Max Lucado Daily: Everybody Gets a Gift
Joshua said: "Tribe of Judah, take the high country. Manasseh, occupy the valleys. People of God, inhabit the land east of the Jordan."
Jesus says: Joe, take your place in the domain of medicine. Mary, your territory is accounting. Susan, I give you the gift of compassion. Now occupy your territory.
Everybody gets a gift and these gifts come in different doses and combinations. 1 Corinthians 12:7 says, "Each person is given something to do that shows who God is." Our inheritance is grace-based and equal. But our assignments are tailor made. No two snowflakes the same and no two fingerprints the same. Why would two skill sets be the same? No wonder Paul said in Ephesians 5:17 to make sure you understand what the Master wants! Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.
From Glory Days
Acts 18
After Athens, Paul went to Corinth. That is where he discovered Aquila, a Jew born in Pontus, and his wife, Priscilla. They had just arrived from Italy, part of the general expulsion of Jews from Rome ordered by Claudius. Paul moved in with them, and they worked together at their common trade of tentmaking. But every Sabbath he was at the meeting place, doing his best to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus.
5-6 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was able to give all his time to preaching and teaching, doing everything he could to persuade the Jews that Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah. But no such luck. All they did was argue contentiously and contradict him at every turn. Totally exasperated, Paul had finally had it with them and gave it up as a bad job. “Have it your way, then,” he said. “You’ve made your bed; now lie in it. From now on I’m spending my time with the other nations.”
7-8 He walked out and went to the home of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next to the Jews’ meeting place. But Paul’s efforts with the Jews weren’t a total loss, for Crispus, the meeting-place president, put his trust in the Master. His entire family believed with him.
8-11 In the course of listening to Paul, a great many Corinthians believed and were baptized. One night the Master spoke to Paul in a dream: “Keep it up, and don’t let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I’m with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you. You have no idea how many people I have on my side in this city.” That was all he needed to stick it out. He stayed another year and a half, faithfully teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians.
12-13 But when Gallio was governor of Achaia province, the Jews got up a campaign against Paul, hauled him into court, and filed charges: “This man is seducing people into acts of worship that are illegal.”
14-16 Just as Paul was about to defend himself, Gallio interrupted and said to the Jews, “If this was a matter of criminal conduct, I would gladly hear you out. But it sounds to me like one more Jewish squabble, another of your endless hairsplitting quarrels over religion. Take care of it on your own time. I can’t be bothered with this nonsense,” and he cleared them out of the courtroom.
17 Now the street rabble turned on Sosthenes, the new meeting-place president, and beat him up in plain sight of the court. Gallio didn’t raise a finger. He could not have cared less.
18 Paul stayed a while longer in Corinth, but then it was time to take leave of his friends. Saying his good-byes, he sailed for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila with him. Before boarding the ship in the harbor town of Cenchrea, he had his head shaved as part of a vow he had taken.
19-21 They landed in Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila got off and stayed. Paul left the ship briefly to go to the meeting place and preach to the Jews. They wanted him to stay longer, but he said he couldn’t. But after saying good-bye, he promised, “I’ll be back, God willing.”
21-22 From Ephesus he sailed to Caesarea. He greeted the church there, and then went on to Antioch, completing the journey.
23 After spending a considerable time with the Antioch Christians, Paul set off again for Galatia and Phrygia, retracing his old tracks, one town after another, putting fresh heart into the disciples.
24-26 A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a terrific speaker, eloquent and powerful in his preaching of the Scriptures. He was well-educated in the way of the Master and fiery in his enthusiasm. Apollos was accurate in everything he taught about Jesus up to a point, but he only went as far as the baptism of John. He preached with power in the meeting place. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and told him the rest of the story.
27-28 When Apollos decided to go on to Achaia province, his Ephesian friends gave their blessing and wrote a letter of recommendation for him, urging the disciples there to welcome him with open arms. The welcome paid off: Apollos turned out to be a great help to those who had become believers through God’s immense generosity. He was particularly effective in public debate with the Jews as he brought out proof after convincing proof from the Scriptures that Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 2:17–18; 12:1–2
For this reason he had to be made like them,[a] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 12:1-2 New International Version (NIV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Insight
Hebrews 2:18 gives us great insight into the life of Jesus: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” When we think of Christ’s temptation, we think of His time in the wilderness (see Matthew 4; Mark 1; Luke 4). When Satan attempts to turn Him away from His mission, Jesus combats the tempter with Scripture. This confrontation shows us that knowing Scripture and relying on God enables us to stand firm in the face of temptation. Jesus felt the allure of temptation in the same way we do, and because of that, He’s able to help us in our weakness.
Easily Entangled
Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Hebrews 12:1
Soldiers fighting in a sweltering jungle many years ago encountered a frustrating problem. Without warning, a pervasive prickly vine would attach itself to the soldiers’ bodies and gear, causing them to be trapped. As they struggled to get free, even more of the plant’s tentacles entangled them. The soldiers dubbed the weed the “wait-a-minute” vine because, once entwined and unable to move forward, they were forced to shout out to other members of their team, “Hey, wait a minute, I’m stuck!”
In a similar way, it’s hard for followers of Jesus to move forward when we’re ensnared by sin. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” and “run with perseverance.” But how do we throw off the sin weighing us down?
Jesus is the only one who can free us from pervasive sin in our lives. May we learn to fix our eyes on Him, our Savior (12:2). Because the Son of God became “fully human in every way,” He knows what it’s like to be tempted—yet not sin (2:17–18; 4:15). Alone, we may be desperately entwined by our own sin, but God wants us to overcome temptation. It’s not through our own strength, but His, that we can “throw off” entangling sin and run after His righteousness (1 Corinthians 10:13). By: Cindy Hess Kasper
Reflect & Pray
What sin or sins have a strong hold on you? What can you do to gain freedom from the struggle you’re experiencing?
Jesus, give me Your strength to overcome the sin in my life. Help me to trust in Your power rather than my own and lead me in the right path.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 17, 2019
The Eternal Goal
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing…I will bless you… —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself…
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
“At any cost…by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.”
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If a man cannot prove his religion in the valley, it is not worth anything. Shade of His Hand, 1200 L
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Psalm 129, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: What You Were Made to Do
Many people stop short of their destiny. They settle for someone else’s story. Grandpa was a butcher, Dad was a butcher, so I guess I’ll be a butcher. Everyone I know is in farming, so I guess I’m supposed to farm. Consequently, they risk leading dull, joyless, and fruitless lives. They never sing the song God wrote for their voices. They never cross a finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, I was made to do this! They fit in, settle in, and blend in. But they never find their call.
Don’t make the same mistake. Ephesians 2:10 says: “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Your existence is not accidental. Your skills are not incidental. God shaped each person in turn!
From Glory Days
Psalm 129
A Pilgrim Song
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”
—this is how Israel tells it—
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young,
but they never could keep me down.
Their plowmen plowed long furrows
up and down my back;
Then God ripped the harnesses
of the evil plowmen to shreds.”
5-8 Oh, let all those who hate Zion
grovel in humiliation;
Let them be like grass in shallow ground
that withers before the harvest,
Before the farmhands can gather it in,
the harvesters get in the crop,
Before the neighbors have a chance to call out,
“Congratulations on your wonderful crop!
We bless you in God’s name!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Deuteronomy 31:1–8
Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Insight
In Deuteronomy, Moses recounts in three speeches (chs. 1–4; 5–26; 27–34) the history of the Israelites about to enter the Promised Land. The forty years of punishment had ended, and all Israelites twenty years and older when the exodus began had died, except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb (Numbers 14:29–35). Moses urged the Israelites to learn from their past unfaithfulness and to trust God (Deuteronomy 31:4–6). Moses himself wouldn’t enter Canaan because of his disobedience (v. 2). On the way to the Promised Land he dishonored God at Kadesh by striking the rock for water instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:1–13; Psalm 106:32–33). Yet Moses was permitted to see Canaan from Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1–5).
Dad, Where Are You?
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8
“Dad! Where are you?”
I was pulling into our driveway when my daughter, panicking, called me on my cell phone. I’d needed to be home by 6:00 to get her to play practice; I was on time. My daughter’s voice, however, betrayed her lack of trust. Reflexively, I responded: “I’m here. Why don’t you trust me?”
But as I spoke those words, I wondered, How often could my heavenly Father ask that of me? In stressful moments, I too am impatient. I too struggle to trust, to believe God will keep His promises. So I cry out: “Father, where are you?”
Amid stress and uncertainty, I sometimes doubt God’s presence, or even His goodness and purposes for me. The Israelites did too. In Deuteronomy 31, they were preparing to enter the Promised Land, knowing their leader, Moses, would stay behind. Moses sought to reassure God’s people by reminding them, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (v. 8).
That promise—that God is always with us—remains a cornerstone of our faith today (see Matthew 1:23; Hebrews 13:5). Indeed, Revelation 21:3 culminates with these words: “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”
Where is God? He’s right here, right now, right with us—always ready to hear our prayers. By: Adam Holz
Reflect & Pray
What Scripture brings to mind the truth of God’s presence? Place it somewhere easily visible to remind you.
Father, help us to see how much You love us!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Still Human!
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R
Many people stop short of their destiny. They settle for someone else’s story. Grandpa was a butcher, Dad was a butcher, so I guess I’ll be a butcher. Everyone I know is in farming, so I guess I’m supposed to farm. Consequently, they risk leading dull, joyless, and fruitless lives. They never sing the song God wrote for their voices. They never cross a finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, I was made to do this! They fit in, settle in, and blend in. But they never find their call.
Don’t make the same mistake. Ephesians 2:10 says: “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Your existence is not accidental. Your skills are not incidental. God shaped each person in turn!
From Glory Days
Psalm 129
A Pilgrim Song
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”
—this is how Israel tells it—
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young,
but they never could keep me down.
Their plowmen plowed long furrows
up and down my back;
Then God ripped the harnesses
of the evil plowmen to shreds.”
5-8 Oh, let all those who hate Zion
grovel in humiliation;
Let them be like grass in shallow ground
that withers before the harvest,
Before the farmhands can gather it in,
the harvesters get in the crop,
Before the neighbors have a chance to call out,
“Congratulations on your wonderful crop!
We bless you in God’s name!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Deuteronomy 31:1–8
Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Insight
In Deuteronomy, Moses recounts in three speeches (chs. 1–4; 5–26; 27–34) the history of the Israelites about to enter the Promised Land. The forty years of punishment had ended, and all Israelites twenty years and older when the exodus began had died, except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb (Numbers 14:29–35). Moses urged the Israelites to learn from their past unfaithfulness and to trust God (Deuteronomy 31:4–6). Moses himself wouldn’t enter Canaan because of his disobedience (v. 2). On the way to the Promised Land he dishonored God at Kadesh by striking the rock for water instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:1–13; Psalm 106:32–33). Yet Moses was permitted to see Canaan from Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1–5).
Dad, Where Are You?
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8
“Dad! Where are you?”
I was pulling into our driveway when my daughter, panicking, called me on my cell phone. I’d needed to be home by 6:00 to get her to play practice; I was on time. My daughter’s voice, however, betrayed her lack of trust. Reflexively, I responded: “I’m here. Why don’t you trust me?”
But as I spoke those words, I wondered, How often could my heavenly Father ask that of me? In stressful moments, I too am impatient. I too struggle to trust, to believe God will keep His promises. So I cry out: “Father, where are you?”
