Max Lucado Daily: DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS
The apostle Paul said, “Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life” (Galatians 6:4-5).
Before Thomas Merton followed Christ, he followed money, fame and society. He shocked many of his colleagues when he exchanged it all for the life of a Trappist monk. Many years later a friend visited the monastery and could see no important difference in him. “Tom, he said, “you haven’t changed at all.” “Why should I? “Here,” he said, “our duty is to be more like ourselves, not less.”
God never called you to be anyone other than you. But he does call you to be the best you that you can be. The big question is, at your best, who are you?
2 Kings 12
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash began his kingly rule. He was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Gazelle. She was from Beersheba.
2-3 Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased God for as long as he lived. (Even so, he didn’t get rid of the sacred fertility shrines—people still frequented them, sacrificing and burning incense.)
4-5 Joash instructed the priests: “Take the money that is brought into The Temple of God for holy offerings—both mandatory offerings and freewill offerings—and, keeping a careful accounting, use them to renovate The Temple wherever it has fallen into disrepair.”
6 But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s rule, the priests hadn’t done one thing—The Temple was as dilapidated as ever.
7 King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the company of priests and said, “Why haven’t you renovated this sorry-looking Temple? You are forbidden to take any more money for Temple repairs—from now on, hand over everything you get.”
8 The priests agreed not to take any more money or to be involved in The Temple renovation.
9-16 Then Jehoiada took a single chest and bored a hole in the lid and placed it to the right of the main entrance into The Temple of God. All the offerings that were brought to The Temple of God were placed in the chest by the priests who guarded the entrance. When they saw that a large sum of money had accumulated in the chest, the king’s secretary and the chief priest would empty the chest and count the offerings. They would give the money accounted for to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn would pay the carpenters, construction workers, masons, stoneworkers, and the buyers of timber and quarried stone for the repair and renovation of The Temple of God—any expenses connected with fixing up The Temple. But none of the money brought into The Temple of God was used for liturgical “extras” (silver chalices, candle snuffers, trumpets, various gold and silver vessels, etc.). It was given to the workmen to pay for their repairing God’s Temple. And no one even had to check on the men who handled the money given for the project—they were honest men. Offerings designated for Compensation Offerings and Absolution Offerings didn’t go into the building project—those went directly to the priests.
17-18 Around this time Hazael king of Aram ventured out and attacked Gath, and he captured it. Then he decided to try for Jerusalem. Joash king of Judah countered by gathering up all the sacred memorials—gifts dedicated for holy use by his ancestors, the kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, along with the holy memorials he himself had received, plus all the gold that he could find in the temple and palace storerooms—and sent it to Hazael king of Aram. Appeased, Hazael went on his way and didn’t bother Jerusalem.
19-21 The rest of the life and times of Joash and all that he did are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. At the last his palace staff formed a conspiracy and assassinated Joash as he was strolling along the ramp of the fortified outside city wall. Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer were the assassins. And so Joash died and was buried in the family plot in the City of David. His son Amaziah was king after him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
James 4:13–17
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Insight
There are reasons to believe the New Testament letter of James bears the signature of a half-brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3). Though the letter isn’t mentioned by church fathers until the third and fourth centuries, the apostle Paul wrote of meeting with James, “the Lord’s brother,” who’d become a leader of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 1:19; 2:9). Paul seems to be referring to the James who played an important role in resolving an ethnic and religious disagreement that was dividing Jesus’s followers (Acts 15:13–21). By speaking with grace and perspective, James expressed the kind of wisdom emphasized throughout the letter of James (James 1:5; 3:17).
Such calming counsel leaves us with an intriguing possibility. A younger James might have learned something from his older brother—long before describing the kind of wisdom that comes from being servants and extended family of Jesus (James 1:1; 2:1).
Visit christianuniversity.org/NT336 to learn more about the book of James.
The Illusion of Control
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. James 4:14
Ellen Langer’s 1975 study titled The Illusion of Control examined the level of influence we exert over life’s events. She found that we overestimate our degree of control in most situations. The study also demonstrated how reality nearly always shatters our illusion.
Langer’s conclusions are supported by experiments carried out by others since the study was published. However, James identified the phenomenon long before she named it. In James 4, he wrote, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (vv. 13–14).
Then James provides a cure for the delusion, pointing to the One who’s in absolute control: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (v. 15). In these few verses, James summarized both a key failing of the human condition and its antidote.
May we understand that our fate doesn’t rest in our own hands. Because God holds all things in His capable hands, we can trust His plans! By Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
In what ways have you given in to the illusion that you’re in control of your fate? How can you turn over your plans to God and leave your future in His hands?
Heavenly Father, I place all of my life in Your loving hands. Thank You for Your good plans for me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Discipline of the Lord
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. —Hebrews 12:5
It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”
“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.
“…nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” We begin to pout, become irritated with God, and then say, “Oh well, I can’t help it. I prayed and things didn’t turn out right anyway. So I’m simply going to give up on everything.” Just think what would happen if we acted like this in any other area of our lives!
Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Delegated Life Saving - #8503
Each of our three children learned the Heimlich maneuver in school. You probably know what that is. If someone is choking, you get behind them; you do the magic squeeze to dislodge whatever they're choking on and it keeps them from choking to death.
