Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 22
God Knows the Answers
If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it.
James 1:5 (NCV)
Thomas came with doubts. Did Christ turn him away?
Moses had his reservations. Did God tell him to go home?
Job had his struggles. Did God avoid him?
Paul had his hard times. Did God abandon him?
No. God never turns away the sincere heart. Tough questions don't stump God. He invites our probing.
Mark it down. God never turns away the honest seeker. Go to God with your questions. You may not find all the answers, but in finding God, you know the One who does.
1 Peter 5
To Elders and Young Men
1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."[a] 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12With the help of Silas,[b] whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 John 3:16-20
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
September 22, 2008
Arms Of Love
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 John 3:16-20
Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. —1 John 3:18
Many college students go on summer missions trips. But rarely does one come back with plans to rescue a baby. Mallery Thurlow, a student at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, went to Haiti to help distribute food. One day a mother showed up at the distribution center with a very sick infant in her arms. The woman was out of options. The baby needed surgery, but no one would perform it. Without intervention, the baby would die. Mallery took baby Rose into her arms—and into her heart.
After returning to the US, Mallery searched for someone to operate on baby Rose. Most doctors held out little hope. Finally, Rose was granted a visa to leave Haiti, and Mallery went back to get her. Detroit Children’s Hospital donated the $100,000 surgery, and it was successful. A little life was saved.
It’s unlikely that we will have such a dramatic impact on others. Yet challenged by this student’s willingness, we can find ways to provide help. She didn’t let circumstances, youth, or inconvenience stop her from saving Rose’s life.
Like Mallery, we are called to love “in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Who needs you to be God’s arms of love today? — Dave Branon
When you see someone in need,
Love demands a loving deed;
Don’t just say you love him true,
Prove it by the deeds you do. —Sper
Compassion puts love into action.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 22, 2008
The Missionary’s Master and Teacher
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . . —John 13:13, 16
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— ". . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . ." ( Matthew 23:8 ).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
"You call Me Teacher and Lord . . ."— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. ". . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . ." (Hebrews 5:8 ). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Your Final Answer - #5661 - September 22, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Monday, September 22, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
A few years ago, an old TV format got resurrected and came back big time! It was the old quiz millions of dollars - "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Some Joe or Joan Ordinaryperson was show! The program that first captured the attention of millions of viewers was about winning asked a series of multiple-choice questions that got increasingly harder and were worth increasingly more. Now, if you needed help on a couple, you could call some person you've designated as your "lifeline." You could even listen to the opinions of the studio audience. But eventually, the spotlight was just on you, the contestant, and the host who was pressing the question. And when you finally gave your answer, the host asked that tension-building, unnerving question, "Is that your final answer?"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Final Answer."
That may be the very question God is asking you about what you're doing with Jesus Christ, "Is that your final answer?" Someday, and no one knows when, you will have given your final answer about Jesus. And there will be no more chances. If your answer is right, God has promised you eternal life in heaven. If your answer is wrong, you will have to pay forever for your sins in a place that God calls hell; sins that Jesus already paid for on the cross so you wouldn't have to. But you must grab God's Rescuer in total trust or you won't be saved.
In Isaiah 55:6, our word for today from the Word of God, the Lord gives a loving invitation, also a sobering warning. "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." Implication: you won't always be able to find Him; you won't always find Him there when you call. Someday, and you won't know that it's that day, you will give what turns out to be your final answer as to whether or not you're going to give yourself to Jesus. And when you stand before God, there will be no "lifelines" to reach for. You're not just deciding about Jesus. You're, in fact, deciding about where you will spend all eternity.
That's not my idea. It's what God Himself says in places like John 3:36 in the Bible, "Whoever believes in the Son (that's Jesus) has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." Now, you have to reach for Him "while He may be found...and while He is near." And that may be right now. You can feel a tug of Jesus in your heart again. You know you've never really committed yourself to Him; you know you need to. And some day you plan to.
But you don't come to Jesus when you're ready; you come when He's ready. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father...draws him" (John 6:44). If He's drawing you now, he's ready. Now is when you'd better come. There's no guarantee how many times He will come this close again. Tragically, so many people have slipped into eternity having given a deadly final answer to Jesus. An answer like "No," or "I'll take my chances," or "I hope I'm good enough," or "Later." All wrong - all deadly forever.
