story he ripped apart his robe. Since he was walking on the city wall, everyone saw that next to his skin he was wearing coarse burlap. And he called out, “God do his worst to me—and more—if Elisha son of Shaphat still has a head on his shoulders at this day’s end.”
32 Elisha was sitting at home, the elders sitting with him. The king had already dispatched an executioner, but before the man arrived Elisha spoke to the elders: “Do you know that this murderer has just now sent a man to take off my head? Look, when the executioner arrives, shut the door and lock it. Don’t I even now hear the footsteps of his master behind him?”
33 While he was giving his instructions, the king showed up, accusing, “This trouble is directly from God! And what’s next? I’m fed up with God!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hosea 3:1–5
And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech[a] of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Insight
Hosea 14:1 captures the theme of the book of Hosea, “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.” This verse includes a key word of the book—return. Again and again in Hosea we see God, who is faithful and true to His covenant, calling unfaithful Israel to return to Him. The Hebrew word translated “return” (šûb, pronounced shoob) is a common Old Testament term. The verb form appears more than 1,050 times (the twelfth most frequently used verb in the Old Testament), and eighteen times in Hosea. The most theologically rich usages of it concern Israel’s turning to the Lord in repentance, as we see in Hosea 3:5: “Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.”
Will You Come Back?
Love [your wife] as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods. Hosea 3:1
Ron and Nancy’s marriage was deteriorating rapidly. She had an affair, but after some time she admitted her sin to God. She knew what He wanted her to do, but it was difficult. She shared the truth with Ron. Instead of asking for a divorce, Ron chose to give Nancy a chance to win his trust back by showing that she’d changed. In a miraculous way God restored their marriage.
Ron’s actions are a picture of God’s love and forgiveness shown toward sinners like you and me. The prophet Hosea understood this well. He was commanded by God to marry an unfaithful woman as a way to show Israel their status of unfaithfulness before Him (Hosea 1). If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, when Hosea’s wife left him, God told him to ask her to come back. He said, “Show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress” (3:1). After all their disobedience, God longed for a close relationship with His people. Just as Hosea loved his unfaithful wife, pursued her, and sacrificed for her, so God loved His people. His righteous anger and jealousy were motivated by His great love.
This same God longs for us today to be near Him. As we come to Him in faith, we can trust that in Him we will find complete fulfillment. By Estera Pirosca Escobar
Reflect & Pray
How will you respond to God’s love today? Is there someone you can share His great love with?
God in heaven, how great and amazing is Your love, even for a sinner like me! For all the wrong I’ve done, I don’t deserve Your love. Thank You for forgiving me, for buying me back, for restoring our relationship.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Missing Him - #8497
When Lee Stroebel writes a book, he brings to it all the skills and the disciplines that he learned as a journalist. Lee was a respected reporter and, by the way, an atheist. Today, he's a powerful representative of Jesus Christ and a leader in reaching people for Him. While preparing for a book he wrote, Lee interviewed a wide variety of noted people to get their perspective on Christ. One was a man who was a gifted evangelist in the 1940s, a man whose ministry actually paralleled Billy Graham's; in fact a man who was known by millions and actually expected to have a ministry like Billy Graham has had. But after he attended a liberal seminary to get more education, he shocked the Christian world by abandoning his faith. His media career in Canada gave him a lot of notoriety, and he often used that platform to express his unbelief.
Lee went to interview this now elderly man. When he was asked about things such as his belief in the Old Testament, he was very clear in expressing why he didn't believe. Finally, Lee asked him, "What do you think about Jesus?" He could never have expected the response he got. Suddenly, the old man, as Lee said, "teared up." And struggling to answer through those tears, he simply replied, "I miss Him."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Him."
For just a moment, would you set aside all the creeds, the institutions, the theological systems, the rituals, the meetings - most of which are important spiritual resources. But for a moment, set aside all the Christianity. And when you strip away all that, you're down to the central meaning of it all. It's all about Jesus. It's all about either being close to Him or missing Him.
The twelve men Jesus picked as His inner circle missed a lot that Jesus was trying to teach them, but they didn't miss the central issue. That's obvious in our word for today from the Word of God. In John 6, we're at a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Vast multitudes are following Him, no matter where He goes. Then He confronts them with the fact that this is going to be about more than miracles and meetings; it's going to involve the shedding of blood, the laying down of His life, and a price tag for those who follow Him.
