Max Lucado Daily: APPROACH GOD AS A BELOVED CHILD
Jesus invites us to approach God the way a child approaches his or her daddy! And how do children approach their daddies?
When a five-year-old spots his father in the parking lot, how does he react? “Yippee!” was screamed by a redheaded boy wearing a Batman backpack. “Pop!” Over here! Push me!”—yelled a boy wearing a Boston Red Sox cap who scooted straight to the swings.
Here’s what I didn’t hear: “Father, it is most gracious of thee to drive thy car to my place of education. Please know of my deep gratitude for your benevolence. For thou art splendid in thy attentive care and diligent in thy dedication.”
I heard kids who were happy to see their dad and eager to speak to him! God invites us to approach Him in the same manner. What a relief!
1 Corinthians 1
I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!
3 May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.
4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
10 I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.
11-12 I bring this up because some from Chloe’s family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you’re fighting among yourselves! I’ll tell you exactly what I was told: You’re all picking sides, going around saying, “I’m on Paul’s side,” or “I’m for Apollos,” or “Peter is my man,” or “I’m in the Messiah group.”
13-16 I ask you, “Has the Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul’s name?” I was not involved with any of your baptisms—except for Crispus and Gaius—and on getting this report, I’m sure glad I wasn’t. At least no one can go around saying he was baptized in my name. (Come to think of it, I also baptized Stephanas’s family, but as far as I can recall, that’s it.)
17 God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.
18-21 The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written,
I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
I’ll expose so-called experts as crackpots.
So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.
22-25 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.”
26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 11:28–30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Insight
Christ’s words offering rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28–29) seem to be connected to His discussion of oppression. In Judaism, the word yoke was often used as a metaphor for God’s law. A yoke was used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking it to an experienced one; in the same way, the law could function as a training guide. But the word yoke was also used to describe political rule, and rest to describe deliverance from oppressive rule. For example, in Isaiah 14 God promised to remove the Assyrian’s burdensome yoke and bring the land rest (14:7, 25).
Both the Roman Empire and religious teachers of Christ’s day (the scribes and Pharisees) used their authority in burdensome ways (see Matthew 23:4). So Jesus invited those worn and wearied by such burdens to live instead as subjects under His compassionate leadership in God’s life-giving kingdom.
By: Monica La Rose
Beautifully Burdened
My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30
I awoke to pitch darkness. I hadn’t slept more than thirty minutes and my heart sensed that sleep wouldn’t return soon. A friend’s husband lay in the hospital, having received the dreaded news, “The cancer is back—in the brain and spine now.” My whole being hurt for my friends. What a heavy load! And yet, somehow my spirit was lifted through my sacred vigil of prayer. You might say I felt beautifully burdened for them. How could this be?
In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus promises rest for our weary souls. Strangely, His rest comes as we bend under His yoke and embrace His burden. He clarifies in verse 30, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we allow Jesus to lift our burden from our backs and then tether ourselves to Jesus’s yoke, we become harnessed with Him, in step with Him and all He allows. When we bend under His burden, we share in His sufferings, which ultimately allows us to share in His comfort as well (2 Corinthians 1:5).
My concern for my friends was a heavy burden. Yet I felt grateful that God would allow me to carry them in prayer. Gradually I ebbed back to sleep and awoke—still beautifully burdened but now under the easy yoke and light load of walking with Jesus. By: Elisa Morgan
Reflect & Pray
What are you carrying today? How will you give that burden to Jesus?
Dear Jesus, please take my heavy load and lay upon me Your beautiful burden for this world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 21, 2019
“It is Finished!”
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.
Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus…for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor…” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.
Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.
So Send I You
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Way to Your Father's Heart - #8574
As most children learn, there's an art to getting what you want from a parent. And most kids should get honorary degrees in psychology for how skilled they become at doing it. Our children sure did. One approach from the playbook of the three little Hutchcrafts could be called the "United Front Maneuver." One time they pulled out this tactic was when they wanted to get pizza for dinner or to go to a certain clown's hamburger joint. Often our oldest would first dispatch the youngest to approach me with a dining proposal. You know, always use the youngest as the sacrificial lamb. Right! Well, if that didn't work, send in number two child. If two out of three couldn't turn my heart to their cause, then the oldest would join in. And I have to confess, there were some times when I was able to say no to one of my children, or even two, but something happened to my heart when they all came together.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Way to Your Father's Heart."
Apparently, something happens in your Heavenly Father's heart when His children come to Him together. Jesus talked about that in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 18:19-20. He said, "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them."
Notice, Jesus is stressing the power of His children coming to Him in agreement, asking Him for something in faith. I don't know what's different between me talking to God about something alone and me talking to Him with some other believers. I only know that Jesus told us that something special happens in heaven when God the Father hears from His children together about some issue or some need.
Some of the most powerful prayer meetings in history were the ones that preceded the incredible day the Church was born, the Day of Pentecost. The Bible says, "They all joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14) and look what happened! It seems that the Father responded big-time!