But today He's still near. He can still be found. And if you've never really trusted Jesus to be your Personal Rescuer from the penalty of your personal sins, don't wait another day to answer "yes" to Him. If you want Him in your heart, tell Him, "Jesus, I believe that when you died on that cross, it was my sins you were paying for. I believe you are not on that cross any more. You are alive and waiting to come into my life at my invitation. I turn from running my own life. Beginning today, Jesus, I am yours...all yours."
If you want to be sure you belong to Him, our website has been a help, I think, to a lot of people when they got to that point. If you are there today, would you go to YoursForLife.net. I think it will help you know that you've begun your relationship with Jesus Christ.
One day your answer to Jesus will be your final answer. Be sure that you've said, "Yes, Jesus, I'm yours."
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
1 Peter 4, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 21
Guide me in your truth, and teach me, my God, my Savior.
Psalm 25:5 (NCV)
It's not fair," we say. It's not fair that I was born in poverty or that I sing so poorly or that I run so slowly.
But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden.
All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire.
Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next.
1 Peter 4
Living for God
1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And,
"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"[a]
19So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 2:14-19
A Workman Approved by God
14Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his,"[a] and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
September 21, 2008
Rightly Dividing The Word
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 2:14-19
Be diligent . . . rightly dividing the Word of truth. —2 Timothy 2:15
In 1879, James Murray was hired as the editor of The Oxford English Dictionary. He had little advanced education, but he was a gifted linguist. Murray enlisted a large number of volunteers around the world to read widely and send him usages of assigned words. At Oxford, he and a small staff of scholars cataloged and edited the definitions they received.
During his lifetime, Murray was knighted and awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford. Today, the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is still recognized as one of the most accurate and comprehensive dictionaries in the world.
Murray’s legacy of precision and accuracy with words reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor of the Ephesian church: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The phrase “rightly dividing” is a metaphor derived from the stonemason’s craft of cutting stones straight to fit into their proper place in a building.
Precision with words is essential to an accurate interpretation of God’s Word. Let’s be people who care deeply about what the Bible says and what it means. — Dennis Fisher
Correctly handling the Word of truth
Takes diligence and care;
So make the time to study it
And then that truth declare. —Hess
Rightly dividing the Word multiplies our understanding.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 21, 2008
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . . —Isaiah 49:5
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in
John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world. . . ."
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 21
Guide me in your truth, and teach me, my God, my Savior.
Psalm 25:5 (NCV)
It's not fair," we say. It's not fair that I was born in poverty or that I sing so poorly or that I run so slowly.
But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden.
All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire.
Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next.
1 Peter 4
Living for God
1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And,
"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"[a]
19So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 2:14-19
A Workman Approved by God
14Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his,"[a] and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
September 21, 2008
Rightly Dividing The Word
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 2:14-19
Be diligent . . . rightly dividing the Word of truth. —2 Timothy 2:15
In 1879, James Murray was hired as the editor of The Oxford English Dictionary. He had little advanced education, but he was a gifted linguist. Murray enlisted a large number of volunteers around the world to read widely and send him usages of assigned words. At Oxford, he and a small staff of scholars cataloged and edited the definitions they received.
During his lifetime, Murray was knighted and awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford. Today, the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is still recognized as one of the most accurate and comprehensive dictionaries in the world.
Murray’s legacy of precision and accuracy with words reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor of the Ephesian church: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The phrase “rightly dividing” is a metaphor derived from the stonemason’s craft of cutting stones straight to fit into their proper place in a building.
Precision with words is essential to an accurate interpretation of God’s Word. Let’s be people who care deeply about what the Bible says and what it means. — Dennis Fisher
Correctly handling the Word of truth
Takes diligence and care;
So make the time to study it
And then that truth declare. —Hess
Rightly dividing the Word multiplies our understanding.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 21, 2008
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . . —Isaiah 49:5
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in
John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world. . . ."
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
1 Peter 3, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 21
Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (The Message)
Loosen up. Don't you have some people to hug, rocks to skip, or lips to kiss?...
Someday you are going to retire; why not today?
Not retire from your job, just retire from your attitude. Honestly, has complaining ever made the day better? Has grumbling ever paid the bills? Has worrying about tomorrow ever changed it?
Let someone else run the world for a while.
1 Peter 3
Wives and Husbands
1Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Good
8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."[a]
13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear[b]; do not be frightened."[c] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge[e] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 1:12-17
The Lord's Grace to Paul
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
September 20, 2008
Not Good Enough
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. —Isaiah 1:18
A friend told me recently of a young mother who was trying to explain her father’s death to her 4-year-old. The girl wondered where Grandpa was. “I’m sure he’s in heaven,” the mother answered, “because he was very good.” The girl replied sadly, “I guess I won’t be in heaven.” “Why not?” her mother asked in surprise. “’Cause I’m not very good.”