Now, can you imagine being in a restaurant and you see someone choking on a piece of food? You stand up immediately and you say, "Is there a throat specialist in the house? We need a throat specialist right now!" Well, there is none there, so you say, "Well, I guess we have to take him to the hospital."
So, as he's choking and turning several shades of colors, you get him in your car and you drive him to the hospital. But by the time you get him to the specialist - to the person who knows the most about it – it's probably going to be too late. Tragically, a lot of us are making that mistake with someone's spiritual survival. Instead of treating them where they are, we keep waiting until they get to the specialist.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Delegated Life Saving."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God; it's about delegated life saving. It's in 2 Corinthians 5. I'm reading verses 19 and 20. "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
Now, Paul is saying here that the rescuing - the life saving - of people who don't know Christ isn't in the hands of some religious professionals. It's in our hands. If someone is choking to death at a restaurant, you need to have the training; you need to know how to rescue them. There's no time to get them to anyone else. The rescue's in your hands because you're there, you're close. You can't delegate life saving. The Heimlich maneuver, CPR, whatever it is, you can't just depend on a specialist being on the scene. You have to bring the help to the person, not wait for the person to come to the help.
You can't delegate spiritual life saving either. There's someone you know right now who needs your Jesus. You know Him; they don't. They need to know that what happened on that middle cross was for them. And you very much, I know, when you get to heaven, are going to want to see that they're going to be there with you.
But maybe you've been depending on getting them to a Christian meeting where someone else can tell them the Good News, or to go to church with you, or to read some Christian book, or go to some event, but maybe they just won't go. You can't seem to get them to the help! They won't go to the emergency room, and they may never go.
Well, then, are they just going to be lost? See, it's up to you to let them know in a place where both of you are already together. Would you begin right now to pray by name for that person you care about at work, in your neighborhood, wherever it is? Pray specifically for an opening where you can extend some spiritual CPR on the spot. Say, "Lord, I know it's not up to some evangelist. It's not up to the church. It's not up to getting a Christian book in their hands. It's up to me, my body, my flesh, my life, my smile, my voice to share what Christ has done.
Learn to pray on a daily basis that wonderful three-open prayer, "Lord, open a door." Which means, Lord, give me a natural opportunity to bring up my relationship with you; something going on in their life, or my life, or in the world. And then, "Lord, open their heart." Lord, get them ready for this. And then, "Lord, open my mouth." Give me the words; give me the approach, give me the courage. "Lord, open a door. Lord, open their heart. Lord, open my mouth." Because I understand I've been placed in their life. I'm the one to deliver your Good News.
See, you have more influence on that person than any Christian persuader could ever have - any specialist. You're in their life. So, don't wait for the specialist to tell them. My brother, my sister, the rescue is up to you.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
2 Kings 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: EACH PERSON IS GOD’S BRAND NEW IDEA
God made you and broke the mold! Every single baby is a brand-new idea from the mind of God. Scan history for your replica; you won’t find it. God tailor-made you. You aren’t one of many bricks in the mason’s pile or one of a dozen bolts in the mechanic’s drawer. You are it! And if you aren’t you, we don’t get you. The world misses out.
You offer a gift to society that no one else brings. When you and I do the most what we do the best for the glory of God, the Bible says that we are “marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body” (Romans 12:5). You play no small part, because there is no small part to be played. God “shaped each person in turn” (Psalm 33:15). We need you to be you. And YOU, need to be you!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 11
Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and kidnapped him from among the king’s sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. He didn’t get killed. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of God. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of the bodyguards and the Palace Security Force. They met him in The Temple of God. He made a covenant with them, swore them to secrecy, and only then showed them the young prince.
5-8 Then he commanded them, “These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of God, are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going.”
9-11 The captains obeyed the orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and presented them to Jehoiada the priest. The priest armed the officers with spears and shields originally belonging to King David, stored in The Temple of God. Well-armed, the guards took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple.
12 Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God’s covenant, and made him king. As they anointed him, everyone applauded and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13-14 Athaliah heard the shouting of guards and people and came to the crowd gathered at The Temple of God. Astonished, she saw the king standing beside the throne, flanked by the captains and heralds, with everybody beside themselves with joy, trumpets blaring. Athaliah ripped her robes in dismay and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
15-16 Jehoiada the priest ordered the military officers, “Drag her outside and kill anyone who tries to follow her!” (The priest had said, “Don’t kill her inside The Temple of God.”) So they dragged her out to the palace’s horse corral; there they killed her.
17 Jehoiada now made a covenant between God and the king and the people: They were God’s people. Another covenant was made between the king and the people.
18-20 The people poured into the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing altar and images to smithereens. They killed Mattan the priest in front of the altar.
Jehoiada then stationed sentries in The Temple of God. He arranged for the officers of the bodyguard and the palace security, along with the people themselves, to escort the king down from The Temple of God through the Gate of the Guards and into the palace. There he sat on the royal throne. Everybody celebrated the event. And the city was safe and undisturbed—they had killed Athaliah with the royal sword.