Could it be that one reason we're not seeing more powerful results from our prayers is how little we pray together? We pray by ourselves a lot, we promise people we'll pray for them a lot, but why is it we often feel so awkward about suggesting that we pray with a brother or with a sister? Why is it that it doesn't even occur to us sometimes?
I went into a local florist shop. The Christian lady who owns it didn't know me, but she sure remembered my wife. Why? Well, my wife had walked in there on one of those frantic days when it was combat conditions in the florist shop. And during a brief lull, she asked if she could pray together with the workers there. They got together in a little huddle and my wife fired off a brief prayer for God's peace and strength for those floral workers. Apparently, they've never forgotten it. Because, as the owner said, no one ever does that.
You know what? That's got to change, especially when there is so much power when God's children get together to ask for something; when they pray in agreement. We're missing so much because we don't stop more often and pray together with a brother or a sister. It's Satan who doesn't want us praying together; it's probably him trying to make it hard for us. With fellow believers where you are - at home, where you work, at church, on the phone, even in a chat room, let's go to our Father together for things only our Father can do. Because honestly, that's the way to your Father's heart!
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Psalm 132, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT GRADED
Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better! We emphasize the appropriate prayer language, the latest prayer trend, the holiest prayer terminology. Against all this emphasis on syllables and rituals, Jesus says in Matthew 6:7, “Don’t ramble like heathens who talk a lot.”
There’s no panel of angelic judges with numbered cards. “Wow, Lucado, that prayer was a ten. God will certainly hear you!” or… “Oh, Lucado, you scored a two this morning. Go home and practice.”
Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.
Psalm 132
A Pilgrim Song
O God, remember David,
remember all his troubles!
And remember how he promised God,
made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob,
“I’m not going home,
and I’m not going to bed,
I’m not going to sleep,
not even take time to rest,
Until I find a home for God,
a house for the Strong God of Jacob.”
6-7 Remember how we got the news in Ephrathah,
learned all about it at Jaar Meadows?
We shouted, “Let’s go to the shrine dedication!
Let’s worship at God’s own footstool!”
8-10 Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,
you and your mighty covenant ark;
Get your priests all dressed up in justice;
prompt your worshipers to sing this prayer:
“Honor your servant David;
don’t disdain your anointed one.”
11-18 God gave David his word,
he won’t back out on this promise:
“One of your sons
I will set on your throne;
If your sons stay true to my Covenant
and learn to live the way I teach them,
Their sons will continue the line—
always a son to sit on your throne.
Yes—I, God, chose Zion,
the place I wanted for my shrine;
This will always be my home;
this is what I want, and I’m here for good.
I’ll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here,
and give supper to those who arrive hungry;
I’ll dress my priests in salvation clothes;
the holy people will sing their hearts out!
Oh, I’ll make the place radiant for David!
I’ll fill it with light for my anointed!
I’ll dress his enemies in dirty rags,
but I’ll make his crown sparkle with splendor.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 92:12–15
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Insight
Psalm 92 has this superscription: “A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.” This tells us the Israelites sang this praise song in public worship on the Sabbath day (vv. 1–3). According to the New Living Translation Study Bible, “Jewish tradition assigned one psalm to each day of the week: Sunday (Psalm 24), Monday (Psalm 48), Tuesday (Psalm 82), Wednesday (Psalm 94), Thursday (Psalm 81), Friday (Psalm 93), and the Sabbath (Psalm 92).” The Sabbath was a day God set apart for His people to rest and participate in community worship—celebrating His greatness in creation (Exodus 20:8–11; Leviticus 23:3) and remembering their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:6, 15). For the Israelites, long life was considered a reward and blessing from God (Deuteronomy 4:40; 5:33; 30:20). Psalm 92 celebrates that blessing, capturing the gratitude of those who’ve experienced a lifetime of walking with Him (vv. 5–15).
Fruitful to the End
They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:14
Although Lenore Dunlop was ninety-four years young, her mind was sharp, her smile was bright, and her contagious love for Jesus was felt by many. It wasn’t uncommon to find her in the company of the youth of our church; her presence and participation were sources of joy and encouragement. Lenore’s life was so vibrant that her death caught us off guard. Like a powerful runner, she sprinted across life’s finish line. Her energy and zeal were such that, just days before her death, she completed a sixteen-week course that focused on taking the message of Jesus to the peoples of the world.
The fruitful, God-honoring life of Lenore illustrates what’s seen in Psalm 92:12–15. This psalm describes the budding, blossoming, and fruit-bearing of those whose lives are rooted in a right relationship with God (vv. 12–13). The two trees pictured were valued for their fruit and wood, respectively; with these the psalmist captures a sense of vitality, prosperity, and usefulness. When we see in our lives the budding and blossoming fruit of loving, sharing, helping, and leading others to Christ, we should rejoice.
Even for those who may be labeled “senior” or “seasoned,” it’s never too late to take root and bear fruit. Lenore’s life was deeply rooted in God through Jesus and testifies to this and to God’s goodness (v. 15). Ours can too. By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
How does your life reflect the fruit found in a growing relationship with Jesus? What can you add or eliminate to help you grow?