Amid stress and uncertainty, I sometimes doubt God’s presence, or even His goodness and purposes for me. The Israelites did too. In Deuteronomy 31, they were preparing to enter the Promised Land, knowing their leader, Moses, would stay behind. Moses sought to reassure God’s people by reminding them, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (v. 8).
That promise—that God is always with us—remains a cornerstone of our faith today (see Matthew 1:23; Hebrews 13:5). Indeed, Revelation 21:3 culminates with these words: “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”
Where is God? He’s right here, right now, right with us—always ready to hear our prayers. By: Adam Holz
Reflect & Pray
What Scripture brings to mind the truth of God’s presence? Place it somewhere easily visible to remind you.
Father, help us to see how much You love us!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Still Human!
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ. My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R
Friday, November 15, 2019
Psalm 128, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: PRAYER CAN BE SIMPLE, YET POWERFUL
Prayer really is simple. Resist the urge to complicate it. Don’t take pride in well-crafted prayers. Don’t apologize for incoherent prayers. No games. No cover-ups. Just be honest. Honest to God.
Climb into His lap, tell Him everything that is on your heart. Or, tell Him nothing at all. Just lift your heart to heaven and declare “Father, Daddy.” Stress, fear, guilt, grief…demands on all sides. At times, all we can summon, is a plaintive, “Oh Father.” If so, that’s enough. Your Heavenly Father will wrap you in His arms.
Here’s my challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.
Psalm 128
A Pilgrim Song
All you who fear God, how blessed you are!
how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!
You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming.
Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!
3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes,
your household lush as a vineyard,
The children around your table
as fresh and promising as young olive shoots.
Stand in awe of God’s Yes.
Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God!
5-6 Enjoy the good life in Jerusalem
every day of your life.
And enjoy your grandchildren.
Peace to Israel!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 15, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Corinthians 9:19–27
(though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Insight
In today’s text, Paul illustrates his point with references to running. The Corinthians were very familiar with these word pictures because Corinth was home to the Isthmian games—a competition second only to the ancient Olympics. As Jesus illustrated His teaching with ideas familiar to His Jewish audience (farming, fishing, etc.), Paul utilized ideas familiar to his readers/hearers as well. To the sports-conscious people of Corinth, he talked about athletics. To the intellectuals of Athens, Paul quoted Greek poets (Acts 17:28). This is a reminder that teaching isn’t simply about dispensing information; it’s also about encouraging understanding by making the ideas relevant to one’s audience. By: Bill Crowder
Aiming for the Prize
Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24
In the 1994 fictional movie Forrest Gump, Forrest becomes famous for running. What began as a jog “to the end of the road” continued for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours. Each time he arrived at his destination, he set another one and continued to run, zig-zagging across the United States, until one day when he no longer felt like it. “Feeling like it” was the way his running began. Forrest says, “That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.”
In contrast to Forrest’s seemingly whimsical running, the apostle Paul asks his readers to follow his example and “run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Like disciplined athletes, our running—the way we live our lives—might mean saying no to some of our pleasures. Being willing to forgo our rights might help us reach others with the good news of our rescue from sin and death.
With our hearts and minds trained on the goal of inviting others to run the race alongside us, we are also assured of the ultimate prize—eternal fellowship with God. The victor’s crown God bestows will last forever; we win it by running our lives with the aim of making Him known while relying on His strength to do so. What a reason to run! By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
What is your “aim” in life? How is it similar to or different than Paul’s?
Jesus, help me stay focused on the reason I run: to share about You with those around me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 15, 2019
“What Is That to You?”
Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 15, 2019
Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places - #8570
I have an inspiring view out of my office window. I look out at a mountain with this rolling field in between me and the mountain. The field dips down into a hollow, or a "holler" as they call it in the South. In the spring, some of the trees in the hollow start to bloom in living color. The redbud, the dogwood, they just start setting out their blossoms in all their glory. Well, one spring, someone walked into my office, glanced out that window, and said, "Well, look at those beautiful trees down there." They are beautiful, but you know what? They're in a spot where very few people ever see that beauty.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places."
God doesn't reserve His beauty for places where lots of people can appreciate it. He also plants some beautiful things in out-of-the-way places. Hey, maybe you're one of them. Not many see beauty when it's in an unlikely or a little known place, but it's no less beautiful.
As Jesus is evaluating each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, He seems pretty unimpressed with the ones that look beautiful to everyone else. Like the church at Sardis that "has a reputation of being alive" but Jesus says to them, "You are dead" (Revelation 3:1). Or the rich and powerful Christians at Laodicea who Jesus says are actually "pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Revelation 3:17).
But then there's this church - this out-of-the-way, little known church that Jesus thinks is beautiful. He says in our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 3, beginning in verse 8, "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word." Then He promises them something that He offers to none of the other, highly visible churches, "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." He's going to give them special blessings and opportunities because of their quiet faithfulness.
For someone listening today, that's exactly how He feels about you. You've been asked to serve Him, to be faithful to Him in a little place, maybe a hard place, a place where you receive little or no appreciation or affirmation. Maybe you work or live in a situation where no one appreciates the beauty of Christ in you. But God wants you to know today He loves to look at you. He thinks you're beautiful!
Think about Hannah in the Old Testament. She was a childless woman who kept on trusting the Lord. She had beauty that no one saw except God. And He made her the mother of Samuel, the greatest spiritual leader of his time. And then there's Mary, the little known girl from a ridiculed, backwater village called Nazareth, but God knew all about her and He looked to her when it came time to find a mother to carry and raise His Son. God seems to have special rewards for quiet, unnoticed faithfulness. Maybe like yours.
It's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to get down on yourself when you've been asked to bloom for God in a place where few can see you, where few appreciate your service, few appreciate your sacrifice. But God sees you. You are His "something beautiful" in an out-of-the-way place. And although there aren't many who see you blooming there, like those glorious trees hidden in the hollow outside my window, your life is no less beautiful.
Prayer really is simple. Resist the urge to complicate it. Don’t take pride in well-crafted prayers. Don’t apologize for incoherent prayers. No games. No cover-ups. Just be honest. Honest to God.
Climb into His lap, tell Him everything that is on your heart. Or, tell Him nothing at all. Just lift your heart to heaven and declare “Father, Daddy.” Stress, fear, guilt, grief…demands on all sides. At times, all we can summon, is a plaintive, “Oh Father.” If so, that’s enough. Your Heavenly Father will wrap you in His arms.
Here’s my challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.
Psalm 128
A Pilgrim Song
All you who fear God, how blessed you are!
how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!
You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming.
Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!
3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes,
your household lush as a vineyard,
The children around your table
as fresh and promising as young olive shoots.
Stand in awe of God’s Yes.
Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God!
5-6 Enjoy the good life in Jerusalem
every day of your life.
And enjoy your grandchildren.
Peace to Israel!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 15, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Corinthians 9:19–27
(though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Insight
In today’s text, Paul illustrates his point with references to running. The Corinthians were very familiar with these word pictures because Corinth was home to the Isthmian games—a competition second only to the ancient Olympics. As Jesus illustrated His teaching with ideas familiar to His Jewish audience (farming, fishing, etc.), Paul utilized ideas familiar to his readers/hearers as well. To the sports-conscious people of Corinth, he talked about athletics. To the intellectuals of Athens, Paul quoted Greek poets (Acts 17:28). This is a reminder that teaching isn’t simply about dispensing information; it’s also about encouraging understanding by making the ideas relevant to one’s audience. By: Bill Crowder
Aiming for the Prize
Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24
In the 1994 fictional movie Forrest Gump, Forrest becomes famous for running. What began as a jog “to the end of the road” continued for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours. Each time he arrived at his destination, he set another one and continued to run, zig-zagging across the United States, until one day when he no longer felt like it. “Feeling like it” was the way his running began. Forrest says, “That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.”
In contrast to Forrest’s seemingly whimsical running, the apostle Paul asks his readers to follow his example and “run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Like disciplined athletes, our running—the way we live our lives—might mean saying no to some of our pleasures. Being willing to forgo our rights might help us reach others with the good news of our rescue from sin and death.
With our hearts and minds trained on the goal of inviting others to run the race alongside us, we are also assured of the ultimate prize—eternal fellowship with God. The victor’s crown God bestows will last forever; we win it by running our lives with the aim of making Him known while relying on His strength to do so. What a reason to run! By: Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
What is your “aim” in life? How is it similar to or different than Paul’s?
Jesus, help me stay focused on the reason I run: to share about You with those around me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 15, 2019
“What Is That to You?”
Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 15, 2019
Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places - #8570
I have an inspiring view out of my office window. I look out at a mountain with this rolling field in between me and the mountain. The field dips down into a hollow, or a "holler" as they call it in the South. In the spring, some of the trees in the hollow start to bloom in living color. The redbud, the dogwood, they just start setting out their blossoms in all their glory. Well, one spring, someone walked into my office, glanced out that window, and said, "Well, look at those beautiful trees down there." They are beautiful, but you know what? They're in a spot where very few people ever see that beauty.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beauty in Out-of-the-Way Places."
God doesn't reserve His beauty for places where lots of people can appreciate it. He also plants some beautiful things in out-of-the-way places. Hey, maybe you're one of them. Not many see beauty when it's in an unlikely or a little known place, but it's no less beautiful.
As Jesus is evaluating each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, He seems pretty unimpressed with the ones that look beautiful to everyone else. Like the church at Sardis that "has a reputation of being alive" but Jesus says to them, "You are dead" (Revelation 3:1). Or the rich and powerful Christians at Laodicea who Jesus says are actually "pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Revelation 3:17).
But then there's this church - this out-of-the-way, little known church that Jesus thinks is beautiful. He says in our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 3, beginning in verse 8, "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word." Then He promises them something that He offers to none of the other, highly visible churches, "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." He's going to give them special blessings and opportunities because of their quiet faithfulness.
For someone listening today, that's exactly how He feels about you. You've been asked to serve Him, to be faithful to Him in a little place, maybe a hard place, a place where you receive little or no appreciation or affirmation. Maybe you work or live in a situation where no one appreciates the beauty of Christ in you. But God wants you to know today He loves to look at you. He thinks you're beautiful!
Think about Hannah in the Old Testament. She was a childless woman who kept on trusting the Lord. She had beauty that no one saw except God. And He made her the mother of Samuel, the greatest spiritual leader of his time. And then there's Mary, the little known girl from a ridiculed, backwater village called Nazareth, but God knew all about her and He looked to her when it came time to find a mother to carry and raise His Son. God seems to have special rewards for quiet, unnoticed faithfulness. Maybe like yours.
It's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to get down on yourself when you've been asked to bloom for God in a place where few can see you, where few appreciate your service, few appreciate your sacrifice. But God sees you. You are His "something beautiful" in an out-of-the-way place. And although there aren't many who see you blooming there, like those glorious trees hidden in the hollow outside my window, your life is no less beautiful.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Psalm 127, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: BE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN
We prayer wimps fear “mis-praying.” What’s the expected etiquette and dress code of prayer? What if we kneel instead of stand? Jesus’ answer? In Matthew 18:3, He says, “Become as little children.” Carefree. Joy filled. Playful. Trusting. Curious. Trust more—strut less.
God prefers this greeting: “God, you are my Daddy, and I am your child!” It’s hard to show off and call God “Daddy” at the same time. Impossible, in fact. Remember, prayer doesn’t depend on how you pray. The power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer!
Here’s my prayer challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. And get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 127
A Pilgrim Song of Solomon
If God doesn’t build the house,
the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn’t guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?