The story saddened me, as I’m saddened when I hear of others who believe they must be very good to get into heaven, especially since we all know deep down in our hearts that we’re not very good at all.
Perhaps like this little girl you’re thinking about your sins and asking, “What must I do to get to heaven?” The answer has already been given: Jesus, by His death, has paid in full the price of your sins, no matter how sordid, tawdry, or shameful they may be. Your salvation is free.
God promises, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). John Donne writes:
Or wash thee in Christ’s blood, which hath this might,
That being red, it dyes red souls to white.
No one is good enough to get into heaven. Eternal life is a gift. Receive Jesus by faith. — David H. Roper
The perfect righteousness of Christ
Is free to everyone,
But we by faith must take that gift
And trust God’s precious Son. —D. De Haan
No one is good enough to save himself; no one is so bad that God cannot save him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 20, 2008
The Divine Commandment of Life
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect —Matthew 5:48
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" ( 1 John 1:7 ), even those toward whom we have no affection.
The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. ". . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" ( John 13:34-35 ).
The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 21
Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (The Message)
Loosen up. Don't you have some people to hug, rocks to skip, or lips to kiss?...
Someday you are going to retire; why not today?
Not retire from your job, just retire from your attitude. Honestly, has complaining ever made the day better? Has grumbling ever paid the bills? Has worrying about tomorrow ever changed it?
Let someone else run the world for a while.
1 Peter 3
Wives and Husbands
1Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Good
8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."[a]
13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear[b]; do not be frightened."[c] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge[e] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 1:12-17
The Lord's Grace to Paul
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
September 20, 2008
Not Good Enough
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. —Isaiah 1:18
A friend told me recently of a young mother who was trying to explain her father’s death to her 4-year-old. The girl wondered where Grandpa was. “I’m sure he’s in heaven,” the mother answered, “because he was very good.” The girl replied sadly, “I guess I won’t be in heaven.” “Why not?” her mother asked in surprise. “’Cause I’m not very good.”
The story saddened me, as I’m saddened when I hear of others who believe they must be very good to get into heaven, especially since we all know deep down in our hearts that we’re not very good at all.
Perhaps like this little girl you’re thinking about your sins and asking, “What must I do to get to heaven?” The answer has already been given: Jesus, by His death, has paid in full the price of your sins, no matter how sordid, tawdry, or shameful they may be. Your salvation is free.
God promises, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). John Donne writes:
Or wash thee in Christ’s blood, which hath this might,
That being red, it dyes red souls to white.
No one is good enough to get into heaven. Eternal life is a gift. Receive Jesus by faith. — David H. Roper
The perfect righteousness of Christ
Is free to everyone,
But we by faith must take that gift
And trust God’s precious Son. —D. De Haan
No one is good enough to save himself; no one is so bad that God cannot save him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 20, 2008
The Divine Commandment of Life
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect —Matthew 5:48
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" ( 1 John 1:7 ), even those toward whom we have no affection.
The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. ". . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" ( John 13:34-35 ).
The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
1 Peter 2, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 19
Nothing to Offer
LORD, I call to you….Listen to me when I call to you.
Psalm 141:1 (NCV)
Nicodemus came to Jesus in the middle of the night. The centurion came in the middle of the day. The leper and the sinful woman appeared in the middle of crowds. Zacchaeus appeared in the middle of a tree. Matthew had a party for him.
The educated. The powerful. The rejected. The sick. The lonely. The wealthy. Who would have ever assembled such a crew? All they had in common were their empty hope chests, long left vacant by charlatans and profiteers. Though they had nothing to offer, they asked for everything: a new birth, a second chance, a fresh start, a clean conscience. And without exception their requests were honored.
1 Peter 2
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Submission to Rulers and Masters
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22"He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth."[e] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 50:4-6
Listen to this passage
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Luke 2:46-52
46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
49"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
September 19, 2008
A Learner
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 50:4-6, Luke 2:46-52
They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. —Luke 2:46
The poster in the church hallway pictured a young boy dressed in Middle Eastern clothing, with Bible in hand, walking up a hill to church. The caption read: “Jesus was a good Christian boy who went to Sunday school every Sunday.”