Father, give me the strength to bear fruit that clearly demonstrates that my life is rooted in the life of Jesus, Your Son.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Nagged to Death - #8573
Motivation - that's the art of getting a person to do something. We're all in the motivating business. You may be motivating people to go somewhere, or to do a job, to correct a weakness in their life, to change their ways, to finish what they start, to do what you want them to do. Motivation comes in a lot of forms. You can inspire people to do it. You can threaten them if they don't do it. You can love them into doing it; put an arm around them and say, "Come on, Buddy." You can help them do it. You could pitch in and show them how and be willing to do your part.
But the number one selection on the motivation hit parade is that tried and true method called nagging. Just keep bringing it up; just keep pushing for it; keep talking about it. Eventually you'll wear them down and they'll do it just to get you off their back. That might get the job done, but it may not do much to enhance your relationship. Unfortunately, nagging often works with very damaging results.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nagged to Death."
I guess I'd have to define nagging as motivation by erosion; just wear them down. That's what Delilah did to Sampson. You remember the story that the Philistines had not been able to defeat the supernatural strength of Sampson. Of course his secret was that it was in his hair, and his hair should never be cut, and he had never told anyone. The Philistines paid beautiful Delilah to fall in love with Sampson and to find the secret of his strength. Three times she asked in a very cozy romantic situation, and three times he gave her a misleading answer that proved the Philistines could not conquer him. He had not given his secret.
But you know what? He finally told her, and the result was his capture, his humiliation by the Philistines and ultimately his death as their prisoner. How did she do it? Judges 16:16 - "With much nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything." Sampson was worn down, and he ended up doing something he was sure he would never do. Well, he's not the only one.
Could that be happening to you right now? Maybe you've got your own Delilahs - people in your life who want you to live as they do, to lower your standards, to compromise what you believe. And they're after you day after day to do it. Right? And you have been sure you would never do that. But maybe you're weakening. You're about to be nagged to death.
Sampson was nagged to his death literally. Don't cave in. You think you've got pressure now? Wait until you give in to sin; wait until you compromise. You ain't seen nothin' yet! Maybe you need to get away from the people who are wearing you down. Maybe that's not possible.
Okay, then, seek the Lord for daily supernatural strength to stand strong as His man, His woman. This is a day-by-day battle; one day at a time. Determine to be the one who is the changer, not the changee. You are the make-a-difference person. You're going to represent Christ to them. There's too much at stake if they don't see Jesus in you. You're their best hope of heaven possibly. Now, listen, they're not going to change you if you make that kind of a commitment. You're going to do your very best to change them.
Anchor yourself every morning in Jesus' expectation for your life. Anchor yourself to His lordship over your life. Spend some quality time with Jesus at the beginning of your day. And, again, offer yourself to be all his. You've got to be with him so He's real for You for that day.
Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better! We emphasize the appropriate prayer language, the latest prayer trend, the holiest prayer terminology. Against all this emphasis on syllables and rituals, Jesus says in Matthew 6:7, “Don’t ramble like heathens who talk a lot.”
There’s no panel of angelic judges with numbered cards. “Wow, Lucado, that prayer was a ten. God will certainly hear you!” or… “Oh, Lucado, you scored a two this morning. Go home and practice.”
Prayers aren’t graded according to style. If prayer depends on how I pray, I’m sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, then I have hope.
Psalm 132
A Pilgrim Song
O God, remember David,
remember all his troubles!
And remember how he promised God,
made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob,
“I’m not going home,
and I’m not going to bed,
I’m not going to sleep,
not even take time to rest,
Until I find a home for God,
a house for the Strong God of Jacob.”
6-7 Remember how we got the news in Ephrathah,
learned all about it at Jaar Meadows?
We shouted, “Let’s go to the shrine dedication!
Let’s worship at God’s own footstool!”
8-10 Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,
you and your mighty covenant ark;
Get your priests all dressed up in justice;
prompt your worshipers to sing this prayer:
“Honor your servant David;
don’t disdain your anointed one.”
11-18 God gave David his word,
he won’t back out on this promise:
“One of your sons
I will set on your throne;
If your sons stay true to my Covenant
and learn to live the way I teach them,
Their sons will continue the line—
always a son to sit on your throne.
Yes—I, God, chose Zion,
the place I wanted for my shrine;
This will always be my home;
this is what I want, and I’m here for good.
I’ll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here,
and give supper to those who arrive hungry;
I’ll dress my priests in salvation clothes;
the holy people will sing their hearts out!
Oh, I’ll make the place radiant for David!
I’ll fill it with light for my anointed!
I’ll dress his enemies in dirty rags,
but I’ll make his crown sparkle with splendor.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 92:12–15
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Insight
Psalm 92 has this superscription: “A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.” This tells us the Israelites sang this praise song in public worship on the Sabbath day (vv. 1–3). According to the New Living Translation Study Bible, “Jewish tradition assigned one psalm to each day of the week: Sunday (Psalm 24), Monday (Psalm 48), Tuesday (Psalm 82), Wednesday (Psalm 94), Thursday (Psalm 81), Friday (Psalm 93), and the Sabbath (Psalm 92).” The Sabbath was a day God set apart for His people to rest and participate in community worship—celebrating His greatness in creation (Exodus 20:8–11; Leviticus 23:3) and remembering their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:6, 15). For the Israelites, long life was considered a reward and blessing from God (Deuteronomy 4:40; 5:33; 30:20). Psalm 92 celebrates that blessing, capturing the gratitude of those who’ve experienced a lifetime of walking with Him (vv. 5–15).