3-5 Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you;
you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 10:19–25
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Insight
The New Testament letter to the Hebrews was written to readers born and raised under the law of Moses. Their lives had been centered in the moral, civil, and ceremonial obligations of a temple-based culture. Now, however, they were in trouble for believing in Jesus in defiance of temple authorities and the teachers of their law. Some were discouraged. They needed to know that, while no one likes to suffer, they didn’t have to live in fear of dying (2:14–15). Jesus had suffered and tasted death for them (v. 9). He was greater than Moses and was the last sacrifice for sin they’d ever need (3:1–3; 9:24–48). He was a High Priest who wasn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters (2:10–13). In Jesus—their new temple—they had become the house of God (3:1–6). Remembering what Jesus had suffered and won for them, they could encourage one another.
To learn more about the letter to the Hebrews, visit christianuniversity.org/NT337. By: Mart DeHaan
Alert Circles
Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
African gazelles instinctively form “alert circles” while resting on the savannah. They gather in groups with each animal facing outward in a slightly different direction. This enables them to scan the horizon a full 360 degrees and to communicate about approaching dangers or opportunities.
Instead of looking out only for themselves, the members of the group take care of one another. This is also God’s wisdom for followers of Jesus. The Bible encourages us, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:24–25).
Christians were never intended to go it alone, explains the writer of Hebrews. Together we are stronger. We’re able to “[encourage] one another” (v. 25), to “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4), and to help each other stay alert to the efforts of our enemy the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
The goal of our care for each other is so much more than survival. It’s to make us like Jesus: loving and effective servants of God in this world—people who together look forward confidently to the hope of His coming kingdom. All of us need encouragement, and God will help us help each other as together we draw near to Him in love. By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
How do you receive strength and help from other believers? Who can you encourage with God’s love?
Thank You for Your faithfulness, loving God. Please help me to encourage others to look forward to You today!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “…the Lord led me…” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 14, 2019
The Hand on the Hammer - #8569
Hollywood really missed this one. It was a movie no one was willing to distribute; a movie most thought would have a limited audience. But from its midweek opening, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" a few years ago took off like a rocket. Soon it became apparent this movie portraying the agonizing last twelve hours of Jesus' life was going to be a blockbuster, whose box office numbers were up there with the record-breakers. But according to Director, Mel Gibson, this movie ultimately wasn't about commercial success. It was, for him, a deeply personal project, portraying what he described as "Christ's wounds that healed my wounds." The personalness of Jesus' death to him surfaced vividly on the day they were filming the driving of the nails into Christ's hands. It's a not-to-be forgotten moment. The director himself grabbed the mallet and spikes from the actor who was supposed to be nailing Jesus to the cross. The cameras kept rolling, and in the movie it is Mel Gibson's hands we see, wielding the hammer and driving the nails into Jesus' hands.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hand on the Hammer."
Time Magazine's cover article on "The Passion" asked this question: "Who Killed Jesus?" Well, in one sense, no one killed Jesus. He said, "I lay down My life...No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:17-18). Actually, that makes sense. Who can kill the Son of God? He created the men who put Him on the cross! He created the tree he was dying on. But Mel Gibson understood something when he drove those nails - that it was his sins that made Jesus' sacrifice necessary. It was my sins. It was your sins. In a sense, you and I had our hand on the hammer.
God makes that crystal clear in Isaiah 53:5-6, our word for today from the Word of God. The Bible says, "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, by His wounds we are healed."
So why did the way I've lived my life necessitate this horrific crushing of God's one and only Son? The Bible continues: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (that's Jesus) the iniquity (or the sin) of us all."
Most of us would like to think that we're pretty good people, that we can somehow contribute to our own going to heaven. Romans 3:10, though, delivers God's verdict on all that goodness, "There is no one righteous, not even one." We are all under the eternal death penalty for running our life. So my only hope, your only hope is to look at that cross and say, "Jesus, some of those sins you're pouring out your life for are mine - for all the angry things I've done, the dirty things, the selfish things. You're dying for my pride, my lust, all the hurtful things I've ever done." To put it simply, your only hope of having your sin erased from God's book forever, your only hope of getting into His heaven is to go to Jesus' cross and say, "For me. This is for me!"
Has there ever been a time when you've consciously told Jesus that, when you've abandoned all other spiritual hope and pinned all your hopes on Jesus? If not, you're still carrying the awful death penalty for your sin. But this very day, you could change that by trusting fully in the one who already paid your penalty.
If you're ready to finally make the Savior your Savior, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, I'm yours. What you've done on the cross and the fact that you came out of your grave, that's my only hope. Today I give myself to you." Look, our website is all about helping you begin your relationship with Him. Please go there. It's ANewStory.com.
This can be the day when every wrong thing you've ever done will be forgiven by God, erased from His Book, when you trade a hell you deserve for a heaven you could never deserve. Today you can experience for yourself the love that thought you were worth dying for.
We prayer wimps fear “mis-praying.” What’s the expected etiquette and dress code of prayer? What if we kneel instead of stand? Jesus’ answer? In Matthew 18:3, He says, “Become as little children.” Carefree. Joy filled. Playful. Trusting. Curious. Trust more—strut less.
God prefers this greeting: “God, you are my Daddy, and I am your child!” It’s hard to show off and call God “Daddy” at the same time. Impossible, in fact. Remember, prayer doesn’t depend on how you pray. The power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer!
Here’s my prayer challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. And get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 127
A Pilgrim Song of Solomon
If God doesn’t build the house,
the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn’t guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?
3-5 Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you;
you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 10:19–25
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Insight
The New Testament letter to the Hebrews was written to readers born and raised under the law of Moses. Their lives had been centered in the moral, civil, and ceremonial obligations of a temple-based culture. Now, however, they were in trouble for believing in Jesus in defiance of temple authorities and the teachers of their law. Some were discouraged. They needed to know that, while no one likes to suffer, they didn’t have to live in fear of dying (2:14–15). Jesus had suffered and tasted death for them (v. 9). He was greater than Moses and was the last sacrifice for sin they’d ever need (3:1–3; 9:24–48). He was a High Priest who wasn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters (2:10–13). In Jesus—their new temple—they had become the house of God (3:1–6). Remembering what Jesus had suffered and won for them, they could encourage one another.
To learn more about the letter to the Hebrews, visit christianuniversity.org/NT337. By: Mart DeHaan
Alert Circles
Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
African gazelles instinctively form “alert circles” while resting on the savannah. They gather in groups with each animal facing outward in a slightly different direction. This enables them to scan the horizon a full 360 degrees and to communicate about approaching dangers or opportunities.
Instead of looking out only for themselves, the members of the group take care of one another. This is also God’s wisdom for followers of Jesus. The Bible encourages us, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:24–25).
Christians were never intended to go it alone, explains the writer of Hebrews. Together we are stronger. We’re able to “[encourage] one another” (v. 25), to “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4), and to help each other stay alert to the efforts of our enemy the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
The goal of our care for each other is so much more than survival. It’s to make us like Jesus: loving and effective servants of God in this world—people who together look forward confidently to the hope of His coming kingdom. All of us need encouragement, and God will help us help each other as together we draw near to Him in love. By: James Banks
Reflect & Pray
How do you receive strength and help from other believers? Who can you encourage with God’s love?
Thank You for Your faithfulness, loving God. Please help me to encourage others to look forward to You today!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me… —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “…the Lord led me…” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 14, 2019
The Hand on the Hammer - #8569
Hollywood really missed this one. It was a movie no one was willing to distribute; a movie most thought would have a limited audience. But from its midweek opening, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" a few years ago took off like a rocket. Soon it became apparent this movie portraying the agonizing last twelve hours of Jesus' life was going to be a blockbuster, whose box office numbers were up there with the record-breakers. But according to Director, Mel Gibson, this movie ultimately wasn't about commercial success. It was, for him, a deeply personal project, portraying what he described as "Christ's wounds that healed my wounds." The personalness of Jesus' death to him surfaced vividly on the day they were filming the driving of the nails into Christ's hands. It's a not-to-be forgotten moment. The director himself grabbed the mallet and spikes from the actor who was supposed to be nailing Jesus to the cross. The cameras kept rolling, and in the movie it is Mel Gibson's hands we see, wielding the hammer and driving the nails into Jesus' hands.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hand on the Hammer."
Time Magazine's cover article on "The Passion" asked this question: "Who Killed Jesus?" Well, in one sense, no one killed Jesus. He said, "I lay down My life...No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:17-18). Actually, that makes sense. Who can kill the Son of God? He created the men who put Him on the cross! He created the tree he was dying on. But Mel Gibson understood something when he drove those nails - that it was his sins that made Jesus' sacrifice necessary. It was my sins. It was your sins. In a sense, you and I had our hand on the hammer.
God makes that crystal clear in Isaiah 53:5-6, our word for today from the Word of God. The Bible says, "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, by His wounds we are healed."
So why did the way I've lived my life necessitate this horrific crushing of God's one and only Son? The Bible continues: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (that's Jesus) the iniquity (or the sin) of us all."
Most of us would like to think that we're pretty good people, that we can somehow contribute to our own going to heaven. Romans 3:10, though, delivers God's verdict on all that goodness, "There is no one righteous, not even one." We are all under the eternal death penalty for running our life. So my only hope, your only hope is to look at that cross and say, "Jesus, some of those sins you're pouring out your life for are mine - for all the angry things I've done, the dirty things, the selfish things. You're dying for my pride, my lust, all the hurtful things I've ever done." To put it simply, your only hope of having your sin erased from God's book forever, your only hope of getting into His heaven is to go to Jesus' cross and say, "For me. This is for me!"
Has there ever been a time when you've consciously told Jesus that, when you've abandoned all other spiritual hope and pinned all your hopes on Jesus? If not, you're still carrying the awful death penalty for your sin. But this very day, you could change that by trusting fully in the one who already paid your penalty.
If you're ready to finally make the Savior your Savior, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, I'm yours. What you've done on the cross and the fact that you came out of your grave, that's my only hope. Today I give myself to you." Look, our website is all about helping you begin your relationship with Him. Please go there. It's ANewStory.com.
This can be the day when every wrong thing you've ever done will be forgiven by God, erased from His Book, when you trade a hell you deserve for a heaven you could never deserve. Today you can experience for yourself the love that thought you were worth dying for.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
2 Thessalonians 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A RECOVERING PRAYER WIMP
Yes, I’m a prayer wimp—but a recovering prayer wimp. Not where I long to be, but not where I was. This simple, easy to remember, pocket-size prayer has become a cherished friend.
“Father, You are good.
I need help.
Heal me and forgive me.
They need help.
Thank you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Jesus’ disciples faced angry waves and a watery grave. You face angry clients, a turbulent economy, and raging seas of stress and sorrow. Let this simple prayer punctuate your day. “Father, you are good.” As you commute to work or walk the hallways at school, “I need help.” As you wait in the grocery line, “They need help.” Keep this prayer in your pocket as you pass through the day! Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and His child!
2 Thessalonians 3 The Message (MSG)
One more thing, friends: Pray for us. Pray that the Master’s Word will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response, just as it did among you. And pray that we’ll be rescued from these scoundrels who are trying to do us in. I’m finding that not all “believers” are believers. But the Master never lets us down. He’ll stick by you and protect you from evil.
4-5 Because of the Master, we have great confidence in you. We know you’re doing everything we told you and will continue doing it. May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance.
6-9 Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don’t permit them to freeload on the rest. We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn’t because we didn’t have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.
10-13 Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.