John 6:66 says, "From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. 'You do not want to leave, too, do you?' Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'" See, they knew it was all about Jesus and He was the only One with anything that would last, that was worth living and dying for.
That's what Jesus was saying when He repeatedly said to people, "Follow Me." He didn't say "Follow My religion" or "Follow My followers" or "Follow My rules." He said, "Follow Me." It's all about Jesus. And if you know someone who's away from Him right now, here's how to pray for them, "Lord Jesus, help them realize how much they miss You." And as God gives you opportunity, remind them of how it was when they were close to Him.
Maybe you're the one who's away from Him. Satan would love to keep your focus on the Christians who hurt you, or the hypocrites who turned you off, or the sin that's taken you away. But it's not Christians you've left or church or some religious rules, it's Jesus you've left! Remember how it felt when you were close to Him? Don't you miss Him?
You don't have to miss Him one more day. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He's waiting for you to come home to Him. There's nothing you've done that He didn't take care of on that cross. And His love is unconditional. And maybe you have missed, up until this point, even having one day with Christ in your life. Oh, if you only knew the difference He could make, you'd run to Him.
He loved you enough to die on a cross for you; for your sin. He's powerful enough to walk out of His grave under His own power. He's ready to walk into your life today. I pray that this very day, if you've never begun a relationship with Him, you will say, "Jesus, I am Yours."
I think we could help you with that. Just go to our website today. It's ANewStory.com. If you could literally hear His voice where you are right now, here's what you'd hear Him saying: "I miss you. Come home."
Monday, August 5, 2019
2 Kings 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: MAKING A BIG DEAL “TO DO” OF GOD
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him. Herald him.
God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well. . .then God will be given glory” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT). Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything (1 Peter 4:11 MSG).
And when you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 5
Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 14:13–21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Insight
Christ’s feeding of a multitude with the loaves and fishes is a miracle in which the Creator works beyond His creation. It’s the only miracle of Jesus (aside from His resurrection) that’s recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:33–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:1–14). While each gospel writer includes distinct details, John’s account focuses on two disciples—Andrew and Philip—that rarely appear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (apart from the listing of disciples’ names). In John’s version, Jesus actually tests Philip by asking him how to provide food for the multitude (v. 5). Andrew is singled out as the one who offers a solution—albeit a radically insufficient one—by bringing to Jesus a boy with his lunch (vv. 8–9). What all four gospels are presenting, however, is that the small amount available was more than enough when placed in Christ’s hands.
Loaves and Fishes
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:16
A young boy came home from church and announced with great excitement that the lesson had been about a boy who “loafed and fished all day.” He, of course, was thinking of the little boy who offered his loaves and fish to Jesus.
Jesus had been teaching the crowds all day, and the disciples suggested He send them into the village to buy bread. Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples were perplexed for there were more than 5,000 to be fed!
You may know the rest of the story: a boy gave his lunch—five small loaves of bread and two fish—and with it Jesus fed the crowd (vv. 13–21). One school of thought contends that the boy’s generosity simply moved others in the crowd to share their lunches, but Matthew clearly intends us to understand that this was a miracle, and the story appears in all four gospels.
What can we learn? Family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and others stand around us in varying degrees of need. Should we send them away to those who are more capable than we are? Certainly, some people’s needs exceed our ability to help them, but not always. Whatever you have—a hug, a kind word, a listening ear, a brief prayer, some wisdom you’ve gathered—give it to Jesus and see what He can do. By David H. Roper
Reflect & Pray
What’s one need of another person that you may be able to meet? What can you give to Jesus to be used to bless others?
Jesus, give us eyes to see the ways we can care for others. Lead us and use us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 05, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him. So Send I You, 1301 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 05, 2019
Facing Your Fears - #8496
Paula really took some risks. She's a Native American young woman who was in a training program at our office. She was deathly afraid of heights and my wife and I took her out for lunch at a place called the Cliff House Inn. Guess where it is? It hangs out on the side of a mountain. When we went out on the porch to admire the view, Paula asked to go out there with us. We had to hold her hand, but she bravely ventured out and actually spent a few minutes looking out from that very high perch that's suspended over a deep valley. The next day she went with a girlfriend to a theme park, and she purposely went with her on roller coasters that she was afraid of. You know something? It turned out, Paula was not quite as afraid of heights as she used to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Facing Your Fears."