Fruitful to the End
They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:14
Although Lenore Dunlop was ninety-four years young, her mind was sharp, her smile was bright, and her contagious love for Jesus was felt by many. It wasn’t uncommon to find her in the company of the youth of our church; her presence and participation were sources of joy and encouragement. Lenore’s life was so vibrant that her death caught us off guard. Like a powerful runner, she sprinted across life’s finish line. Her energy and zeal were such that, just days before her death, she completed a sixteen-week course that focused on taking the message of Jesus to the peoples of the world.
The fruitful, God-honoring life of Lenore illustrates what’s seen in Psalm 92:12–15. This psalm describes the budding, blossoming, and fruit-bearing of those whose lives are rooted in a right relationship with God (vv. 12–13). The two trees pictured were valued for their fruit and wood, respectively; with these the psalmist captures a sense of vitality, prosperity, and usefulness. When we see in our lives the budding and blossoming fruit of loving, sharing, helping, and leading others to Christ, we should rejoice.
Even for those who may be labeled “senior” or “seasoned,” it’s never too late to take root and bear fruit. Lenore’s life was deeply rooted in God through Jesus and testifies to this and to God’s goodness (v. 15). Ours can too. By: Arthur Jackson
Reflect & Pray
How does your life reflect the fruit found in a growing relationship with Jesus? What can you add or eliminate to help you grow?
Father, give me the strength to bear fruit that clearly demonstrates that my life is rooted in the life of Jesus, Your Son.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Nagged to Death - #8573
Motivation - that's the art of getting a person to do something. We're all in the motivating business. You may be motivating people to go somewhere, or to do a job, to correct a weakness in their life, to change their ways, to finish what they start, to do what you want them to do. Motivation comes in a lot of forms. You can inspire people to do it. You can threaten them if they don't do it. You can love them into doing it; put an arm around them and say, "Come on, Buddy." You can help them do it. You could pitch in and show them how and be willing to do your part.
But the number one selection on the motivation hit parade is that tried and true method called nagging. Just keep bringing it up; just keep pushing for it; keep talking about it. Eventually you'll wear them down and they'll do it just to get you off their back. That might get the job done, but it may not do much to enhance your relationship. Unfortunately, nagging often works with very damaging results.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nagged to Death."
I guess I'd have to define nagging as motivation by erosion; just wear them down. That's what Delilah did to Sampson. You remember the story that the Philistines had not been able to defeat the supernatural strength of Sampson. Of course his secret was that it was in his hair, and his hair should never be cut, and he had never told anyone. The Philistines paid beautiful Delilah to fall in love with Sampson and to find the secret of his strength. Three times she asked in a very cozy romantic situation, and three times he gave her a misleading answer that proved the Philistines could not conquer him. He had not given his secret.
But you know what? He finally told her, and the result was his capture, his humiliation by the Philistines and ultimately his death as their prisoner. How did she do it? Judges 16:16 - "With much nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything." Sampson was worn down, and he ended up doing something he was sure he would never do. Well, he's not the only one.
Could that be happening to you right now? Maybe you've got your own Delilahs - people in your life who want you to live as they do, to lower your standards, to compromise what you believe. And they're after you day after day to do it. Right? And you have been sure you would never do that. But maybe you're weakening. You're about to be nagged to death.
Sampson was nagged to his death literally. Don't cave in. You think you've got pressure now? Wait until you give in to sin; wait until you compromise. You ain't seen nothin' yet! Maybe you need to get away from the people who are wearing you down. Maybe that's not possible.
Okay, then, seek the Lord for daily supernatural strength to stand strong as His man, His woman. This is a day-by-day battle; one day at a time. Determine to be the one who is the changer, not the changee. You are the make-a-difference person. You're going to represent Christ to them. There's too much at stake if they don't see Jesus in you. You're their best hope of heaven possibly. Now, listen, they're not going to change you if you make that kind of a commitment. You're going to do your very best to change them.
Anchor yourself every morning in Jesus' expectation for your life. Anchor yourself to His lordship over your life. Spend some quality time with Jesus at the beginning of your day. And, again, offer yourself to be all his. You've got to be with him so He's real for You for that day.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Psalm 131, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A CLOSET CHAT WITH GOD
Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you.”
The words surely stunned Jesus’ audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn’t enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He’s low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location or wow him with eloquence. It’s the power of a simple prayer.
Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes…a simple prayer. Then, get ready to connect with God like never before.
Psalm 131
A Pilgrim Song
God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.
2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.