14-15 If anyone refuses to obey our clear command written in this letter, don’t let him get by with it. Point out such a person and refuse to subsidize his freeloading. Maybe then he’ll think twice. But don’t treat him as an enemy. Sit him down and talk about the problem as someone who cares.
16 May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!
17 I, Paul, bid you good-bye in my own handwriting. I do this in all my letters, so examine my signature as proof that the letter is genuine.
18 The incredible grace of our Master, Jesus Christ, be with all of you!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Samuel 18:1–4; 19:1–6
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
Insight
David and Jonathan shared an amazing friendship. Twice in today’s text we read that Jonathan “loved [David] as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1, 3). Jonathan loved David even though his own father, King Saul, despised him. He looked out for David’s best even when that meant family division and possible detriment to himself. This relationship is seen in the New Testament in the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19).
True Friends
A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17
In high school, I had a “sometimes friend.” We were “buddies” at our church, and we occasionally hung out together outside of school. But at school, it was a different story. If she met me by herself, she might say hello; but only if no one else was around. Realizing this, I rarely tried to gain her attention within school walls. I knew the limits of our friendship.
We’ve probably all experienced the pain of disappointingly one-sided or narrow friendships. But there’s another kind of friendship—one that extends beyond all boundaries. It’s the kind of friendship we have with kindred spirits who are committed to sharing life’s journey with us.
David and Jonathan were such friends. Jonathan was “one in spirit” with David and loved him “as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1–3). Although Jonathan would have been next in line to rule after his father Saul’s death, he was loyal to David, God’s chosen replacement. Jonathan even helped David to evade two of Saul’s plots to kill him (19:1–6; 20:1–42).
Despite all odds, Jonathan and David remained friends—pointing to the truth of Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loves at all times.” Their faithful friendship also gives us a glimpse of the loving relationship God has with us (John 3:16; 15:15). Through friendships like theirs, our understanding of God’s love is deepened. By: Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Who do you consider a true friend? Why? How is it comforting to know that God is our truest friend?
Heavenly Father, we long for friends. Please open up doors to true, lasting, and God-centered friendships.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Faith or Experience?
…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
How to Free the Hostages - #8568
It's one of the ugly words of our time - hostage. I mean, look, we've all seen our share of hostage situations on the news. Right? Some right here in the United States. When someone has taken a hostage or several hostages, the first thing they do is bring in the hostage negotiating team and the police do their very best to use their psychology and their human relations to talk that person, of course, into releasing their hostages.
Sometimes the person will give up and the hostages go free. But too often the negotiations fail, and then it can get a little more violent. Well, in come the highly trained commando units, the SWAT teams, and if necessary they'll shoot the hostage taker, because that's the only way hostages can be saved. But can you imagine just rushing in there to rescue the hostages without first dealing with the one who is holding the hostages? Well, we do that all the time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Free the Hostages."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Mark 3, and I'll begin reading at verse 26. Here's what Jesus says: "If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions until he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." So, Jesus says here that it's necessary, if we're going to take people back from the strong man, and we know from the context that strong man is Satan, that we first have to tie him up - to bind him to deal with the hostage taker. See, you don't negotiate the Devil out of his hostages. You don't shoot the Devil, but you tie his hands. That's Jesus' strategy.
Now, who are these people that are referred to as "his possessions"? Well, they're some people you know; people in your life whose lives the Devil is pretty much having his way with. They may not know it's the Devil - probably don't. You can tell pretty much that they're away from the Lord. In fact, it might even be someone you love very much.
I know you've prayed for his hostages. You want to have them freed. You talk to them sometimes about Jesus; you worry about them. But so often we miss what Jesus said is the first step - tying up the one who is holding the hostage. You can't neutralize the Devil with a program, or a committee, or words, or a task force, or marches, or demonstrations. He is bound only by the prayers of God's people. And I don't mean, "Now I lay me down to sleep" or "Bless the missionaries" kind of prayers. This is prayer that aims all the majestic resurrection power of Jesus Christ at the enemy who is holding the lives we care about.
The book of Revelation says "they overcame him by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb." You plead the blood of Jesus, you come against the Devil's grip on those people. And you come under the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The Devil's death warrant was signed in the blood of Jesus. This isn't a human struggle. It's a clash of supernatural kingdoms.
See, the person you want to rescue from being a hostage of the enemy? You can't just go running in to try to bring them out. You've got to first fight for them on your knees. Deal with the one who is holding the hostage. Turn Jesus loose on them! It says in Mark 3:11, "Whenever the evil spirits saw Jesus they fell down before Him and they cried, 'You are the Son of God!'" They didn't fight. They fell down.
When the Devil is confronted with the presence, and the power, and the name of Jesus Christ, he surrenders and the hostages can go free.
Yes, I’m a prayer wimp—but a recovering prayer wimp. Not where I long to be, but not where I was. This simple, easy to remember, pocket-size prayer has become a cherished friend.
“Father, You are good.
I need help.
Heal me and forgive me.
They need help.
Thank you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Jesus’ disciples faced angry waves and a watery grave. You face angry clients, a turbulent economy, and raging seas of stress and sorrow. Let this simple prayer punctuate your day. “Father, you are good.” As you commute to work or walk the hallways at school, “I need help.” As you wait in the grocery line, “They need help.” Keep this prayer in your pocket as you pass through the day! Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and His child!
2 Thessalonians 3 The Message (MSG)
One more thing, friends: Pray for us. Pray that the Master’s Word will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response, just as it did among you. And pray that we’ll be rescued from these scoundrels who are trying to do us in. I’m finding that not all “believers” are believers. But the Master never lets us down. He’ll stick by you and protect you from evil.
4-5 Because of the Master, we have great confidence in you. We know you’re doing everything we told you and will continue doing it. May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance.
6-9 Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don’t permit them to freeload on the rest. We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn’t because we didn’t have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.
10-13 Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.
14-15 If anyone refuses to obey our clear command written in this letter, don’t let him get by with it. Point out such a person and refuse to subsidize his freeloading. Maybe then he’ll think twice. But don’t treat him as an enemy. Sit him down and talk about the problem as someone who cares.
16 May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!
17 I, Paul, bid you good-bye in my own handwriting. I do this in all my letters, so examine my signature as proof that the letter is genuine.
18 The incredible grace of our Master, Jesus Christ, be with all of you!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 Samuel 18:1–4; 19:1–6
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
Insight
David and Jonathan shared an amazing friendship. Twice in today’s text we read that Jonathan “loved [David] as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1, 3). Jonathan loved David even though his own father, King Saul, despised him. He looked out for David’s best even when that meant family division and possible detriment to himself. This relationship is seen in the New Testament in the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19).
True Friends
A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17
In high school, I had a “sometimes friend.” We were “buddies” at our church, and we occasionally hung out together outside of school. But at school, it was a different story. If she met me by herself, she might say hello; but only if no one else was around. Realizing this, I rarely tried to gain her attention within school walls. I knew the limits of our friendship.
We’ve probably all experienced the pain of disappointingly one-sided or narrow friendships. But there’s another kind of friendship—one that extends beyond all boundaries. It’s the kind of friendship we have with kindred spirits who are committed to sharing life’s journey with us.
David and Jonathan were such friends. Jonathan was “one in spirit” with David and loved him “as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1–3). Although Jonathan would have been next in line to rule after his father Saul’s death, he was loyal to David, God’s chosen replacement. Jonathan even helped David to evade two of Saul’s plots to kill him (19:1–6; 20:1–42).
Despite all odds, Jonathan and David remained friends—pointing to the truth of Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loves at all times.” Their faithful friendship also gives us a glimpse of the loving relationship God has with us (John 3:16; 15:15). Through friendships like theirs, our understanding of God’s love is deepened. By: Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Who do you consider a true friend? Why? How is it comforting to know that God is our truest friend?
Heavenly Father, we long for friends. Please open up doors to true, lasting, and God-centered friendships.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Faith or Experience?
…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.
Not Knowing Whither
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
How to Free the Hostages - #8568
It's one of the ugly words of our time - hostage. I mean, look, we've all seen our share of hostage situations on the news. Right? Some right here in the United States. When someone has taken a hostage or several hostages, the first thing they do is bring in the hostage negotiating team and the police do their very best to use their psychology and their human relations to talk that person, of course, into releasing their hostages.
Sometimes the person will give up and the hostages go free. But too often the negotiations fail, and then it can get a little more violent. Well, in come the highly trained commando units, the SWAT teams, and if necessary they'll shoot the hostage taker, because that's the only way hostages can be saved. But can you imagine just rushing in there to rescue the hostages without first dealing with the one who is holding the hostages? Well, we do that all the time.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Free the Hostages."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Mark 3, and I'll begin reading at verse 26. Here's what Jesus says: "If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions until he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." So, Jesus says here that it's necessary, if we're going to take people back from the strong man, and we know from the context that strong man is Satan, that we first have to tie him up - to bind him to deal with the hostage taker. See, you don't negotiate the Devil out of his hostages. You don't shoot the Devil, but you tie his hands. That's Jesus' strategy.
Now, who are these people that are referred to as "his possessions"? Well, they're some people you know; people in your life whose lives the Devil is pretty much having his way with. They may not know it's the Devil - probably don't. You can tell pretty much that they're away from the Lord. In fact, it might even be someone you love very much.
I know you've prayed for his hostages. You want to have them freed. You talk to them sometimes about Jesus; you worry about them. But so often we miss what Jesus said is the first step - tying up the one who is holding the hostage. You can't neutralize the Devil with a program, or a committee, or words, or a task force, or marches, or demonstrations. He is bound only by the prayers of God's people. And I don't mean, "Now I lay me down to sleep" or "Bless the missionaries" kind of prayers. This is prayer that aims all the majestic resurrection power of Jesus Christ at the enemy who is holding the lives we care about.
The book of Revelation says "they overcame him by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb." You plead the blood of Jesus, you come against the Devil's grip on those people. And you come under the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. The Devil's death warrant was signed in the blood of Jesus. This isn't a human struggle. It's a clash of supernatural kingdoms.
See, the person you want to rescue from being a hostage of the enemy? You can't just go running in to try to bring them out. You've got to first fight for them on your knees. Deal with the one who is holding the hostage. Turn Jesus loose on them! It says in Mark 3:11, "Whenever the evil spirits saw Jesus they fell down before Him and they cried, 'You are the Son of God!'" They didn't fight. They fell down.
When the Devil is confronted with the presence, and the power, and the name of Jesus Christ, he surrenders and the hostages can go free.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Psalm 125, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD CHANGES HIS PEOPLE THROUGH PRAYER
This much is sure: God will teach you to pray. Don’t think for a minute that he’s glaring at you from a distance with crossed arms and a scowl, waiting for you to get your prayer life together. Just the opposite! In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with Me.”
Jesus waits on the porch. He taps…and calls. He waits for you to open the door. To pray is the hand of faith on the door handle of your heart. The happy welcome to Jesus says, Come in, O King. Come in. The kitchen is messy, but come in. I’m not much of a conversationalist, but come in.
Before amen—comes the power of a simple prayer! God changes His people through such moments.
Psalm 125
A Pilgrim Song
Those who trust in God
are like Zion Mountain:
Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain
you can always depend on.
Mountains encircle Jerusalem,
and God encircles his people—
always has and always will.
The fist of the wicked
will never violate
What is due the righteous,
provoking wrongful violence.
Be good to your good people, God,
to those whose hearts are right!
God will round up the backsliders,
corral them with the incorrigibles.