21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 25:31–40
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
Footnotes:
Matthew 25:40 Or brothers and sisters
Insight
In today’s reading, Jesus invites those who are blessed by the Father to take their inheritance. Is the inheritance the blessing? The inheritance is a good thing, but perhaps the blessing is what enabled them to gain the inheritance. When Jesus explains why the inheritance is theirs, He lists their actions toward those in need. Instead of the blessing being the reward, the blessing could be what made this group compassionate to those in need as opposed to the lack of sympathy in the group that’s sent away (vv. 41–43). God’s blessing—salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit—makes us aware of the needs of others.
Jesus in Disguise
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17
My son Geoff recently participated in a “homeless simulation.” He spent three days and two nights living on the streets of his city, sleeping outside in below freezing temperatures. Without food, money, or shelter, he relied on the kindness of strangers for his basic needs. On one of those days his only food was a sandwich, bought by a man who heard him asking for stale bread at a fast-food restaurant.
Geoff told me later it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, yet it profoundly impacted his outlook on others. He spent the day after his “simulation” seeking out homeless people who had been kind to him during his time on the street, doing what he could to assist them in simple ways. They were surprised to discover he wasn’t actually homeless and were grateful he cared enough to try to see life through their eyes.
My son’s experience calls to mind Jesus’s words: “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:36, 40). Whether we give a word of encouragement or a bag of groceries, God calls us to lovingly attend to the needs of others. Our kindness to others is kindness to Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What little kindness can you extend to another? When have you been the recipient of another’s kindness?
Dear Jesus, help me to see You in the needs of others today and to love You by loving them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
“Do Not Quench the Spirit”
Do not quench the Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 5:19
The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.
Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.
Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Trading Empty for Full - #8502
Water! Drinking lots of water is good for your health. So I usually have a big mug or bottle of water in my office, a lot of bottles of water with me when I travel. My wife and I were driving one time to some ministry events, and another couple from our team was traveling with us in the back seat. And they got to be the keeper of the water, and the snacks of course. But let's stick with the healthy stuff. This little drill developed, thanks to the thoughtfulness of my buddy in the back seat. When I finished a bottle of water, I handed the empty bottle back to him so it could be dumped in our garbage bag. But as I handed my empty to him, there he was with a full bottle to place in my other hand.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trading Empty for Full."
Not a bad deal. I gave my friend what was empty and he replaced it with what was full. Just like Jesus. I handed him a life that was pretty empty, and He gave me back a life that is amazingly full. He's done that for countless people. He would love to do that for you.
I know that because of what He said in John 10:10. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" - that's the devil. You know, he comes along to steal, kill and destroy our life. "I have come," Jesus said, "that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I remember talking with a senior football player at our local high school about all the great things that had happened in his senior year. He said he had wanted four things in his senior year: a championship, a scholarship, more friends, and a closer family, and he got them all. And then he actually looked at me with tears in his eyes in this restaurant and he asked in total frustration, "Then why am I so empty?"
That's the question a lot of people have - people of all ages. "Why am I so empty?" Two days after I talked with that football player, the successful and deeply religious president of a local service club said basically the same thing to me. There is this emptiness that nothing seems to fill. And it's sure not for lack of trying. We've hoped that the hole in our heart would be filled by a relationship, or an achievement, or by experiences, or a family, or by a religion. But we keep coming up empty, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and wondering what goes in this hole in our heart.
Jesus goes in the hole of our heart. The Bible actually reveals "all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). You were created by Jesus, you were created for Jesus, and you're going to have a hole in your heart until you have Jesus. Tragically, we have chosen to live "for me" instead of "for Him." And this hijacking of our life from our Creator, has put us in a futile orbit away from Him. But that's why Jesus came. That's why Jesus died - to pay the price for our rebellion so we could finally belong to the One we were made for.
This day could be the day when you hand your empty to Jesus, and He gives you in exchange a life that's finally full, because He's in it. But you have to reach for Him. You have to surrender the self-rule of your life, and put your trust in Him to be the forgiver of every wrong thing you have ever done. He's the only one who can forgive it, because He's the only one who died to pay the price for it.
If you don't know you belong to Him; if you don't know there's been a time in your life when you've taken what He died on the cross for yourself, well this could be the day for you to do that. And you do it by talking to Him, and maybe in words something like this: "Jesus, I was made by you. I was made for you. I've lived pretty much for me, and I'm done with that. I resign the running of my life, Jesus. I believe that you died to pay the death penalty for every wrong thing I have ever done. You loved me that much. I want you, and beginning today I give myself to you."
You ready to begin a relationship with Him? Then you need to go to our website. I've tried to put there exactly what you need to know from God's own words about being sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.
You've been empty because you've been missing the One you were made for. But today, this is your day to trade your empty for His full.
God made you and broke the mold! Every single baby is a brand-new idea from the mind of God. Scan history for your replica; you won’t find it. God tailor-made you. You aren’t one of many bricks in the mason’s pile or one of a dozen bolts in the mechanic’s drawer. You are it! And if you aren’t you, we don’t get you. The world misses out.
You offer a gift to society that no one else brings. When you and I do the most what we do the best for the glory of God, the Bible says that we are “marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body” (Romans 12:5). You play no small part, because there is no small part to be played. God “shaped each person in turn” (Psalm 33:15). We need you to be you. And YOU, need to be you!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 11
Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and kidnapped him from among the king’s sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. He didn’t get killed. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of God. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of the bodyguards and the Palace Security Force. They met him in The Temple of God. He made a covenant with them, swore them to secrecy, and only then showed them the young prince.