3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 10:46–52
en they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Insight
The story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46–52) isn’t the only account in Mark’s gospel where Jesus healed physical blindness. The other is in 8:22–26 where He healed an unnamed man in Bethsaida. But physical blindness wasn’t the only “sight” issue that Mark highlights. Spiritual blindness was prevalent. Just before Jesus healed the blind man in Bethsaida He rebuked His disciples saying, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear” (vv. 17–18). And just before He healed Bartimaeus, Jesus reminded His disciples that He was destined for suffering and death, but they didn’t get it (vv. 31–33; 9:30–32; 10:32–34). It wasn’t until after Christ’s resurrection that their spiritual blindness was banished. By: Arthur Jackson
True, Deep Desire
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51
A mouse with a shrill voice, Reepicheep is perhaps The Chronicles of Narnia’s most valiant character. He charged into battle swinging his tiny sword. He rejected fear as he prodded on the Dawn Treader toward the Island of Darkness. The secret to Reepicheep’s courage? He was deeply connected to his longing to get to Aslan’s country. “That is my heart’s desire,” he said. Reepicheep knew what he truly wanted, and this led him toward his king.
Bartimaeus, a blind man from Jericho, sat in his normal spot jingling his cup for coins when he heard Jesus and the crowd approaching. He yelled out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). The crowd tried to silence him, but Bartimaeus couldn’t be stopped.
“Jesus stopped,” Mark says (v. 49). In the midst of the throng, Jesus wanted to hear Bartimaeus. “What do you want?” Jesus asked (v. 51).
The answer seemed obvious; surely Jesus knew. But He seemed to believe there was power in allowing Bartimaeus to express his deep desire. “I want to see,” Bartimaeus said (v. 51). And Jesus sent Bartimaeus home seeing colors, beauty, and the faces of friends for the first time.
Not all desires are met immediately (and desires must be transformed), but what’s essential here is how Bartimaeus knew his desire and took it to Jesus. If we’ll pay attention, we’ll notice that our true desires and longings always lead us to Him. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
What do you truly desire? How might this desire lead you to Jesus?
Jesus, help me to bring my desires to You. What I’m ultimately seeking can only be satisfied by what You alone can provide.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
“When He Has Come
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin… —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, November 19, 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.
Nailing Your Colors - #8572
You may not remember much of your World History class, but you probably at least remember the nations of Europe fought it out for a long time to see who was going to be Number One. For many years, their biggest way to fight it out was with their big navies. So, if a ship from England saw a ship from France, you could expect some fireworks. Of course, the way you knew what country a ship was from was that flag they flew from the top of the mast - their colors. When they would see a ship approaching on the horizon, they usually lowered their colors until they could see whether that other guy was a friend or an enemy. But occasionally there was a ship that approached those encounters in a radically different way. There were a few courageous captains who would give a simple six-word order to their crew, "Nail our colors to the mast!" But you could just hear the first mate saying, "Captain, that means we can't lower our colors, no matter what." To which the captain would say something like this. "That's right."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nailing Your Colors."
Our word for today from the Word of God starts with one follower of Jesus who lowered his colors when enemies appeared on his horizon. It's found in Luke 22:60. Jesus is under arrest and moving toward His crucifixion. Peter is hanging out in the high priest's courtyard but not getting too close. Already two people have asked him if he was associated with Jesus and twice he has denied his Lord. Now a third person asks him and it says "Peter replied, 'Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...he went outside and wept bitterly." The pressure was on. He dumped Jesus. He's not alone.
But here's some hope for any of us who have lowered our Jesus-colors when the pressure was on. Acts 2:14 - Peter, it's only a few weeks later. He is now standing on the street in downtown Jerusalem, the same city that had recently crucified Jesus. And, no doubt, some of the people who yelled "Crucify Him" are in the crowd that day. And it says, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd..." Listen to what he said, "Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). Man! God has worked a miracle in Peter - a chicken has suddenly turned into a tiger!
In fact, when the very authorities who arranged for Jesus' death call Peter in front of them and demand that he not preach about that Name anymore, here's his answer in Acts 4:12. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Isn't that encouraging? The same Lord who forgave Peter's past betrayals and empowered him to nail his colors to the mast. That same Lord could do that for you and me.
We all know the temptations to get by or to get ahead by covering up our relationship with Jesus. And when the world starts to like us and we start to like the world, it's often at the expense of the One who would not deny us even when it meant a cross. We forget whose we are.
But maybe those days of surrendering your Jesus-identity are almost over. Maybe you're ready to finally stand publicly for the One who died publicly for you. It all begins when you decide that you will not lower your Jesus-colors for anyone, for anything. He is who you belong to, He is who you will always belong to, and He's the best thing that's ever happened to you in your life or ever will happen.
You are who you are, you are whose you are, and no one can get you to change that once you nail your Jesus-colors to the mast.
Religious leaders loved to make theater out of their prayers. The show nauseated Jesus. In Matthew 6:6 He said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you.”
The words surely stunned Jesus’ audience. The people were simple farmers and stonemasons. They couldn’t enter the temple. But they could enter their closets. The point? He’s low on fancy, high on accessibility. You need not woo him with location or wow him with eloquence. It’s the power of a simple prayer.
Every day for four weeks, pray four minutes…a simple prayer. Then, get ready to connect with God like never before.