Peace over Israel!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 136:1–3, 10–26
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Insight
When we read the Psalms, it’s easy to forget they were actually written to be sung, not read. While many were about individual experiences, some were directed to the people of Israel corporately. This was often expressed when the people gathered for worship. Psalm 136 was such a psalm, and some scholars believe it was intended to be sung antiphonally—where one group made a musical declaration and another group responded to that declaration. The priests and Levites (worship leaders) would sing a statement about God (“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,” v. 1) and the assembled congregation would respond, “His love endures forever.” By: Bill Crowder
Our Blessings, His Love
To him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever. Psalm 136:16
In 2015, a woman discarded her deceased husband’s computer at a recycling center—a computer that had been made in 1976. But more important than when it had been made was who made it. It was one of 200 computers hand built by Apple founder Steve Jobs, and was worth an estimated quarter of a million dollars! Sometimes knowing the true worth of something means knowing who made it.
Knowing that it’s God who made us shows us how valuable we are to Him (Genesis 1:27). Psalm 136 catalogs key moments of His people—ancient Israel: how they had been freed from captivity in Egypt (vv. 11–12), journeyed through the wilderness (v. 16), and were given a new home in Canaan (vv. 21–22). But each time a moment of Israel’s history is mentioned, it’s paired with this repeated refrain: “His love endures forever.” This refrain reminded the people of Israel that their experiences weren’t random historical events. Each moment had been orchestrated by God and was a reflection of His enduring love for those He’d made.
Far too often, I allow moments that show God at work and His kind ways to simply pass by, failing to recognize that every perfect gift comes from my heavenly Father (James 1:17) who made me and loves me. May you and I learn to connect every blessing in our lives to God’s enduring love for us. By: Peter Chin
Reflect & Pray
How can we better remember the Source of life’s blessings? What hinders you from doing so?
Heavenly Father, please don’t allow even one blessing that You’ve given pass by without me recognizing that it came from You, and You alone!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Your Destination Tag - #8567
My son-in-law had to fight a battle that's all too familiar to frequent flyers - it's called Baggage Wars. That's when your suitcase goes somewhere other than where you're going. He fought a four-week battle, calling almost daily to see if the airline had located a missing bag with some pretty valuable items in it. Hooray! They finally found it! It had been checked to Chicago. Of course, it went to Portland, Oregon. It was checked on one airline and ended up tagged by a different airline. It started with his name on it, and it ended up with someone else's name on it. I don't know how this happened. Somehow his valuables did not end up where he thought they would. They were tagged for another destination.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Destination Tag."
There's no destination more important for you or me than the place where we're going to spend forever. Usually, we don't think about it much; mostly when our health is in question, or our safety, or we have a close call, or when someone's death makes us confront our own mortality. Sometimes we spend more time thinking about this year's vacation destination than our eternal destination, but forever is a long time. We need to know what our final destination tag says.
According to the Bible, some people are going to be tragically surprised by where they end up. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 16:25, says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." In one survey, the vast majority of Americans thought they would go to heaven when they die, but you know, you can only get there God's way. Any other way, however sincerely you believe in it, will not get you into God's heaven.
Referring to Jesus with His title as the Son of God, John 3:36 clarifies how to be sure God's destination tag on you says "heaven." Here's what the Bible says: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath abides on him." Why is this? Because no one can get into God's heaven with their sin unforgiven, and our sin carries an eternal death penalty. A death penalty can only be paid by someone dying.
And when it comes to your sin and mine, someone did. His name is Jesus...and only Jesus. In God's own words, "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Your sin will keep you out of heaven. Jesus died to pay for that sin so you don't have to. Your eternal destination hinges on whether or not there has ever been a time when you told Jesus, "You are my only hope of being forgiven. You're my only hope of going to heaven, and I'm Yours, Jesus." Only the one who died and paid for your sin could forgive your sin. No one else could do that. He's the only one who paid the penalty for it. And you know what? Three days later he walked out of his grave under his own power so he could walk into your life today.
If you're depending on anything else, even your religion, even all your Christianity, you won't make it to heaven. But that could change today, and you could know for sure, beginning right now, that you are going to heaven when you die. You tell Jesus you want to begin this life-saving relationship with Him, that you're done running your own life. You're pinning all your hopes on him and that you are His.
A lot of the information that will help you know for sure you belong to him is right in our website. It's set up for you for a day like this, for a time like this when God is speaking to your heart about beginning your relationship with him. The website is ANewStory.com. I urge you to get there as soon as you can today.
Something wonderful happens the moment you give yourself to the Man who died for you. He changes the destination tag on your heart from hell to heaven. That could happen for you this very day.
This much is sure: God will teach you to pray. Don’t think for a minute that he’s glaring at you from a distance with crossed arms and a scowl, waiting for you to get your prayer life together. Just the opposite! In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with Me.”
Jesus waits on the porch. He taps…and calls. He waits for you to open the door. To pray is the hand of faith on the door handle of your heart. The happy welcome to Jesus says, Come in, O King. Come in. The kitchen is messy, but come in. I’m not much of a conversationalist, but come in.
Before amen—comes the power of a simple prayer! God changes His people through such moments.
Psalm 125
A Pilgrim Song
Those who trust in God
are like Zion Mountain:
Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain
you can always depend on.
Mountains encircle Jerusalem,
and God encircles his people—
always has and always will.
The fist of the wicked
will never violate
What is due the righteous,
provoking wrongful violence.
Be good to your good people, God,
to those whose hearts are right!
God will round up the backsliders,
corral them with the incorrigibles.
Peace over Israel!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 136:1–3, 10–26
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Insight
When we read the Psalms, it’s easy to forget they were actually written to be sung, not read. While many were about individual experiences, some were directed to the people of Israel corporately. This was often expressed when the people gathered for worship. Psalm 136 was such a psalm, and some scholars believe it was intended to be sung antiphonally—where one group made a musical declaration and another group responded to that declaration. The priests and Levites (worship leaders) would sing a statement about God (“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,” v. 1) and the assembled congregation would respond, “His love endures forever.” By: Bill Crowder
Our Blessings, His Love
To him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever. Psalm 136:16
In 2015, a woman discarded her deceased husband’s computer at a recycling center—a computer that had been made in 1976. But more important than when it had been made was who made it. It was one of 200 computers hand built by Apple founder Steve Jobs, and was worth an estimated quarter of a million dollars! Sometimes knowing the true worth of something means knowing who made it.
Knowing that it’s God who made us shows us how valuable we are to Him (Genesis 1:27). Psalm 136 catalogs key moments of His people—ancient Israel: how they had been freed from captivity in Egypt (vv. 11–12), journeyed through the wilderness (v. 16), and were given a new home in Canaan (vv. 21–22). But each time a moment of Israel’s history is mentioned, it’s paired with this repeated refrain: “His love endures forever.” This refrain reminded the people of Israel that their experiences weren’t random historical events. Each moment had been orchestrated by God and was a reflection of His enduring love for those He’d made.
Far too often, I allow moments that show God at work and His kind ways to simply pass by, failing to recognize that every perfect gift comes from my heavenly Father (James 1:17) who made me and loves me. May you and I learn to connect every blessing in our lives to God’s enduring love for us. By: Peter Chin
Reflect & Pray
How can we better remember the Source of life’s blessings? What hinders you from doing so?
Heavenly Father, please don’t allow even one blessing that You’ve given pass by without me recognizing that it came from You, and You alone!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….” So Send I You, 1325 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Your Destination Tag - #8567
My son-in-law had to fight a battle that's all too familiar to frequent flyers - it's called Baggage Wars. That's when your suitcase goes somewhere other than where you're going. He fought a four-week battle, calling almost daily to see if the airline had located a missing bag with some pretty valuable items in it. Hooray! They finally found it! It had been checked to Chicago. Of course, it went to Portland, Oregon. It was checked on one airline and ended up tagged by a different airline. It started with his name on it, and it ended up with someone else's name on it. I don't know how this happened. Somehow his valuables did not end up where he thought they would. They were tagged for another destination.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Destination Tag."
There's no destination more important for you or me than the place where we're going to spend forever. Usually, we don't think about it much; mostly when our health is in question, or our safety, or we have a close call, or when someone's death makes us confront our own mortality. Sometimes we spend more time thinking about this year's vacation destination than our eternal destination, but forever is a long time. We need to know what our final destination tag says.
According to the Bible, some people are going to be tragically surprised by where they end up. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 16:25, says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." In one survey, the vast majority of Americans thought they would go to heaven when they die, but you know, you can only get there God's way. Any other way, however sincerely you believe in it, will not get you into God's heaven.
Referring to Jesus with His title as the Son of God, John 3:36 clarifies how to be sure God's destination tag on you says "heaven." Here's what the Bible says: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath abides on him." Why is this? Because no one can get into God's heaven with their sin unforgiven, and our sin carries an eternal death penalty. A death penalty can only be paid by someone dying.
And when it comes to your sin and mine, someone did. His name is Jesus...and only Jesus. In God's own words, "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Your sin will keep you out of heaven. Jesus died to pay for that sin so you don't have to. Your eternal destination hinges on whether or not there has ever been a time when you told Jesus, "You are my only hope of being forgiven. You're my only hope of going to heaven, and I'm Yours, Jesus." Only the one who died and paid for your sin could forgive your sin. No one else could do that. He's the only one who paid the penalty for it. And you know what? Three days later he walked out of his grave under his own power so he could walk into your life today.
If you're depending on anything else, even your religion, even all your Christianity, you won't make it to heaven. But that could change today, and you could know for sure, beginning right now, that you are going to heaven when you die. You tell Jesus you want to begin this life-saving relationship with Him, that you're done running your own life. You're pinning all your hopes on him and that you are His.
A lot of the information that will help you know for sure you belong to him is right in our website. It's set up for you for a day like this, for a time like this when God is speaking to your heart about beginning your relationship with him. The website is ANewStory.com. I urge you to get there as soon as you can today.
Something wonderful happens the moment you give yourself to the Man who died for you. He changes the destination tag on your heart from hell to heaven. That could happen for you this very day.
Monday, November 11, 2019
Psalm 124, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JESUS’ COMPELLING PRAYER EXAMPLE
Before amen—comes the power of a simple prayer!
Jesus set a compelling prayer example. He prayed before He ate. He prayed for children. He prayed for the sick. He prayed with thanks…and with tears. He had made the planets and shaped the stars, yet He prayed.
Here’s a prayer for us today:
“Father, you’ve made me your child through your Spirit.
In your kindness you adopted me and delivered me from sin
and death.
Remind me today what it means to be your child.
It’s so easy for me to live every day on my own terms.
Help me live it in light of your grace.
Thank you for accepting me as I am but not leaving me the same.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
This is my prayer challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 124
A Pilgrim Song of David
If God hadn’t been for us
—all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn’t been for us
when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
in the wild, raging water.
6 Oh, blessed be God!
He didn’t go off and leave us.
He didn’t abandon us defenseless,
helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.
7 We’ve flown free from their fangs,
free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
we’re free as a bird in flight.
8 God’s strong name is our help,
the same God who made heaven and earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:5–15
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Footnotes:
Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Insight
Why did Jesus begin this section on prayer (Matthew 6:5–15) with a caution? And who were these “hypocrites” He warned against (v. 5)? Mark 12 indicates they were “teachers of the law” who “devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers” (vv. 38–40).