5-8 Then he commanded them, “These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of God, are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going.”
9-11 The captains obeyed the orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and presented them to Jehoiada the priest. The priest armed the officers with spears and shields originally belonging to King David, stored in The Temple of God. Well-armed, the guards took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple.
12 Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God’s covenant, and made him king. As they anointed him, everyone applauded and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13-14 Athaliah heard the shouting of guards and people and came to the crowd gathered at The Temple of God. Astonished, she saw the king standing beside the throne, flanked by the captains and heralds, with everybody beside themselves with joy, trumpets blaring. Athaliah ripped her robes in dismay and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
15-16 Jehoiada the priest ordered the military officers, “Drag her outside and kill anyone who tries to follow her!” (The priest had said, “Don’t kill her inside The Temple of God.”) So they dragged her out to the palace’s horse corral; there they killed her.
17 Jehoiada now made a covenant between God and the king and the people: They were God’s people. Another covenant was made between the king and the people.
18-20 The people poured into the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing altar and images to smithereens. They killed Mattan the priest in front of the altar.
Jehoiada then stationed sentries in The Temple of God. He arranged for the officers of the bodyguard and the palace security, along with the people themselves, to escort the king down from The Temple of God through the Gate of the Guards and into the palace. There he sat on the royal throne. Everybody celebrated the event. And the city was safe and undisturbed—they had killed Athaliah with the royal sword.
21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 25:31–40
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
Footnotes:
Matthew 25:40 Or brothers and sisters
Insight
In today’s reading, Jesus invites those who are blessed by the Father to take their inheritance. Is the inheritance the blessing? The inheritance is a good thing, but perhaps the blessing is what enabled them to gain the inheritance. When Jesus explains why the inheritance is theirs, He lists their actions toward those in need. Instead of the blessing being the reward, the blessing could be what made this group compassionate to those in need as opposed to the lack of sympathy in the group that’s sent away (vv. 41–43). God’s blessing—salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit—makes us aware of the needs of others.
Jesus in Disguise
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17
My son Geoff recently participated in a “homeless simulation.” He spent three days and two nights living on the streets of his city, sleeping outside in below freezing temperatures. Without food, money, or shelter, he relied on the kindness of strangers for his basic needs. On one of those days his only food was a sandwich, bought by a man who heard him asking for stale bread at a fast-food restaurant.
Geoff told me later it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, yet it profoundly impacted his outlook on others. He spent the day after his “simulation” seeking out homeless people who had been kind to him during his time on the street, doing what he could to assist them in simple ways. They were surprised to discover he wasn’t actually homeless and were grateful he cared enough to try to see life through their eyes.
My son’s experience calls to mind Jesus’s words: “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:36, 40). Whether we give a word of encouragement or a bag of groceries, God calls us to lovingly attend to the needs of others. Our kindness to others is kindness to Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
What little kindness can you extend to another? When have you been the recipient of another’s kindness?
Dear Jesus, help me to see You in the needs of others today and to love You by loving them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
“Do Not Quench the Spirit”
Do not quench the Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 5:19
The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.
Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.
Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Trading Empty for Full - #8502
Water! Drinking lots of water is good for your health. So I usually have a big mug or bottle of water in my office, a lot of bottles of water with me when I travel. My wife and I were driving one time to some ministry events, and another couple from our team was traveling with us in the back seat. And they got to be the keeper of the water, and the snacks of course. But let's stick with the healthy stuff. This little drill developed, thanks to the thoughtfulness of my buddy in the back seat. When I finished a bottle of water, I handed the empty bottle back to him so it could be dumped in our garbage bag. But as I handed my empty to him, there he was with a full bottle to place in my other hand.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Trading Empty for Full."
Not a bad deal. I gave my friend what was empty and he replaced it with what was full. Just like Jesus. I handed him a life that was pretty empty, and He gave me back a life that is amazingly full. He's done that for countless people. He would love to do that for you.
I know that because of what He said in John 10:10. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" - that's the devil. You know, he comes along to steal, kill and destroy our life. "I have come," Jesus said, "that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I remember talking with a senior football player at our local high school about all the great things that had happened in his senior year. He said he had wanted four things in his senior year: a championship, a scholarship, more friends, and a closer family, and he got them all. And then he actually looked at me with tears in his eyes in this restaurant and he asked in total frustration, "Then why am I so empty?"
That's the question a lot of people have - people of all ages. "Why am I so empty?" Two days after I talked with that football player, the successful and deeply religious president of a local service club said basically the same thing to me. There is this emptiness that nothing seems to fill. And it's sure not for lack of trying. We've hoped that the hole in our heart would be filled by a relationship, or an achievement, or by experiences, or a family, or by a religion. But we keep coming up empty, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and wondering what goes in this hole in our heart.
Jesus goes in the hole of our heart. The Bible actually reveals "all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). You were created by Jesus, you were created for Jesus, and you're going to have a hole in your heart until you have Jesus. Tragically, we have chosen to live "for me" instead of "for Him." And this hijacking of our life from our Creator, has put us in a futile orbit away from Him. But that's why Jesus came. That's why Jesus died - to pay the price for our rebellion so we could finally belong to the One we were made for.