Psalm 131
A Pilgrim Song
God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.
2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.
3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Mark 10:46–52
en they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Insight
The story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46–52) isn’t the only account in Mark’s gospel where Jesus healed physical blindness. The other is in 8:22–26 where He healed an unnamed man in Bethsaida. But physical blindness wasn’t the only “sight” issue that Mark highlights. Spiritual blindness was prevalent. Just before Jesus healed the blind man in Bethsaida He rebuked His disciples saying, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear” (vv. 17–18). And just before He healed Bartimaeus, Jesus reminded His disciples that He was destined for suffering and death, but they didn’t get it (vv. 31–33; 9:30–32; 10:32–34). It wasn’t until after Christ’s resurrection that their spiritual blindness was banished. By: Arthur Jackson
True, Deep Desire
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51
A mouse with a shrill voice, Reepicheep is perhaps The Chronicles of Narnia’s most valiant character. He charged into battle swinging his tiny sword. He rejected fear as he prodded on the Dawn Treader toward the Island of Darkness. The secret to Reepicheep’s courage? He was deeply connected to his longing to get to Aslan’s country. “That is my heart’s desire,” he said. Reepicheep knew what he truly wanted, and this led him toward his king.
Bartimaeus, a blind man from Jericho, sat in his normal spot jingling his cup for coins when he heard Jesus and the crowd approaching. He yelled out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). The crowd tried to silence him, but Bartimaeus couldn’t be stopped.
“Jesus stopped,” Mark says (v. 49). In the midst of the throng, Jesus wanted to hear Bartimaeus. “What do you want?” Jesus asked (v. 51).
The answer seemed obvious; surely Jesus knew. But He seemed to believe there was power in allowing Bartimaeus to express his deep desire. “I want to see,” Bartimaeus said (v. 51). And Jesus sent Bartimaeus home seeing colors, beauty, and the faces of friends for the first time.
Not all desires are met immediately (and desires must be transformed), but what’s essential here is how Bartimaeus knew his desire and took it to Jesus. If we’ll pay attention, we’ll notice that our true desires and longings always lead us to Him. By: Winn Collier
Reflect & Pray
What do you truly desire? How might this desire lead you to Jesus?
Jesus, help me to bring my desires to You. What I’m ultimately seeking can only be satisfied by what You alone can provide.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
“When He Has Come
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin… —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
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
Tuesday, November 19, 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.
Nailing Your Colors - #8572
You may not remember much of your World History class, but you probably at least remember the nations of Europe fought it out for a long time to see who was going to be Number One. For many years, their biggest way to fight it out was with their big navies. So, if a ship from England saw a ship from France, you could expect some fireworks. Of course, the way you knew what country a ship was from was that flag they flew from the top of the mast - their colors. When they would see a ship approaching on the horizon, they usually lowered their colors until they could see whether that other guy was a friend or an enemy. But occasionally there was a ship that approached those encounters in a radically different way. There were a few courageous captains who would give a simple six-word order to their crew, "Nail our colors to the mast!" But you could just hear the first mate saying, "Captain, that means we can't lower our colors, no matter what." To which the captain would say something like this. "That's right."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nailing Your Colors."
Our word for today from the Word of God starts with one follower of Jesus who lowered his colors when enemies appeared on his horizon. It's found in Luke 22:60. Jesus is under arrest and moving toward His crucifixion. Peter is hanging out in the high priest's courtyard but not getting too close. Already two people have asked him if he was associated with Jesus and twice he has denied his Lord. Now a third person asks him and it says "Peter replied, 'Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...he went outside and wept bitterly." The pressure was on. He dumped Jesus. He's not alone.
But here's some hope for any of us who have lowered our Jesus-colors when the pressure was on. Acts 2:14 - Peter, it's only a few weeks later. He is now standing on the street in downtown Jerusalem, the same city that had recently crucified Jesus. And, no doubt, some of the people who yelled "Crucify Him" are in the crowd that day. And it says, "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd..." Listen to what he said, "Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). Man! God has worked a miracle in Peter - a chicken has suddenly turned into a tiger!
In fact, when the very authorities who arranged for Jesus' death call Peter in front of them and demand that he not preach about that Name anymore, here's his answer in Acts 4:12. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Isn't that encouraging? The same Lord who forgave Peter's past betrayals and empowered him to nail his colors to the mast. That same Lord could do that for you and me.
We all know the temptations to get by or to get ahead by covering up our relationship with Jesus. And when the world starts to like us and we start to like the world, it's often at the expense of the One who would not deny us even when it meant a cross. We forget whose we are.
But maybe those days of surrendering your Jesus-identity are almost over. Maybe you're ready to finally stand publicly for the One who died publicly for you. It all begins when you decide that you will not lower your Jesus-colors for anyone, for anything. He is who you belong to, He is who you will always belong to, and He's the best thing that's ever happened to you in your life or ever will happen.