As a Jewish boy, Jesus didn’t go to Sunday school and church on Sunday, so the poster was inappropriate. But the picture is correct in portraying Jesus’ desire to be in His Father’s temple to listen to His teaching.
When Jesus was 12, He went with His parents to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41-42). On their way home, His parents realized He was not with them. When they returned, they “found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (v.46).
Jesus had the heart of a learner-disciple. Isaiah writes of Him as Jehovah’s Servant: “The Lord God . . . awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear” (50:4-5). In His humanity, the Son was open to learn from His Father.
Jesus’ example challenges us to be listeners to God’s Word. We too can become learner-disciples if we’ll keep our hearts open to God’s teaching. — Anne Cetas
Fill me with the knowledge
Of Thy glorious will;
All Thine own good pleasure
In Thy child fulfill. —Grimes
The highest goal of learning is to know God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 19, 2008
Are You Going on With Jesus?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials —Luke 22:28
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" ( John 6:66 ).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on "outside the camp" ( Hebrews 13:13 ). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, "FollowMe" ( Matthew 4:19 )
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Just Wearing the Shirt - #5660 - September 19, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Friday, September 19, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I have two adult friends who own Princeton University sweatshirts. Al has one because he put in four challenging years there and graduated from Princeton. I ran into another friend, Dave, at the store one day and he was wearing his Princeton sweatshirt. I said, "I didn't know you went to Princeton, Dave." He informed me that he didn't attend that Ivy League school. He bought the sweatshirt at a discount store for 12 dollars! He said, "Oh, I didn't go there. I just wear the shirt!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Wearing the Shirt."
Jesus has a lot of folks like my friend who got his shirt at a discount store; they're just wearing His shirt. In fact, our word for today from the Word of God describes people like that. And frankly, it's pretty unsettling.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many of you will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
This is a disturbing description, because the people Jesus says He never knew are not people who are only wearing a Jesus shirt. They have like a total Christian wardrobe. They have been Christian leaders, they're experts on Jesus, they've spoken for Jesus and they've done some impressive things in His name. Jesus says those who are truly His, who will end up in heaven, will not be "everyone who says" the right things but those who do His Father's will. Which is spelled out in John 6:40, "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." See, it's your total trust in God's Son to rescue you from your sin that gets you into heaven and nothing else. It takes more than a Christian uniform.
There may be someone listening today who says all the right words - maybe even publicly - but you've never surrendered your heart and your will to Jesus Christ. The fact that you have Christianity but you don't have Christ can be concealed until you see the Lord. Could it be that you're just wearing the shirt, but your heart is still lost?
In Luke 6:46, Jesus addresses people who apparently really do belong to Him. But He asks, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Maybe your commitment to Jesus has deteriorated to being pretty much words like "Lord, Lord." My friend, Dave, had not really paid the price that goes with identification with the university. When my friend, Al, wears his shirt, it is backed up by years of sacrifice and work. Could it be that you're proud to wear a Jesus shirt, but you're not paying the price of really living consistently with Jesus first?
But by far the most important question you have to answer and answer correctly is this: "Do I really belong to Jesus? Have I really begun a relationship with Him by grabbing Him in total trust to be my Rescuer from my sin?" You see if it's only a Christian uniform, it won't make it past the throne of God on Judgment Day. You need to be sure. You need to make sure that Jesus Christ rules in your heart.
It may be hard for you to admit, but if you don't really belong to Jesus and you want to, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, beginning today, I really am Yours." And if you want to begin this relationship for real, I want to urge you to go visit our website at your first opportunity today. It's YoursForLife.net, and it'll walk you through how to be sure you have begun this relationship and that you truly do belong to Jesus. Or I could send you the free booklet Yours For Life if you just call for it at our toll free number. It's 877-741-1200.
I think the most chilling words Jesus will ever speak are "I never knew you," spoken to people who knew all about Him but didn't know Him. I don't ever want you to hear those words. He doesn't ever want you to hear those words. He comes to you one more time. Please, let Him in.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 19
Nothing to Offer
LORD, I call to you….Listen to me when I call to you.
Psalm 141:1 (NCV)
Nicodemus came to Jesus in the middle of the night. The centurion came in the middle of the day. The leper and the sinful woman appeared in the middle of crowds. Zacchaeus appeared in the middle of a tree. Matthew had a party for him.
The educated. The powerful. The rejected. The sick. The lonely. The wealthy. Who would have ever assembled such a crew? All they had in common were their empty hope chests, long left vacant by charlatans and profiteers. Though they had nothing to offer, they asked for everything: a new birth, a second chance, a fresh start, a clean conscience. And without exception their requests were honored.