This day could be the day when you hand your empty to Jesus, and He gives you in exchange a life that's finally full, because He's in it. But you have to reach for Him. You have to surrender the self-rule of your life, and put your trust in Him to be the forgiver of every wrong thing you have ever done. He's the only one who can forgive it, because He's the only one who died to pay the price for it.
If you don't know you belong to Him; if you don't know there's been a time in your life when you've taken what He died on the cross for yourself, well this could be the day for you to do that. And you do it by talking to Him, and maybe in words something like this: "Jesus, I was made by you. I was made for you. I've lived pretty much for me, and I'm done with that. I resign the running of my life, Jesus. I believe that you died to pay the death penalty for every wrong thing I have ever done. You loved me that much. I want you, and beginning today I give myself to you."
You ready to begin a relationship with Him? Then you need to go to our website. I've tried to put there exactly what you need to know from God's own words about being sure you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com.
You've been empty because you've been missing the One you were made for. But today, this is your day to trade your empty for His full.
Monday, August 12, 2019
2 Kings 10, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: LIFE IN YOUR SWEET SPOT
Are you living in your sweet spot? Doing what you do well—what you’ve always loved to do?
That last question trips up a lot of folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do—would he? Yes he would. “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress. What have you always done well and loved to do? Read your life backward. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. In the merger of the two, you find your uniqueness!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 10
Ahab had seventy sons still living in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters addressed to the officers of Jezreel, the city elders, and those in charge of Ahab’s sons, and posted them to Samaria. The letters read:
2-3 This letter is fair warning. You’re in charge of your master’s children, chariots, horses, fortifications, and weapons. Pick the best and most capable of your master’s sons and put him on the throne. Prepare to fight for your master’s position.
4 They were absolutely terrified at the letter. They said, “Two kings have already been wiped out by him; what hope do we have?”
5 So they sent the warden of the palace, the mayor of the city, the elders, and the guardians to Jehu with this message: “We are your servants. Whatever you say, we’ll do. We’re not making anyone king here. You’re in charge—do what you think best.”
6-7 Then Jehu wrote a second letter:
If you are on my side and are willing to follow my orders, here’s what you do: Decapitate the sons of your master and bring the heads to me by this time tomorrow in Jezreel.
The king’s sons numbered seventy. The leaders of the city had taken responsibility for them. When they got the letter, they took the king’s sons and killed all seventy. Then they put the heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.
8 A messenger reported to Jehu: “They’ve delivered the heads of the king’s sons.”
He said, “Stack them in two piles at the city gate until morning.”
9-10 In the morning Jehu came out, stood before the people, and addressed them formally: “Do you realize that this very day you are participants in God’s righteous workings? True, I am the one who conspired against my master and assassinated him. But who, do you suppose, is responsible for this pile of skulls? Know this for certain: Not a single syllable that God spoke in judgment on the family of Ahab is canceled; you’re seeing it with your own eyes—God doing what, through Elijah, he said he’d do.”
11 Then Jehu proceeded to kill everyone who had anything to do with Ahab’s family in Jezreel—leaders, friends, priests. He wiped out the entire lot.
12-13 That done, he brushed himself off and set out for Samaria. Along the way, at Beth Eked (Binding House) of the Shepherds, he met up with some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah.
Jehu said, “Who are you?”
They said, “We’re relatives of Ahaziah and we’ve come down to a reunion of the royal family.”
14 “Grab them!” ordered Jehu. They were taken and then massacred at the well of Beth Eked. Forty-two of them—no survivors.
15 He went on from there and came upon Jehonadab the Recabite who was on his way to meet him. Greeting him, he said, “Are we together and of one mind in this?”
Jehonadab said, “We are—count on me.”
“Then give me your hand,” said Jehu.
They shook hands on it and Jehonadab stepped up into the chariot with Jehu.
16 “Come along with me,” said Jehu, “and witness my zeal for God.”Together they proceeded in the chariot.
17 When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu massacred everyone left in Samaria who was in any way connected with Ahab—a mass execution, just as God had told Elijah.
18-19 Next, Jehu got all the people together and addressed them:
Ahab served Baal small-time;
Jehu will serve him big-time.
“Get all the prophets of Baal here—everyone who served him, all his priests. Get everyone here; don’t leave anyone out. I have a great sacrifice to offer Baal. If you don’t show up, you won’t live to tell about it.” (Jehu was lying, of course. He planned to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.)
20 Jehu ordered, “Make preparation for a holy convocation for Baal.” They did and posted the date.
21 Jehu then summoned everyone in Israel. They came in droves—every worshiper of Baal in the country. Nobody stayed home. They came and packed the temple of Baal to capacity.
22 Jehu directed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Get robes for all the servants of Baal.” He brought out their robes.
23-24 Jehu and Jehonadab the Recabite now entered the temple of Baal and said, “Double-check and make sure that there are no worshipers of God in here; only Baal-worshipers are allowed.” Then they launched the worship, making the sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Meanwhile, Jehu had stationed eighty men outside with orders: “Don’t let a single person escape; if you do, it’s your life for his life.”
25-27 When Jehu had finished with the sacrificial solemnities, he signaled to the officers and guards, “Enter and kill! No survivors!”
And the bloody slaughter began. The officers and guards threw the corpses outside and cleared the way to enter the inner shrine of Baal. They hauled out the sacred phallic stone from the temple of Baal and pulverized it. They smashed the Baal altars and tore down the Baal temple. It’s been a public toilet ever since.