This doesn’t mean that public prayer is wrong, but it comes with a great danger. We might pray to impress those around us rather than pray with humility to the One who sees our hearts and answers our prayers. At the same time, we might wish we could pray like some particularly eloquent person. In either case, it’s vital we remember that God isn’t in anything done for the sake of appearance. By: Tim Gustafson
It’s Up to God
Your will be done. Matthew 6:10
Nate and Sherilyn enjoyed their stop at an omakase restaurant while visiting New York City. Omakase is a Japanese word that translates, “I will leave it up to you,” which means customers at such restaurants let the chef choose their meal. Even though it was their first time to try this type of cuisine and it sounded risky, they loved the food the chef chose and prepared for them.
That idea could carry over to our attitude toward God with our prayer requests: “I will leave it up to You.” The disciples saw that Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places” to pray (Luke 5:16), so they asked Him one day to teach them how to pray. He told them to ask for their daily needs, forgiveness, and the way out of temptation. Part of His response also suggested an attitude of surrender: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
We can pour out our needs to God because He wants to hear what’s on our hearts—and He delights to give. But being human and finite, we don’t always know what’s best, so it only makes sense to ask with a humble spirit, in submission to Him. We can leave the answer to Him, confident that He’s trustworthy and will choose to prepare what’s good for us. By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What do you want to share with God right now? What would it look like if you totally surrendered it to Him?
Thank You, God, for carrying me and my needs close to Your heart. I surrender my life and those I love to Your care.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 11, 2019
The Supreme Climb
He said, "Take now your son…" —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 11, 2019
Viruses in Your Computer - #8566
Well, it's sad, but we, like a lot of people, have had to institute a lot of safety precautions to protect our computers. There's lots of hacking today, and that dreaded word "virus." Yeah. Now, this is not "take two aspirin and call me in the morning" stuff. No, we're talking technical viruses that can get into your system, wreak havoc with your data and your equipment. That's why the first display I see when I turn on my computer says, "Virus Scan." You know, there are plenty of horror stories of what happened when one of these little alien invaders got into a computer system. We're talking like total meltdown in some cases. It really does pay to go to extra effort to keep those invaders out!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Viruses in Your Computer."
Now, you may be a computer whiz or you might be a computer zero, but you own one of the most sophisticated computers on earth. It's called your brain. And your mental computer is no different from an electronic computer - it's got to be protected from deadly viruses that infiltrate your software and cause expensive damage.
That's why our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:11 warns: "Abstain from sinful desires, which war against the soul." Man! That's strong language! See, there are wrong desires that literally start a war in your soul. And whatever feeds those destructive desires is a virus in your mind and heart that you cannot afford - no matter how exciting; no matter how interesting it appears to be. That's why God says the strategy for keeping your soul from being poisoned is simple - abstain. Stay away from sinful desires and the influences that feed them. In fact, as 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "run away from them!"
There are things that millions of people are watching that you can't afford to watch - actually, neither can they. Because those things are planting spiritual viruses in your heart. There are things you can't afford to listen to. There are places you can't afford to go to, things you can't afford to read, and websites you can't afford to visit because of the poison, because of what it does to your soul and to your life.
Lustful images, suggestive humor, sexual scenes, and sexual themes - they get into your thought system and they stay there for years. You never seem to forget a dirty joke. And wrong desires slowly start to dominate so many of your thoughts - without even realizing it, you reach a point where you can't help thinking wrong, thinking dirty, thinking sin. If you're married, these moral viruses dilute and pollute your focus on the one person you should be directing all your desire to - your covenant love. If you're not married, the viruses twist and distort your whole perspective on the opposite sex. They continually bring you down in the battle to be pure.
And those sin-viruses? They get planted in your heart and they literally block the flow of God's power into your life, much like plaque in an artery keeps the blood from getting through. You have no idea how powerful your life could be, how much more God could use you, if you'd clean the viruses of sinful thoughts out of your system.
Thank God, the Bible says it is possible to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). But you have to set boundaries that will keep out the viruses that are all over your TV screen, your radio, movies, magazines, books, and the Internet. It's a battle to keep these alien invaders out of your system, but it's a battle worth fighting.
Get your Virus Scan activated, and avoid anything that can enter your heart, poison your system, and cause lifelong damage.
Before amen—comes the power of a simple prayer!
Jesus set a compelling prayer example. He prayed before He ate. He prayed for children. He prayed for the sick. He prayed with thanks…and with tears. He had made the planets and shaped the stars, yet He prayed.
Here’s a prayer for us today:
“Father, you’ve made me your child through your Spirit.
In your kindness you adopted me and delivered me from sin
and death.
Remind me today what it means to be your child.
It’s so easy for me to live every day on my own terms.
Help me live it in light of your grace.
Thank you for accepting me as I am but not leaving me the same.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
This is my prayer challenge for you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 124
A Pilgrim Song of David
If God hadn’t been for us
—all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn’t been for us
when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
in the wild, raging water.
6 Oh, blessed be God!
He didn’t go off and leave us.
He didn’t abandon us defenseless,
helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.
7 We’ve flown free from their fangs,
free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
we’re free as a bird in flight.
8 God’s strong name is our help,
the same God who made heaven and earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:5–15
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Footnotes:
Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Insight
Why did Jesus begin this section on prayer (Matthew 6:5–15) with a caution? And who were these “hypocrites” He warned against (v. 5)? Mark 12 indicates they were “teachers of the law” who “devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers” (vv. 38–40).
This doesn’t mean that public prayer is wrong, but it comes with a great danger. We might pray to impress those around us rather than pray with humility to the One who sees our hearts and answers our prayers. At the same time, we might wish we could pray like some particularly eloquent person. In either case, it’s vital we remember that God isn’t in anything done for the sake of appearance. By: Tim Gustafson
It’s Up to God
Your will be done. Matthew 6:10
Nate and Sherilyn enjoyed their stop at an omakase restaurant while visiting New York City. Omakase is a Japanese word that translates, “I will leave it up to you,” which means customers at such restaurants let the chef choose their meal. Even though it was their first time to try this type of cuisine and it sounded risky, they loved the food the chef chose and prepared for them.
That idea could carry over to our attitude toward God with our prayer requests: “I will leave it up to You.” The disciples saw that Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places” to pray (Luke 5:16), so they asked Him one day to teach them how to pray. He told them to ask for their daily needs, forgiveness, and the way out of temptation. Part of His response also suggested an attitude of surrender: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
We can pour out our needs to God because He wants to hear what’s on our hearts—and He delights to give. But being human and finite, we don’t always know what’s best, so it only makes sense to ask with a humble spirit, in submission to Him. We can leave the answer to Him, confident that He’s trustworthy and will choose to prepare what’s good for us. By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What do you want to share with God right now? What would it look like if you totally surrendered it to Him?
Thank You, God, for carrying me and my needs close to Your heart. I surrender my life and those I love to Your care.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 11, 2019
The Supreme Climb
He said, "Take now your son…" —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning…and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 11, 2019
Viruses in Your Computer - #8566
Well, it's sad, but we, like a lot of people, have had to institute a lot of safety precautions to protect our computers. There's lots of hacking today, and that dreaded word "virus." Yeah. Now, this is not "take two aspirin and call me in the morning" stuff. No, we're talking technical viruses that can get into your system, wreak havoc with your data and your equipment. That's why the first display I see when I turn on my computer says, "Virus Scan." You know, there are plenty of horror stories of what happened when one of these little alien invaders got into a computer system. We're talking like total meltdown in some cases. It really does pay to go to extra effort to keep those invaders out!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Viruses in Your Computer."
Now, you may be a computer whiz or you might be a computer zero, but you own one of the most sophisticated computers on earth. It's called your brain. And your mental computer is no different from an electronic computer - it's got to be protected from deadly viruses that infiltrate your software and cause expensive damage.
That's why our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:11 warns: "Abstain from sinful desires, which war against the soul." Man! That's strong language! See, there are wrong desires that literally start a war in your soul. And whatever feeds those destructive desires is a virus in your mind and heart that you cannot afford - no matter how exciting; no matter how interesting it appears to be. That's why God says the strategy for keeping your soul from being poisoned is simple - abstain. Stay away from sinful desires and the influences that feed them. In fact, as 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "run away from them!"
There are things that millions of people are watching that you can't afford to watch - actually, neither can they. Because those things are planting spiritual viruses in your heart. There are things you can't afford to listen to. There are places you can't afford to go to, things you can't afford to read, and websites you can't afford to visit because of the poison, because of what it does to your soul and to your life.
Lustful images, suggestive humor, sexual scenes, and sexual themes - they get into your thought system and they stay there for years. You never seem to forget a dirty joke. And wrong desires slowly start to dominate so many of your thoughts - without even realizing it, you reach a point where you can't help thinking wrong, thinking dirty, thinking sin. If you're married, these moral viruses dilute and pollute your focus on the one person you should be directing all your desire to - your covenant love. If you're not married, the viruses twist and distort your whole perspective on the opposite sex. They continually bring you down in the battle to be pure.
And those sin-viruses? They get planted in your heart and they literally block the flow of God's power into your life, much like plaque in an artery keeps the blood from getting through. You have no idea how powerful your life could be, how much more God could use you, if you'd clean the viruses of sinful thoughts out of your system.
Thank God, the Bible says it is possible to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). But you have to set boundaries that will keep out the viruses that are all over your TV screen, your radio, movies, magazines, books, and the Internet. It's a battle to keep these alien invaders out of your system, but it's a battle worth fighting.
Get your Virus Scan activated, and avoid anything that can enter your heart, poison your system, and cause lifelong damage.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Psalm 123, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Relationship with God
Our relationship with God is exactly that- a relationship. His invitation in Psalm 27:8 is simple. Come and talk with me, O my people. And our response? Lord, I'm coming! We abide with him and he abides with us.
Psalm 119:105 says in everything, His word is a "lamp unto our feet." It's not a spotlight into the future, but He gives enough light to take the next step.
Our "Glory Days" are such because we learn to hear God's voice telling us to turn this way or that way. Isaiah speaks of it in chapter 30, verse 21. "Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go." Wait until God speaks before you act. Be patient and monitor your impulse. If you feel a check in your heart, heed it and ask God again. Consult God in everything!
From Glory Days
Psalm 123
A Pilgrim Song
I look to you, heaven-dwelling God,
look up to you for help.
Like servants, alert to their master’s commands,
like a maiden attending her lady,
We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath,
awaiting your word of mercy.
Mercy, God, mercy!
We’ve been kicked around long enough,
Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
kicked when we’re down by arrogant brutes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 6:1–9
David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2 He and all his men went to Baalah[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,[b] the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it,[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.[e]
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”
Footnotes:
2 Samuel 6:2 That is, Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chron. 13:6)
2 Samuel 6:2 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate do not have the Name.
2 Samuel 6:4 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text cart 4 and they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill
2 Samuel 6:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 13:8) songs
2 Samuel 6:8 Perez Uzzah means outbreak against Uzzah.
Insight
When Uzzah took hold of the ark to ensure it didn’t fall, the Scriptures say God became angry because of his “irreverent act” (2 Samuel 6:7). This seems harsh because it appears that Uzzah was trying to help. The Hebrew word hassal appears only in this passage and is translated as irreverent act, irreverence, or error. That it’s used only here suggests that what Uzzah did was a one of a kind event and therefore significant. God had given precise instructions regarding the handling of “holy things.” According to Numbers 4:15, “[the Kohathites] must not touch the holy things or they will die.” The holy things of God were to be treated according to His instruction. To do differently—even to “help”—indicated lack of reverence toward His command
Lava in Paradise
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
All is quiet, save for slowly stretching tentacles of hissing lava nipping at the edges of the tropical foliage. Residents stand grim-faced yet amazed. Most days they call this “paradise.” On this day, however, the fiery fissures in Hawaii’s Puna district reminded everyone that God forged these islands via untamable volcanic power.