You are who you are, you are whose you are, and no one can get you to change that once you nail your Jesus-colors to the mast.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Psalm 130, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WHISPERED REMINDERS
In Matthew 6 Jesus prayed, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
A prayer that begins…May I not view you as a distant father, but as one who has come to earth and understands the challenges and temptations of my life. Be near me today, whisper reminders that you’re close. My friends need you today as they make difficult decisions in their workplace and in their families. Show them you are closer than even their earthly fathers. Thank you for hearing me and listening to my pleas. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray this, amen.
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 130
A Pilgrim Song
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.
3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.
5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.
7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 18, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 23:1–9
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Insight
The covenant people of God were to be distinctive and separate from the surrounding nations. This was primarily to protect them from worshiping false gods. Exodus 34:15 says, “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.” God’s commands were protective, but that didn’t mean the people of Israel were to totally isolate themselves from foreigners. The word translated “foreigner” in Exodus 23:9 means to live among people who aren’t blood relatives. Because immigrants weren’t protected by family, they became dependent on the hospitality of the people where they lived—which the children of Israel had themselves experienced in Egypt during a time of famine (Genesis 50:15–21). By: Bill Crowder
Loving the Stranger
Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Exodus 22:21
After a member of my family converted to a different religion, Christian friends urged me to “convince” her to return to Jesus. I found myself first seeking to love my family member as Christ would—including in public places where some people frowned at her “foreign-looking” clothes. Others even made rude comments. “Go home!” one man yelled at her from his truck, not knowing or apparently caring that she already is “home.”
Moses taught a much kinder way to act toward people whose dress or beliefs feel different. Teaching laws of justice and mercy, Moses instructed the children of Israel, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). The edict expresses God’s concern for all strangers, people vulnerable to bias and abuse, and it is repeated in Exodus 22:21 and Leviticus 19:33.
Therefore, when I spend time with my family member—at a restaurant, in a park, taking a walk together or sitting and talking with her on my front porch—I seek first to show her the same kindness and respect that I would want to experience. It’s one of the best ways to remind her of the sweet love of Jesus, not by shaming her for rejecting Him, but by loving her as He loves all of us—with amazing grace. By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What attitudes do you hold about people who appear “different” or “foreign”? In what ways can you practice God’s edict to not mistreat a “stranger” or “sojourner” in your land?
Gracious Father, open my heart today to a stranger or foreigner in my land, helping them to encounter You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 18, 2019
Winning into Freedom
If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. —John 8:36
If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.
God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments…and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.
“If the Son makes you free….” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “…you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 18, 2019
The Power of the Name - #8571
My friend Margaret had just been to a family gathering in the Midwest, and she saw many loved ones there, including her deputy sheriff nephew. Now, as she started heading home, her foot got, shall we say, a little heavy. Or at least that's what the officer who pulled her over seemed to think. As he turned to go back to his car with her license and registration in hand, Margaret said, "Do you know Deputy _________?" and she mentioned her nephew's name. The officer did know him. After a few minutes of record checking and paperwork in his squad car, the officer returned to Margaret's car and said, "I'm just going to give you a warning," followed by, "I checked with your nephew."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of the Name."
Now we could discuss the appropriateness of Margaret's invoking her nephew's name. But one thing is very clear. There can be decisive power in a name, even power that delivers you from what you deserve. And there is no name with more decisive power in all the universe than the name of Jesus. His name accomplishes things that nothing else can accomplish.
In John 14:14, Jesus said, "You may ask for anything in My name, and I will do it." The name of Jesus opens heaven's resources to meet your deepest needs - not just used as some hollow mantra, but as an expression of complete reliance on your living Lord. Acts 4:12 makes clear that "there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." It's only the name of Jesus that opens heaven to us sinners who could only have our sins forgiven by the man who died for them. When we come to God, calling on the name of His Son, we don't get the awful judgment we deserve. Jesus took it for us.
And nowhere is the power of that name expressed more boldly than in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 2:9-10. "God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." It is the name of Jesus that subdues all opposition, that intimidates, that paralyzes all the forces of hell.
That's the reason those who plotted the death of Jesus told His early followers to stop speaking what they called "the name." Hell has been trying to get Christians to stop saying the name that hell fears ever since. Now, maybe you've choked on that name, even though those who don't care about his name use his name all the time. The old hymn writer said it pretty well, "Jesus! And shall it be a mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise, whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend on whom my hopes of heaven depend? No; when I blush, be this my shame, that I no more revere His name."
Jesus: the name that opens heaven's resources to meet your every need, that makes heaven possible for you, that subdues every other being in the universe. How can we live ordinary, powerless lives? How can we surrender to hell and be ashamed to speak His name? And it may be you've never called on that name of Jesus and asked Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin. God's been waiting a long time to hear that from you. This could be your day to do that.
One day you will bow before Jesus. He will come then as judge. Today He's offering himself to you as your personal Savior; your Rescuer from your sin and its death penalty. If you'll grab Him in total faith and say, "Jesus, I'm yours."
There's some great information at our website that I want to give you today that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus. And that website is ANewStory.com. Get there as soon as you can.
The song writer said, "Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is something about that Name!"