1 Peter 2
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Submission to Rulers and Masters
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22"He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth."[e] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 50:4-6
Listen to this passage
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Luke 2:46-52
46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
49"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
September 19, 2008
A Learner
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 50:4-6, Luke 2:46-52
They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. —Luke 2:46
The poster in the church hallway pictured a young boy dressed in Middle Eastern clothing, with Bible in hand, walking up a hill to church. The caption read: “Jesus was a good Christian boy who went to Sunday school every Sunday.”
As a Jewish boy, Jesus didn’t go to Sunday school and church on Sunday, so the poster was inappropriate. But the picture is correct in portraying Jesus’ desire to be in His Father’s temple to listen to His teaching.
When Jesus was 12, He went with His parents to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41-42). On their way home, His parents realized He was not with them. When they returned, they “found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (v.46).
Jesus had the heart of a learner-disciple. Isaiah writes of Him as Jehovah’s Servant: “The Lord God . . . awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear” (50:4-5). In His humanity, the Son was open to learn from His Father.
Jesus’ example challenges us to be listeners to God’s Word. We too can become learner-disciples if we’ll keep our hearts open to God’s teaching. — Anne Cetas
Fill me with the knowledge
Of Thy glorious will;
All Thine own good pleasure
In Thy child fulfill. —Grimes
The highest goal of learning is to know God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 19, 2008
Are You Going on With Jesus?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials —Luke 22:28
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" ( John 6:66 ).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on "outside the camp" ( Hebrews 13:13 ). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, "FollowMe" ( Matthew 4:19 )
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Just Wearing the Shirt - #5660 - September 19, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Friday, September 19, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I have two adult friends who own Princeton University sweatshirts. Al has one because he put in four challenging years there and graduated from Princeton. I ran into another friend, Dave, at the store one day and he was wearing his Princeton sweatshirt. I said, "I didn't know you went to Princeton, Dave." He informed me that he didn't attend that Ivy League school. He bought the sweatshirt at a discount store for 12 dollars! He said, "Oh, I didn't go there. I just wear the shirt!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Wearing the Shirt."
Jesus has a lot of folks like my friend who got his shirt at a discount store; they're just wearing His shirt. In fact, our word for today from the Word of God describes people like that. And frankly, it's pretty unsettling.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many of you will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
This is a disturbing description, because the people Jesus says He never knew are not people who are only wearing a Jesus shirt. They have like a total Christian wardrobe. They have been Christian leaders, they're experts on Jesus, they've spoken for Jesus and they've done some impressive things in His name. Jesus says those who are truly His, who will end up in heaven, will not be "everyone who says" the right things but those who do His Father's will. Which is spelled out in John 6:40, "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life." See, it's your total trust in God's Son to rescue you from your sin that gets you into heaven and nothing else. It takes more than a Christian uniform.
There may be someone listening today who says all the right words - maybe even publicly - but you've never surrendered your heart and your will to Jesus Christ. The fact that you have Christianity but you don't have Christ can be concealed until you see the Lord. Could it be that you're just wearing the shirt, but your heart is still lost?
In Luke 6:46, Jesus addresses people who apparently really do belong to Him. But He asks, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Maybe your commitment to Jesus has deteriorated to being pretty much words like "Lord, Lord." My friend, Dave, had not really paid the price that goes with identification with the university. When my friend, Al, wears his shirt, it is backed up by years of sacrifice and work. Could it be that you're proud to wear a Jesus shirt, but you're not paying the price of really living consistently with Jesus first?
But by far the most important question you have to answer and answer correctly is this: "Do I really belong to Jesus? Have I really begun a relationship with Him by grabbing Him in total trust to be my Rescuer from my sin?" You see if it's only a Christian uniform, it won't make it past the throne of God on Judgment Day. You need to be sure. You need to make sure that Jesus Christ rules in your heart.
It may be hard for you to admit, but if you don't really belong to Jesus and you want to, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, beginning today, I really am Yours." And if you want to begin this relationship for real, I want to urge you to go visit our website at your first opportunity today. It's YoursForLife.net, and it'll walk you through how to be sure you have begun this relationship and that you truly do belong to Jesus. Or I could send you the free booklet Yours For Life if you just call for it at our toll free number. It's 877-741-1200.