28 And that’s the story of Jehu’s wasting of Baal in Israel.
29 But for all that, Jehu didn’t turn back from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the sins that had dragged Israel into a life of sin—the golden calves in Bethel and Dan stayed.
30 God commended Jehu: “You did well to do what I saw was best. You did what I ordered against the family of Ahab. As reward, your sons will occupy the throne of Israel for four generations.”
31 Even then, though, Jehu wasn’t careful to walk in God’s ways and honor the God of Israel from an undivided heart. He didn’t turn back from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin.
32-33 It was about this time that God began to shrink Israel. Hazael hacked away at the borders of Israel from the Jordan to the east—all the territory of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh from Aroer near the Brook Arnon. In effect, all Gilead and Bashan.
34-36 The rest of the life and times of Jehu, his accomplishments and fame, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jehu died and was buried in the family plot in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz was the next king. Jehu ruled Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Romans 12:3–8
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[b] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Footnotes:
Romans 12:4 Greek parts; also verse 5
Romans 12:8 Or gives aid
Insight
Romans 12 marks a turning point in Paul’s letter. Previously the apostle had been explaining the work of God in salvation, describing Jesus as the second Adam who came to redeem what had been lost through our first parents’ disobedience in Eden. Now he turns his attention to the way this salvation is to be lived out by those bought by Christ’s sacrifice. It starts with the redeemed becoming a “living sacrifice” (v. 1), whose focus is on being useful to God in the lives of others. This is followed by a list of spiritual gifts to equip God’s children in service to others (vv. 3–8). Another list of spiritual gifts appears in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, and a list of leadership roles (gifts to the church) is found in Ephesians 4:11. Through these provisions, the Spirit enables us to be useful in our spiritual service.
Celebrating God’s Creativity
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6
As music filled the church auditorium, color-blind artist Lance Brown stepped onstage. He stood in front of a large white canvas, with his back to the congregation and dipped his brush into black paint. With smooth swipes, he completed a cross. Stroke after stroke with brushes and his hands, this visual storyteller created images of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. He covered the large patches of the canvas with black paint and added blue and white to finish a now abstract painting in less than six minutes. He picked up the canvas, turned it upside down, and revealed a hidden image—a compassion-filled face—Jesus.
Brown said he’d been reluctant when a friend suggested he speed-paint during a church service. Yet he now travels internationally to lead people into worship as he paints and shares Christ with others.
The apostle Paul affirms the value and purpose of the diverse gifts God has dispersed to His people. Every member of His family is equipped to glorify the Lord and build others up in love (Romans 12:3–5). Paul encourages us to identify and use our gifts to edify others and point to Jesus, serving diligently and cheerfully (vv. 6–8).
God has given each of us spiritual gifts, talents, skills, and experiences to serve wholeheartedly behind the scenes or in the forefront. As we celebrate His creativity, He uses our uniqueness to spread the gospel and build up other believers in love. By Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
Who can you encourage to use their God-given gifts to serve others? How will you do the same?
God, thank You for Your creativity. May I reflect it today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 12, 2019
The Theology of Resting in God
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26
When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.
“…O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.
There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.
We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 12, 2019
Watching Where You're Stepping - #8501
When my wife and I stuck our head out the door of our motel room one morning, we were greeted by a torrential rainstorm. Because we were driving a larger-than-usual vehicle, we had to park a distance from our room, and that meant we were in for a wet run to our vehicle. I was collecting our overnight bag, so my wife was the one who struck out into the monsoon first. For the most part, she was able to run under the cover of that motel overhang. So I took off, sprinting along the route that she had just taken. What I missed was her yelling "No!" to me as I approached a place to cross the parking lot. I missed her warning and promptly, you know, ran full speed into a huge puddle that had accumulated at the edge of the sidewalk: soaked socks, soaked shoes, squishing all day. Maybe you've been there. Oh, and my wife's feet? They were dry. Mine were soaked. The difference? She looked ahead to see where she was stepping. I didn't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Watching Where You're Stepping."
Not looking ahead that day of the monsoon only cost me dry feet for a few hours. Unfortunately, that same mistake can cost you much more when it comes to making many of your life-choices. If you don't watch where you're about to step, you may step into something that will hurt for a long time.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus offers some important guidance for making "no regrets" decisions. The context is about the decision to be His follower. And while Luke 13:28 applies directly to that choice, it also warns us about a mistake we make in so many of our life-decisions.
Jesus says, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"
Notice those seven brilliant words, "First sit down and estimate the cost." Now, that's what I wish I had done before I picked my path for running through the rain to my car. I didn't look ahead. I didn't see what price I would pay for going the way I was going.
If you were to look back on some of the decisions you regret in the past, I'll bet you'd see that you failed to really watch where you were stepping; to see what this was going to cost you. For many of us, a lot of the frustration and pain we're dealing with today is the harvest of bad decisions that we've made in the past. Jesus wants us to avoid regrets like those by looking where we're stepping.