Our friend Paula was working on conquered her fears by facing her fears; including some that are much, much bigger. With the help of some caring counselors, she dared to confront some of the issues of a very painful past - issues that she considered too painful and too scary to confront before. And you know what? Some healing began.
Maybe it's time for you to do the same thing - to stop avoiding that thing you've been afraid to face…stop running from it. Like Paula going out on that high deck, there's no way to conquer your fears other than to face them. And it's possible to do that if you'll claim as a promise the words of David in our word for today from the Word of God. They're in Psalm 34:4. It's been an anchor verse in my life.
As you hear what David says, remember that he's writing this while he's hiding in a cave, King Saul's army is pursuing him; they want to kill him on sight if they find him. Talk about fear! Here's the verse that my wife and I have claimed so many times, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." Wow! He wants to do that for you.
Where's the issue you've been afraid to deal with? Like Paula, maybe it's some very painful things in your past, or maybe it's a loss you haven't allowed yourself to grieve, or some area where you've just refused to obey God's direction because of your fear of the unknown. Maybe there's a ticking time bomb in your marriage, or in some of your children, or in your church. It could be you've got a fear of abandonment. But if there is any issue like these that you have been too afraid to face, you know that ignoring it doesn't make it go away. It never has.
In fact, an un-confronted fear just keeps on paralyzing you every time a reminder of it comes up. This is a time for courage, for facing the monster that you've been running from for so long. You begin by believing God, that He can "deliver you from all your fears." Then, by faith, get a buddy (maybe a counselor) to walk out on that deck with you. You'll have to confide in someone. Maybe there's a letter you should write, a call you need to make, a conversation you need to have, a forgiveness you need to grant.
And as you walk courageously into your personal "fear zone," you don't walk alone. God's promise is this in Isaiah 43, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you...you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned...for I am the Lord your God."
With that kind of assurance, with that kind of a God, you can face your fears and you can begin to finally conquer what has conquered you for way too long.
God endows us with gifts so we can make him known. Period! God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill. Why? The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God. To brandish him. Herald him.
God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well. . .then God will be given glory” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT). Make it your life’s encore to the end of time that “he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything (1 Peter 4:11 MSG).
And when you magnify your Maker with your strengths, your days will grow suddenly sweet. And to really sweeten your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God—every day of your life!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 5
Naaman was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master, who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease. It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.”
So he went off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes.
6 Naaman delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal him of his skin disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s door.
10 Elisha sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as new.”
11-12 Naaman lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.” Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that God forgive me for this.”
19-21 Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
But he hadn’t gone far when Gehazi, servant to Elisha the Holy Man, said to himself, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman slip through his fingers without so much as a thank-you. By the living God, I’m going after him to get something or other from him!” And Gehazi took off after Naaman.
Naaman saw him running after him and jumped down from his chariot to greet him, “Is something wrong?”
22 “Nothing’s wrong, but something’s come up. My master sent me to tell you: ‘Two young men just showed up from the hill country of Ephraim, brothers from the guild of the prophets. Supply their needs with a gift of 75 pounds of silver and a couple of sets of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Of course, how about a 150 pounds?” Naaman insisted. He tied up the money in two sacks and gave him the two sets of clothes; he even gave him two servants to carry the gifts back with him.
24 When they got to the fort on the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants, stored them inside, then sent the servants back.
25 He returned and stood before his master. Elisha said, “So what have you been up to, Gehazi?”
“Nothing much,” he said.
26-27 Elisha said, “Didn’t you know I was with you in spirit when that man stepped down from his chariot to greet you? Tell me, is this a time to look after yourself, lining your pockets with gifts? Naaman’s skin disease will now infect you and your family, with no relief in sight.”