In Matthew 6 Jesus prayed, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
A prayer that begins…May I not view you as a distant father, but as one who has come to earth and understands the challenges and temptations of my life. Be near me today, whisper reminders that you’re close. My friends need you today as they make difficult decisions in their workplace and in their families. Show them you are closer than even their earthly fathers. Thank you for hearing me and listening to my pleas. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray this, amen.
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 130
A Pilgrim Song
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.
3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.
5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.
7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 18, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Exodus 23:1–9
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Insight
The covenant people of God were to be distinctive and separate from the surrounding nations. This was primarily to protect them from worshiping false gods. Exodus 34:15 says, “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.” God’s commands were protective, but that didn’t mean the people of Israel were to totally isolate themselves from foreigners. The word translated “foreigner” in Exodus 23:9 means to live among people who aren’t blood relatives. Because immigrants weren’t protected by family, they became dependent on the hospitality of the people where they lived—which the children of Israel had themselves experienced in Egypt during a time of famine (Genesis 50:15–21). By: Bill Crowder
Loving the Stranger
Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Exodus 22:21
After a member of my family converted to a different religion, Christian friends urged me to “convince” her to return to Jesus. I found myself first seeking to love my family member as Christ would—including in public places where some people frowned at her “foreign-looking” clothes. Others even made rude comments. “Go home!” one man yelled at her from his truck, not knowing or apparently caring that she already is “home.”
Moses taught a much kinder way to act toward people whose dress or beliefs feel different. Teaching laws of justice and mercy, Moses instructed the children of Israel, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). The edict expresses God’s concern for all strangers, people vulnerable to bias and abuse, and it is repeated in Exodus 22:21 and Leviticus 19:33.
Therefore, when I spend time with my family member—at a restaurant, in a park, taking a walk together or sitting and talking with her on my front porch—I seek first to show her the same kindness and respect that I would want to experience. It’s one of the best ways to remind her of the sweet love of Jesus, not by shaming her for rejecting Him, but by loving her as He loves all of us—with amazing grace. By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What attitudes do you hold about people who appear “different” or “foreign”? In what ways can you practice God’s edict to not mistreat a “stranger” or “sojourner” in your land?
Gracious Father, open my heart today to a stranger or foreigner in my land, helping them to encounter You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 18, 2019
Winning into Freedom
If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. —John 8:36
If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.
God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments…and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.
“If the Son makes you free….” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ….” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “…you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
For the past three hundred years men have been pointing out how similar Jesus Christ’s teachings are to other good teachings. We have to remember that Christianity, if it is not a supernatural miracle, is a sham. The Highest Good, 548 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 18, 2019
The Power of the Name - #8571
My friend Margaret had just been to a family gathering in the Midwest, and she saw many loved ones there, including her deputy sheriff nephew. Now, as she started heading home, her foot got, shall we say, a little heavy. Or at least that's what the officer who pulled her over seemed to think. As he turned to go back to his car with her license and registration in hand, Margaret said, "Do you know Deputy _________?" and she mentioned her nephew's name. The officer did know him. After a few minutes of record checking and paperwork in his squad car, the officer returned to Margaret's car and said, "I'm just going to give you a warning," followed by, "I checked with your nephew."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of the Name."
Now we could discuss the appropriateness of Margaret's invoking her nephew's name. But one thing is very clear. There can be decisive power in a name, even power that delivers you from what you deserve. And there is no name with more decisive power in all the universe than the name of Jesus. His name accomplishes things that nothing else can accomplish.
In John 14:14, Jesus said, "You may ask for anything in My name, and I will do it." The name of Jesus opens heaven's resources to meet your deepest needs - not just used as some hollow mantra, but as an expression of complete reliance on your living Lord. Acts 4:12 makes clear that "there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." It's only the name of Jesus that opens heaven to us sinners who could only have our sins forgiven by the man who died for them. When we come to God, calling on the name of His Son, we don't get the awful judgment we deserve. Jesus took it for us.
And nowhere is the power of that name expressed more boldly than in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 2:9-10. "God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." It is the name of Jesus that subdues all opposition, that intimidates, that paralyzes all the forces of hell.
That's the reason those who plotted the death of Jesus told His early followers to stop speaking what they called "the name." Hell has been trying to get Christians to stop saying the name that hell fears ever since. Now, maybe you've choked on that name, even though those who don't care about his name use his name all the time. The old hymn writer said it pretty well, "Jesus! And shall it be a mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise, whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend on whom my hopes of heaven depend? No; when I blush, be this my shame, that I no more revere His name."
Jesus: the name that opens heaven's resources to meet your every need, that makes heaven possible for you, that subdues every other being in the universe. How can we live ordinary, powerless lives? How can we surrender to hell and be ashamed to speak His name? And it may be you've never called on that name of Jesus and asked Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin. God's been waiting a long time to hear that from you. This could be your day to do that.
One day you will bow before Jesus. He will come then as judge. Today He's offering himself to you as your personal Savior; your Rescuer from your sin and its death penalty. If you'll grab Him in total faith and say, "Jesus, I'm yours."
There's some great information at our website that I want to give you today that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus. And that website is ANewStory.com. Get there as soon as you can.
The song writer said, "Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is something about that Name!"
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Acts 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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
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
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.
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