You don't just run into something because it feels good or sounds good or looks good. Before you go running ahead full speed, you have to stop your forward progress. "First sit down," Jesus said, and ask yourself some cost-counting questions. How is this going to affect my family? How will it affect my reputation? How about my health? How about the other commitments I've already made? How is going to affect them? What could this cost me financially? How is it going to affect my time with God? How about my time to serve God? What temptations is this going to throw me into? What am I sacrificing to do this? Can I really live with what this might cost me?
Those questions anticipate the harvest that you're going to reap from the decision you're about to make - the price you'll be paying. So listen to Jesus. Don't go charging into something until you have really looked at what you're about to step into!
Are you living in your sweet spot? Doing what you do well—what you’ve always loved to do?
That last question trips up a lot of folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do—would he? Yes he would. “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress. What have you always done well and loved to do? Read your life backward. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. In the merger of the two, you find your uniqueness!
Read more Cure for the Common Life
2 Kings 10
Ahab had seventy sons still living in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters addressed to the officers of Jezreel, the city elders, and those in charge of Ahab’s sons, and posted them to Samaria. The letters read:
2-3 This letter is fair warning. You’re in charge of your master’s children, chariots, horses, fortifications, and weapons. Pick the best and most capable of your master’s sons and put him on the throne. Prepare to fight for your master’s position.
4 They were absolutely terrified at the letter. They said, “Two kings have already been wiped out by him; what hope do we have?”
5 So they sent the warden of the palace, the mayor of the city, the elders, and the guardians to Jehu with this message: “We are your servants. Whatever you say, we’ll do. We’re not making anyone king here. You’re in charge—do what you think best.”
6-7 Then Jehu wrote a second letter:
If you are on my side and are willing to follow my orders, here’s what you do: Decapitate the sons of your master and bring the heads to me by this time tomorrow in Jezreel.
The king’s sons numbered seventy. The leaders of the city had taken responsibility for them. When they got the letter, they took the king’s sons and killed all seventy. Then they put the heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.
8 A messenger reported to Jehu: “They’ve delivered the heads of the king’s sons.”
He said, “Stack them in two piles at the city gate until morning.”
9-10 In the morning Jehu came out, stood before the people, and addressed them formally: “Do you realize that this very day you are participants in God’s righteous workings? True, I am the one who conspired against my master and assassinated him. But who, do you suppose, is responsible for this pile of skulls? Know this for certain: Not a single syllable that God spoke in judgment on the family of Ahab is canceled; you’re seeing it with your own eyes—God doing what, through Elijah, he said he’d do.”
11 Then Jehu proceeded to kill everyone who had anything to do with Ahab’s family in Jezreel—leaders, friends, priests. He wiped out the entire lot.
12-13 That done, he brushed himself off and set out for Samaria. Along the way, at Beth Eked (Binding House) of the Shepherds, he met up with some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah.
Jehu said, “Who are you?”
They said, “We’re relatives of Ahaziah and we’ve come down to a reunion of the royal family.”
14 “Grab them!” ordered Jehu. They were taken and then massacred at the well of Beth Eked. Forty-two of them—no survivors.
15 He went on from there and came upon Jehonadab the Recabite who was on his way to meet him. Greeting him, he said, “Are we together and of one mind in this?”
Jehonadab said, “We are—count on me.”
“Then give me your hand,” said Jehu.
They shook hands on it and Jehonadab stepped up into the chariot with Jehu.
16 “Come along with me,” said Jehu, “and witness my zeal for God.”Together they proceeded in the chariot.
17 When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu massacred everyone left in Samaria who was in any way connected with Ahab—a mass execution, just as God had told Elijah.
18-19 Next, Jehu got all the people together and addressed them:
Ahab served Baal small-time;
Jehu will serve him big-time.
“Get all the prophets of Baal here—everyone who served him, all his priests. Get everyone here; don’t leave anyone out. I have a great sacrifice to offer Baal. If you don’t show up, you won’t live to tell about it.” (Jehu was lying, of course. He planned to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.)
20 Jehu ordered, “Make preparation for a holy convocation for Baal.” They did and posted the date.
21 Jehu then summoned everyone in Israel. They came in droves—every worshiper of Baal in the country. Nobody stayed home. They came and packed the temple of Baal to capacity.
22 Jehu directed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Get robes for all the servants of Baal.” He brought out their robes.
23-24 Jehu and Jehonadab the Recabite now entered the temple of Baal and said, “Double-check and make sure that there are no worshipers of God in here; only Baal-worshipers are allowed.” Then they launched the worship, making the sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Meanwhile, Jehu had stationed eighty men outside with orders: “Don’t let a single person escape; if you do, it’s your life for his life.”
25-27 When Jehu had finished with the sacrificial solemnities, he signaled to the officers and guards, “Enter and kill! No survivors!”
And the bloody slaughter began. The officers and guards threw the corpses outside and cleared the way to enter the inner shrine of Baal. They hauled out the sacred phallic stone from the temple of Baal and pulverized it. They smashed the Baal altars and tore down the Baal temple. It’s been a public toilet ever since.
28 And that’s the story of Jehu’s wasting of Baal in Israel.
29 But for all that, Jehu didn’t turn back from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the sins that had dragged Israel into a life of sin—the golden calves in Bethel and Dan stayed.
30 God commended Jehu: “You did well to do what I saw was best. You did what I ordered against the family of Ahab. As reward, your sons will occupy the throne of Israel for four generations.”