Gehazi walked away, his skin flaky and white like snow.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 14:13–21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Insight
Christ’s feeding of a multitude with the loaves and fishes is a miracle in which the Creator works beyond His creation. It’s the only miracle of Jesus (aside from His resurrection) that’s recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:33–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:1–14). While each gospel writer includes distinct details, John’s account focuses on two disciples—Andrew and Philip—that rarely appear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (apart from the listing of disciples’ names). In John’s version, Jesus actually tests Philip by asking him how to provide food for the multitude (v. 5). Andrew is singled out as the one who offers a solution—albeit a radically insufficient one—by bringing to Jesus a boy with his lunch (vv. 8–9). What all four gospels are presenting, however, is that the small amount available was more than enough when placed in Christ’s hands.
Loaves and Fishes
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:16
A young boy came home from church and announced with great excitement that the lesson had been about a boy who “loafed and fished all day.” He, of course, was thinking of the little boy who offered his loaves and fish to Jesus.
Jesus had been teaching the crowds all day, and the disciples suggested He send them into the village to buy bread. Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples were perplexed for there were more than 5,000 to be fed!
You may know the rest of the story: a boy gave his lunch—five small loaves of bread and two fish—and with it Jesus fed the crowd (vv. 13–21). One school of thought contends that the boy’s generosity simply moved others in the crowd to share their lunches, but Matthew clearly intends us to understand that this was a miracle, and the story appears in all four gospels.
What can we learn? Family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and others stand around us in varying degrees of need. Should we send them away to those who are more capable than we are? Certainly, some people’s needs exceed our ability to help them, but not always. Whatever you have—a hug, a kind word, a listening ear, a brief prayer, some wisdom you’ve gathered—give it to Jesus and see what He can do. By David H. Roper
Reflect & Pray
What’s one need of another person that you may be able to meet? What can you give to Jesus to be used to bless others?
Jesus, give us eyes to see the ways we can care for others. Lead us and use us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 05, 2019
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.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him. So Send I You, 1301 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 05, 2019
Facing Your Fears - #8496
Paula really took some risks. She's a Native American young woman who was in a training program at our office. She was deathly afraid of heights and my wife and I took her out for lunch at a place called the Cliff House Inn. Guess where it is? It hangs out on the side of a mountain. When we went out on the porch to admire the view, Paula asked to go out there with us. We had to hold her hand, but she bravely ventured out and actually spent a few minutes looking out from that very high perch that's suspended over a deep valley. The next day she went with a girlfriend to a theme park, and she purposely went with her on roller coasters that she was afraid of. You know something? It turned out, Paula was not quite as afraid of heights as she used to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Facing Your Fears."
Our friend Paula was working on conquered her fears by facing her fears; including some that are much, much bigger. With the help of some caring counselors, she dared to confront some of the issues of a very painful past - issues that she considered too painful and too scary to confront before. And you know what? Some healing began.
Maybe it's time for you to do the same thing - to stop avoiding that thing you've been afraid to face…stop running from it. Like Paula going out on that high deck, there's no way to conquer your fears other than to face them. And it's possible to do that if you'll claim as a promise the words of David in our word for today from the Word of God. They're in Psalm 34:4. It's been an anchor verse in my life.
As you hear what David says, remember that he's writing this while he's hiding in a cave, King Saul's army is pursuing him; they want to kill him on sight if they find him. Talk about fear! Here's the verse that my wife and I have claimed so many times, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." Wow! He wants to do that for you.
Where's the issue you've been afraid to deal with? Like Paula, maybe it's some very painful things in your past, or maybe it's a loss you haven't allowed yourself to grieve, or some area where you've just refused to obey God's direction because of your fear of the unknown. Maybe there's a ticking time bomb in your marriage, or in some of your children, or in your church. It could be you've got a fear of abandonment. But if there is any issue like these that you have been too afraid to face, you know that ignoring it doesn't make it go away. It never has.
In fact, an un-confronted fear just keeps on paralyzing you every time a reminder of it comes up. This is a time for courage, for facing the monster that you've been running from for so long. You begin by believing God, that He can "deliver you from all your fears." Then, by faith, get a buddy (maybe a counselor) to walk out on that deck with you. You'll have to confide in someone. Maybe there's a letter you should write, a call you need to make, a conversation you need to have, a forgiveness you need to grant.
And as you walk courageously into your personal "fear zone," you don't walk alone. God's promise is this in Isaiah 43, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you...you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned...for I am the Lord your God."
With that kind of assurance, with that kind of a God, you can face your fears and you can begin to finally conquer what has conquered you for way too long.
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