The ancient Israelites encountered an untamable power too. When King David recaptured the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:1–4), a celebration broke out (v. 5)—until a man died suddenly when he grabbed hold of the ark to steady it (vv. 6–7).
This may tempt us to think of God as being as unpredictable as a volcano, just as likely to create as He is to destroy. However, it helps to remember that God had given Israel specific instructions for how to handle the things set apart for worshiping Him (see Numbers 4). Israel had the privilege of drawing near to God, but His presence was too overwhelming for them to approach Him carelessly.
Hebrews 12 recalls a mountain “burning with fire,” where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. That mountain terrified everyone (vv. 18–21). But the writer contrasts that scene with this: “You have come to . . . Jesus the mediator of a new covenant” (vv. 22–24). Jesus—God’s very Son—made the way for us to draw near to His untamable yet loving Father. By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How often am I tempted to think of God’s love without considering His power? Why is His power a crucial aspect of His character?
How great to know that our all-powerful God also loves us with infinite love!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Fellowship in the Gospel
…fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
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
Our relationship with God is exactly that- a relationship. His invitation in Psalm 27:8 is simple. Come and talk with me, O my people. And our response? Lord, I'm coming! We abide with him and he abides with us.
Psalm 119:105 says in everything, His word is a "lamp unto our feet." It's not a spotlight into the future, but He gives enough light to take the next step.
Our "Glory Days" are such because we learn to hear God's voice telling us to turn this way or that way. Isaiah speaks of it in chapter 30, verse 21. "Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go." Wait until God speaks before you act. Be patient and monitor your impulse. If you feel a check in your heart, heed it and ask God again. Consult God in everything!
From Glory Days
Psalm 123
A Pilgrim Song
I look to you, heaven-dwelling God,
look up to you for help.
Like servants, alert to their master’s commands,
like a maiden attending her lady,
We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath,
awaiting your word of mercy.
Mercy, God, mercy!
We’ve been kicked around long enough,
Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
kicked when we’re down by arrogant brutes.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Samuel 6:1–9
David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2 He and all his men went to Baalah[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,[b] the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it,[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.[e]
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”
Footnotes:
2 Samuel 6:2 That is, Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chron. 13:6)
2 Samuel 6:2 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate do not have the Name.
2 Samuel 6:4 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text cart 4 and they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill
2 Samuel 6:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 13:8) songs
2 Samuel 6:8 Perez Uzzah means outbreak against Uzzah.
Insight
When Uzzah took hold of the ark to ensure it didn’t fall, the Scriptures say God became angry because of his “irreverent act” (2 Samuel 6:7). This seems harsh because it appears that Uzzah was trying to help. The Hebrew word hassal appears only in this passage and is translated as irreverent act, irreverence, or error. That it’s used only here suggests that what Uzzah did was a one of a kind event and therefore significant. God had given precise instructions regarding the handling of “holy things.” According to Numbers 4:15, “[the Kohathites] must not touch the holy things or they will die.” The holy things of God were to be treated according to His instruction. To do differently—even to “help”—indicated lack of reverence toward His command
Lava in Paradise
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
All is quiet, save for slowly stretching tentacles of hissing lava nipping at the edges of the tropical foliage. Residents stand grim-faced yet amazed. Most days they call this “paradise.” On this day, however, the fiery fissures in Hawaii’s Puna district reminded everyone that God forged these islands via untamable volcanic power.
The ancient Israelites encountered an untamable power too. When King David recaptured the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:1–4), a celebration broke out (v. 5)—until a man died suddenly when he grabbed hold of the ark to steady it (vv. 6–7).
This may tempt us to think of God as being as unpredictable as a volcano, just as likely to create as He is to destroy. However, it helps to remember that God had given Israel specific instructions for how to handle the things set apart for worshiping Him (see Numbers 4). Israel had the privilege of drawing near to God, but His presence was too overwhelming for them to approach Him carelessly.
Hebrews 12 recalls a mountain “burning with fire,” where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. That mountain terrified everyone (vv. 18–21). But the writer contrasts that scene with this: “You have come to . . . Jesus the mediator of a new covenant” (vv. 22–24). Jesus—God’s very Son—made the way for us to draw near to His untamable yet loving Father. By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
How often am I tempted to think of God’s love without considering His power? Why is His power a crucial aspect of His character?
How great to know that our all-powerful God also loves us with infinite love!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Fellowship in the Gospel
…fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ… —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
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
Saturday, November 9, 2019
2 Thessalonians 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Consult God in Everything
How bold are your prayers? Boldness in prayer is an uncomfortable thought for many. We think of humbling ourselves before God or having a chat with God. But agonizing before God…or storming heaven with our prayers…or pounding on the door of the Most High…or wrestling with God? Isn't such prayer irreverent and presumptuous? It would be had God not invited us to pray as such.
The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 4:16, "So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need." Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that "Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light." He's crafty, so it is essential that we consult God in everything! Is this opportunity from you, God? Are you in this venture, God? Acknowledge Him, heed Him, and ask Him. He will guide you.
From Glory Days
2 Thessalonians 2
Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don’t let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master’s arrival has come and gone. Don’t fall for any line like that.
3-5 Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as “God Almighty.” Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?
6-8 You’ll also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until just the right time. That doesn’t mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.
9-12 The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they’re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.
13-14 Meanwhile, we’ve got our hands full continually thanking God for you, our good friends—so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start. Think of it: included in God’s original plan of salvation by the bond of faith in the living truth. This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to through the Message we delivered, in which you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ.
15-17 So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Revelation 8:1–5
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Insight
The book of Revelation is one of the most mysterious portions of the Bible. It’s filled with symbolism, metaphors, word pictures, and sweeping action. For centuries, scholars have disagreed about the meanings of these prophetic portraits. Several things are clear, however. First, the book is more about Jesus than about the events described. Revelation begins by calling itself “The revelation from Jesus Christ” (1:1). Revelation means an unveiling, so the book of Revelation is about Jesus unveiling these things. Second, it was written to real churches facing real challenges and was intended to comfort and encourage them in those trials (chs. 2–3). Third, the story of Revelation is about reversing the effects of our first parents’ fall into sin. They were separated from God and His perfect garden and these good things are restored by Christ’s victory (chs. 21–22). By: Bill Crowder
Enduring Prayers
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
“Prayers are deathless.” These are the attention-grabbing words of E. M. Bounds (1835–1913), whose classic writings on prayer have inspired people for generations. His comments about the power and enduring nature of our prayers continue with these words: “The lips that uttered them may be closed to death, the heart that felt them may have ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and God’s heart is set on them and prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them; they outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world.”
Have you ever wondered if your prayers—particularly those birthed out of difficulty, pain, and suffering—ever make it to God? The insightful words from Bounds remind us of the significance of our prayers and so does Revelation 8:1–5. The setting is heaven (v. 1), the throne room of God and the control center of the universe. Angelic attendants stand in God’s presence (v. 2) and one angel, like the priests of old, offers Him incense along with the prayers of “all God’s people” (v. 3). How eye-opening and encouraging to have this picture of the prayers offered on earth rising to God in heaven (v. 4). When we think that our prayers may have been lost in transit or forgotten, what we see here comforts us and compels us to persist in our praying, for our prayers are precious to God! By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
When have you questioned whether God really listens to Your prayers? How can passages like Revelation 8:1–5 breathe new life into them?
Father, I thank You that You care more than we sometimes know. Help me to rest in knowing Your eyes are upon the righteous and Your ears are open to our prayers.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ… —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
How bold are your prayers? Boldness in prayer is an uncomfortable thought for many. We think of humbling ourselves before God or having a chat with God. But agonizing before God…or storming heaven with our prayers…or pounding on the door of the Most High…or wrestling with God? Isn't such prayer irreverent and presumptuous? It would be had God not invited us to pray as such.
The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 4:16, "So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need." Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that "Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light." He's crafty, so it is essential that we consult God in everything! Is this opportunity from you, God? Are you in this venture, God? Acknowledge Him, heed Him, and ask Him. He will guide you.
From Glory Days
2 Thessalonians 2
Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don’t let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master’s arrival has come and gone. Don’t fall for any line like that.
3-5 Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as “God Almighty.” Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?
6-8 You’ll also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until just the right time. That doesn’t mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.
9-12 The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they’re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.
13-14 Meanwhile, we’ve got our hands full continually thanking God for you, our good friends—so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start. Think of it: included in God’s original plan of salvation by the bond of faith in the living truth. This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to through the Message we delivered, in which you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ.
15-17 So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Revelation 8:1–5
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Insight
The book of Revelation is one of the most mysterious portions of the Bible. It’s filled with symbolism, metaphors, word pictures, and sweeping action. For centuries, scholars have disagreed about the meanings of these prophetic portraits. Several things are clear, however. First, the book is more about Jesus than about the events described. Revelation begins by calling itself “The revelation from Jesus Christ” (1:1). Revelation means an unveiling, so the book of Revelation is about Jesus unveiling these things. Second, it was written to real churches facing real challenges and was intended to comfort and encourage them in those trials (chs. 2–3). Third, the story of Revelation is about reversing the effects of our first parents’ fall into sin. They were separated from God and His perfect garden and these good things are restored by Christ’s victory (chs. 21–22). By: Bill Crowder
Enduring Prayers
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
“Prayers are deathless.” These are the attention-grabbing words of E. M. Bounds (1835–1913), whose classic writings on prayer have inspired people for generations. His comments about the power and enduring nature of our prayers continue with these words: “The lips that uttered them may be closed to death, the heart that felt them may have ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and God’s heart is set on them and prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them; they outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world.”
Have you ever wondered if your prayers—particularly those birthed out of difficulty, pain, and suffering—ever make it to God? The insightful words from Bounds remind us of the significance of our prayers and so does Revelation 8:1–5. The setting is heaven (v. 1), the throne room of God and the control center of the universe. Angelic attendants stand in God’s presence (v. 2) and one angel, like the priests of old, offers Him incense along with the prayers of “all God’s people” (v. 3). How eye-opening and encouraging to have this picture of the prayers offered on earth rising to God in heaven (v. 4). When we think that our prayers may have been lost in transit or forgotten, what we see here comforts us and compels us to persist in our praying, for our prayers are precious to God! By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
When have you questioned whether God really listens to Your prayers? How can passages like Revelation 8:1–5 breathe new life into them?
Father, I thank You that You care more than we sometimes know. Help me to rest in knowing Your eyes are upon the righteous and Your ears are open to our prayers.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ… —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed
Friday, November 8, 2019
Psalm 122, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: PRAYER IS A HEARTFELT CONVERSATION
Prayer isn’t a privilege for the pious, not the art of a chosen few. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and His child. When we invite God into our world, He brings a host of gifts: joy, patience, resilience. Anxieties come, but they don’t stick. Fears surface and then depart. I’m completing my sixth decade, yet I’m wired with energy. Happier, healthier, and more hopeful! Struggles come, for sure, but so does God.
My friend, He wants to talk with you. Even now as you hear these words, He taps at the door. Open it. Welcome Him in and let the conversation begin.
Here’s my prayer challenge to you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 122
A Pilgrim Song of David
When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem’s walls!
3-5 Jerusalem, well-built city,
built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend,
all God’s tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of God—
this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment
are set there, famous David-thrones.
6-9 Pray for Jerusalem’s peace!
Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along!
Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends,
I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God, God,
I’ll do my very best for you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 12:12, 24–28
The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.
26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Insight
Proverbs is one of the Old Testament books of Wisdom Literature, along with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. One characteristic of these works is their large use of poetry. And, as the name of this genre implies, their main focus is on attaining wisdom. In Proverbs, the authors (mainly Solomon and others) primarily use pithy sayings to instruct God’s people in applying wisdom to daily life. As one commentary explains, wisdom here denotes “skill in the art of godly living.” Among the main themes of Proverbs are friendship, speech, marriage, child-rearing, work, and diligence and laziness. We see the contrasting theme of laziness and diligence in today’s passage, particularly in 12:24, 27, and throughout Proverbs (6:6–10; 10:4; 20:13; 24:30–34).
To learn more about the poetic literature of the Old Testament, visit christianuniversity.org/OT128-08. By: Alyson Kieda
That Was Awesome!
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Proverbs 12:24
It was the seventh-grader’s first cross-country meet, but she didn’t want to run. Although she’d been preparing for the event, she was afraid of doing poorly. Still, she started the race with everyone else. Later, one by one the other runners finished the two-mile course and crossed the finish line—everyone except the reluctant runner. Finally, her mom, who was watching for her daughter to finish, saw a lone figure in the distance. The mother went to the finish line, preparing to comfort a distraught competitor. Instead, when the young runner saw her mom, she exclaimed, “That was awesome!”
What can be awesome about finishing last? Finishing!
The girl had tried something difficult and had accomplished it! Scripture honors hard work and diligence, a concept often learned through sports or music or other things that require perseverance and effort.
Proverbs 12:24 says, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” And later we read, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (14:23). These wise principles—not promises—can help us serve God well.
God’s plan for us always included work. Even before the fall, Adam was to “work [the Garden] and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). And any effort we make should be done “with all [our] heart” (Colossians 3:23). Let’s work in the strength He gives us—and leave the results to Him. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What are some areas where I can learn from this teenager to be diligent and persevere? How does doing my best and working hard honor God?
Heavenly Father, whatever it is You have asked me to do today—big or small—help me to do it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 08, 2019
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “…He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…. But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 08, 2019
Good News When There's No Way - #8565
Little Jessica became America's child that day she fell down that narrow shaft in a backyard in Texas. Here was a toddler, wedged nearly upside down, in a shaft far too narrow for any man to navigate, and unable to help herself in any way. It didn't take long for the press to descend on that little hole in the ground to cover this valiant effort to try to save little Jessica's life. Pretty soon countless people across the country and around the world, including me, were rooting and praying for her life. I was one of them. At first, there appeared to be no way out of this deadly situation, but the rescuers weren't about to give up. No, they began to build a wider shaft parallel to the one Jessica was trapped in. She'd been in there for nearly three days when a rescuer finally went down that new shaft and through the tunnel they had dug to Jessica. Minutes later – a scene many of us will never forget. In the glare of the press's massive lights, a battered but breathing little girl emerged from that hole with her arms tightly wrapped around her rescuer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Good News When There's No Way."
I can't tell you how many times I've been little Jessica in that hole; trapped in a spot, a situation where there seemed to be no way out. I couldn't plan my way out, think my way out, talk my way out, work my way out. It's that frightening crossroads called "No Way Junction." You might be there right now. If you're not, stay tuned. You will be sooner or later. You're facing a situation, maybe, that is beyond your power to fix or to figure out. The usual delivery systems in your life – the people, the sources which would usually come through for you just aren't doing it. Not this time. It looks like there's no way to turn this around. You're at the bottom of the shaft; you're beyond the reach of any conventional help.
Enter Almighty God. Our word for today from the Word of God, Psalm 25:15, describes our "no way" moments – along with the only way out. The Bible says, "My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare." Okay. Now, if you are facing something for which there is no conceivable human solution, then welcome to the "God Alone Zone." It's one of those moments in your life where it's going to be God alone or it's not going to be.
That's not bad news. That's good news. You now have a front row seat on the awesome greatness of the Lord you belong to. Nobody sees God bigger than those who need Him desperately. As King David said in this psalm, "Only He" can release you. Isn't that great? God wants you to believe Him for a solution that will have no human fingerprints on it, only His. He's brought you to "No Way Junction," not because He wants to sink you, but because He wants to show you, and all those who know you, His greatness when there's no human hope, no human explanation, and no shared glory. It will be Him and Him alone.
The wonderful Bible teacher, A. W. Tozer, had it right. He said, "The child of God should always be found living in expectation of the divine." Even when you're not in a "no way" moment. God says to lay our requests before Him in the morning and then "wait in expectation."(Psalm 5:3) Not agitation. Not frustration, but expectation.
God has decided that you're ready for one of those unforgettable Red Sea moments when it's all Him and none of you...when you will go deeper into Him, be more desperate for Him, be more desirous of doing what pleases Him than you've ever been before. He wants you to learn in a way that you'll never forget what the psalmist said to Him in Psalm 87:7 - "All my fountains are in you."
God may use humans to deliver His resources to your life, but it doesn't come from them. It never has. It only comes through them. When all the human sources can't do it, your real source is still there. Yeah, you're stuck. Yeah, there's nothing you can do to get yourself out. Yes, there's no conventional way to get out of this. But if you'll listen very carefully, you may hear some sounds getting closer and closer to you. That's your Rescuer, doing whatever it takes to bring out the one He loves. And He is on His way!
Prayer isn’t a privilege for the pious, not the art of a chosen few. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and His child. When we invite God into our world, He brings a host of gifts: joy, patience, resilience. Anxieties come, but they don’t stick. Fears surface and then depart. I’m completing my sixth decade, yet I’m wired with energy. Happier, healthier, and more hopeful! Struggles come, for sure, but so does God.
My friend, He wants to talk with you. Even now as you hear these words, He taps at the door. Open it. Welcome Him in and let the conversation begin.
Here’s my prayer challenge to you! Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before!
Psalm 122
A Pilgrim Song of David
When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem’s walls!
3-5 Jerusalem, well-built city,
built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend,
all God’s tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of God—
this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment
are set there, famous David-thrones.
6-9 Pray for Jerusalem’s peace!
Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along!
Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends,
I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God, God,
I’ll do my very best for you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 12:12, 24–28
The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.
25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.
26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Insight
Proverbs is one of the Old Testament books of Wisdom Literature, along with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. One characteristic of these works is their large use of poetry. And, as the name of this genre implies, their main focus is on attaining wisdom. In Proverbs, the authors (mainly Solomon and others) primarily use pithy sayings to instruct God’s people in applying wisdom to daily life. As one commentary explains, wisdom here denotes “skill in the art of godly living.” Among the main themes of Proverbs are friendship, speech, marriage, child-rearing, work, and diligence and laziness. We see the contrasting theme of laziness and diligence in today’s passage, particularly in 12:24, 27, and throughout Proverbs (6:6–10; 10:4; 20:13; 24:30–34).
To learn more about the poetic literature of the Old Testament, visit christianuniversity.org/OT128-08. By: Alyson Kieda
That Was Awesome!
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Proverbs 12:24
It was the seventh-grader’s first cross-country meet, but she didn’t want to run. Although she’d been preparing for the event, she was afraid of doing poorly. Still, she started the race with everyone else. Later, one by one the other runners finished the two-mile course and crossed the finish line—everyone except the reluctant runner. Finally, her mom, who was watching for her daughter to finish, saw a lone figure in the distance. The mother went to the finish line, preparing to comfort a distraught competitor. Instead, when the young runner saw her mom, she exclaimed, “That was awesome!”
What can be awesome about finishing last? Finishing!
The girl had tried something difficult and had accomplished it! Scripture honors hard work and diligence, a concept often learned through sports or music or other things that require perseverance and effort.
Proverbs 12:24 says, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” And later we read, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (14:23). These wise principles—not promises—can help us serve God well.
God’s plan for us always included work. Even before the fall, Adam was to “work [the Garden] and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). And any effort we make should be done “with all [our] heart” (Colossians 3:23). Let’s work in the strength He gives us—and leave the results to Him. By: Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
What are some areas where I can learn from this teenager to be diligent and persevere? How does doing my best and working hard honor God?
Heavenly Father, whatever it is You have asked me to do today—big or small—help me to do it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 08, 2019
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “…He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…. But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 08, 2019
Good News When There's No Way - #8565
Little Jessica became America's child that day she fell down that narrow shaft in a backyard in Texas. Here was a toddler, wedged nearly upside down, in a shaft far too narrow for any man to navigate, and unable to help herself in any way. It didn't take long for the press to descend on that little hole in the ground to cover this valiant effort to try to save little Jessica's life. Pretty soon countless people across the country and around the world, including me, were rooting and praying for her life. I was one of them. At first, there appeared to be no way out of this deadly situation, but the rescuers weren't about to give up. No, they began to build a wider shaft parallel to the one Jessica was trapped in. She'd been in there for nearly three days when a rescuer finally went down that new shaft and through the tunnel they had dug to Jessica. Minutes later – a scene many of us will never forget. In the glare of the press's massive lights, a battered but breathing little girl emerged from that hole with her arms tightly wrapped around her rescuer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Good News When There's No Way."
I can't tell you how many times I've been little Jessica in that hole; trapped in a spot, a situation where there seemed to be no way out. I couldn't plan my way out, think my way out, talk my way out, work my way out. It's that frightening crossroads called "No Way Junction." You might be there right now. If you're not, stay tuned. You will be sooner or later. You're facing a situation, maybe, that is beyond your power to fix or to figure out. The usual delivery systems in your life – the people, the sources which would usually come through for you just aren't doing it. Not this time. It looks like there's no way to turn this around. You're at the bottom of the shaft; you're beyond the reach of any conventional help.
Enter Almighty God. Our word for today from the Word of God, Psalm 25:15, describes our "no way" moments – along with the only way out. The Bible says, "My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare." Okay. Now, if you are facing something for which there is no conceivable human solution, then welcome to the "God Alone Zone." It's one of those moments in your life where it's going to be God alone or it's not going to be.
That's not bad news. That's good news. You now have a front row seat on the awesome greatness of the Lord you belong to. Nobody sees God bigger than those who need Him desperately. As King David said in this psalm, "Only He" can release you. Isn't that great? God wants you to believe Him for a solution that will have no human fingerprints on it, only His. He's brought you to "No Way Junction," not because He wants to sink you, but because He wants to show you, and all those who know you, His greatness when there's no human hope, no human explanation, and no shared glory. It will be Him and Him alone.
The wonderful Bible teacher, A. W. Tozer, had it right. He said, "The child of God should always be found living in expectation of the divine." Even when you're not in a "no way" moment. God says to lay our requests before Him in the morning and then "wait in expectation."(Psalm 5:3) Not agitation. Not frustration, but expectation.
God has decided that you're ready for one of those unforgettable Red Sea moments when it's all Him and none of you...when you will go deeper into Him, be more desperate for Him, be more desirous of doing what pleases Him than you've ever been before. He wants you to learn in a way that you'll never forget what the psalmist said to Him in Psalm 87:7 - "All my fountains are in you."
God may use humans to deliver His resources to your life, but it doesn't come from them. It never has. It only comes through them. When all the human sources can't do it, your real source is still there. Yeah, you're stuck. Yeah, there's nothing you can do to get yourself out. Yes, there's no conventional way to get out of this. But if you'll listen very carefully, you may hear some sounds getting closer and closer to you. That's your Rescuer, doing whatever it takes to bring out the one He loves. And He is on His way!
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