31 Even then, though, Jehu wasn’t careful to walk in God’s ways and honor the God of Israel from an undivided heart. He didn’t turn back from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin.
32-33 It was about this time that God began to shrink Israel. Hazael hacked away at the borders of Israel from the Jordan to the east—all the territory of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh from Aroer near the Brook Arnon. In effect, all Gilead and Bashan.
34-36 The rest of the life and times of Jehu, his accomplishments and fame, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jehu died and was buried in the family plot in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz was the next king. Jehu ruled Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Romans 12:3–8
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[b] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Footnotes:
Romans 12:4 Greek parts; also verse 5
Romans 12:8 Or gives aid
Insight
Romans 12 marks a turning point in Paul’s letter. Previously the apostle had been explaining the work of God in salvation, describing Jesus as the second Adam who came to redeem what had been lost through our first parents’ disobedience in Eden. Now he turns his attention to the way this salvation is to be lived out by those bought by Christ’s sacrifice. It starts with the redeemed becoming a “living sacrifice” (v. 1), whose focus is on being useful to God in the lives of others. This is followed by a list of spiritual gifts to equip God’s children in service to others (vv. 3–8). Another list of spiritual gifts appears in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, and a list of leadership roles (gifts to the church) is found in Ephesians 4:11. Through these provisions, the Spirit enables us to be useful in our spiritual service.
Celebrating God’s Creativity
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6
As music filled the church auditorium, color-blind artist Lance Brown stepped onstage. He stood in front of a large white canvas, with his back to the congregation and dipped his brush into black paint. With smooth swipes, he completed a cross. Stroke after stroke with brushes and his hands, this visual storyteller created images of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. He covered the large patches of the canvas with black paint and added blue and white to finish a now abstract painting in less than six minutes. He picked up the canvas, turned it upside down, and revealed a hidden image—a compassion-filled face—Jesus.
Brown said he’d been reluctant when a friend suggested he speed-paint during a church service. Yet he now travels internationally to lead people into worship as he paints and shares Christ with others.
The apostle Paul affirms the value and purpose of the diverse gifts God has dispersed to His people. Every member of His family is equipped to glorify the Lord and build others up in love (Romans 12:3–5). Paul encourages us to identify and use our gifts to edify others and point to Jesus, serving diligently and cheerfully (vv. 6–8).
God has given each of us spiritual gifts, talents, skills, and experiences to serve wholeheartedly behind the scenes or in the forefront. As we celebrate His creativity, He uses our uniqueness to spread the gospel and build up other believers in love. By Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
Who can you encourage to use their God-given gifts to serve others? How will you do the same?
God, thank You for Your creativity. May I reflect it today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 12, 2019
The Theology of Resting in God
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26
When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.
“…O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.
There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.
We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 12, 2019
Watching Where You're Stepping - #8501
When my wife and I stuck our head out the door of our motel room one morning, we were greeted by a torrential rainstorm. Because we were driving a larger-than-usual vehicle, we had to park a distance from our room, and that meant we were in for a wet run to our vehicle. I was collecting our overnight bag, so my wife was the one who struck out into the monsoon first. For the most part, she was able to run under the cover of that motel overhang. So I took off, sprinting along the route that she had just taken. What I missed was her yelling "No!" to me as I approached a place to cross the parking lot. I missed her warning and promptly, you know, ran full speed into a huge puddle that had accumulated at the edge of the sidewalk: soaked socks, soaked shoes, squishing all day. Maybe you've been there. Oh, and my wife's feet? They were dry. Mine were soaked. The difference? She looked ahead to see where she was stepping. I didn't.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Watching Where You're Stepping."
Not looking ahead that day of the monsoon only cost me dry feet for a few hours. Unfortunately, that same mistake can cost you much more when it comes to making many of your life-choices. If you don't watch where you're about to step, you may step into something that will hurt for a long time.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus offers some important guidance for making "no regrets" decisions. The context is about the decision to be His follower. And while Luke 13:28 applies directly to that choice, it also warns us about a mistake we make in so many of our life-decisions.
Jesus says, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"
Notice those seven brilliant words, "First sit down and estimate the cost." Now, that's what I wish I had done before I picked my path for running through the rain to my car. I didn't look ahead. I didn't see what price I would pay for going the way I was going.
If you were to look back on some of the decisions you regret in the past, I'll bet you'd see that you failed to really watch where you were stepping; to see what this was going to cost you. For many of us, a lot of the frustration and pain we're dealing with today is the harvest of bad decisions that we've made in the past. Jesus wants us to avoid regrets like those by looking where we're stepping.
You don't just run into something because it feels good or sounds good or looks good. Before you go running ahead full speed, you have to stop your forward progress. "First sit down," Jesus said, and ask yourself some cost-counting questions. How is this going to affect my family? How will it affect my reputation? How about my health? How about the other commitments I've already made? How is going to affect them? What could this cost me financially? How is it going to affect my time with God? How about my time to serve God? What temptations is this going to throw me into? What am I sacrificing to do this? Can I really live with what this might cost me?
Those questions anticipate the harvest that you're going to reap from the decision you're about to make - the price you'll be paying. So listen to Jesus. Don't go charging into something until you have really looked at what you're about to step into!
Sunday, August 11, 2019
James 3 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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
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
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.
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