I think the most chilling words Jesus will ever speak are "I never knew you," spoken to people who knew all about Him but didn't know Him. I don't ever want you to hear those words. He doesn't ever want you to hear those words. He comes to you one more time. Please, let Him in.
1 Peter 1, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 18
Who Can Fathom Eternity?
God has planted eternity in the hearts of men.
Ecclesiastes 3:10 (TLB)
It doesn't take a wise person to know that people long for more than earth. When we see pain, we yearn. When we see hunger, we question why. Senseless deaths. Endless tears, needless loss. . . .
We have our moments. The newborn on our breast, the bride on our arm, the sunshine on our back. But even those moments are simply slivers of light breaking through heaven's window. God flirts with us. He tantalizes us. He romances us. Those moments are appetizers for the dish that is to come.
"No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love
him" (1 Cor. 2:9).
What a breathtaking verse! Do you see what it says? Heaven is beyond our imagination.... At our most creative moment, at our deepest thought, at our highest level, we still cannot fathom eternity.
1 Peter 1
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Be Holy
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 13
Concluding Exhortations
1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[b]
September 18, 2008
Spare Beds
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 13:1-6
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. —Hebrews 13:2
In 2004, Casey Fenton co-founded a nonprofit service that helps travelers find a “friendlier alternative” to unfriendly hotels. They find homeowners who are willing to offer their spare beds and couches to others.
The group boasts almost a quarter of a million friendships that have been formed from their service. “The more we network,” said Fenton, “the better chance we have of this world being a better place.”
That service sounds a lot like biblical hospitality. In the final pages of his letter to the Hebrews, the writer instructed believers to practice their faith in Jesus Christ through hospitality (13:2). That was defined by the early Christ-followers as acts of generosity toward strangers.
In the first century, hospitality often included housing a guest. This was hardest to do during a time of persecution. These believers would not know whether the person was a spy or a fellow believer being pursued. But by entertaining strangers, the writer said, they could indeed be inviting a blessing into their homes.
As God’s people, we are called to be hospitable to others as part of our gratitude for the salvation we have received from God. — Marvin Williams
Lord, grant me a loving heart,
A will to give and share,
A whispered prayer upon my lips
To show I really care. —Brandt
People with a heart for God have a heart for people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 18, 2008
His Temptation and Ours
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15
Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19 ), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One "who takes away the sin of the world" ( John 1:29 ) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness" ( Matthew 4:1 ) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation "without sin," and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Brotherness - #5659 - September 18, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I never had a sister when I was growing up, but my sons did. Our daughter is the oldest, and her two brothers each came at about two year intervals after that. As I watched their relationship over the years, it was interesting to see what I had missed: a lot of kidding around, some exciting disagreements, some hugs, some advice, some conflict, but a lot of loyalty. One thing was always very clear, say between our daughter and her older brother. No one had better do his sister wrong. He was always her personal "look-out-forer." Is that a word? No. And until our son-in-law came along, no guy had ever been good enough to get her brother's "thumbs up." Two years younger, he was always her protector. You know if you're a sister, it's nice to have a brother like that.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Brotherness."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Timothy 5:2, God's roadmap for relationships between young men and women. He says, "Treat the younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." That's not how our culture tells young men to treat young women. It's more like "treat the young women as conquests, as lovers or something like that." God says they should be treated as your sisters.
What does that mean? To tease them mercilessly? Argue with them? No, I don't think so. The love of a brother for a sister, well after all is said and done, it's protective love. Like our son for his sister. "Look, I'm your brother and I won't let anything happen to you that could hurt you." That's why God says that men should treat women "with absolute purity." "I won't use you. I won't push for us to get physically involved. I won't even think about taking your greatest gift - your virginity. I won't let my mind wander into fantasies that would reduce you to a thing. I'll guard your reputation. I'll guard your purity. I'll guard your character."
Now that is the heart of real manhood: protecting a woman from being hurt, from being used, from being exploited, from being devalued - especially by you. There is a critical shortage of that kind of manhood. The man who steps up to this kind of brotherness is a rare treasure, and like anything rare, he is very valuable. He stands head and shoulders above all the other men who are much more takers than givers.
How does this brotherness thing work out practically? It means that a young man focuses on developing friendships with women, not romances. It means opening the door to real closeness by throwing his sexual agenda for the relationship out the window. I have no sexual agenda for this relationship.
And if you're a young woman who wants young men to be like this, you need to encourage guys you know in that way. Dress like you want brothers and friends, not users. Talk like it, act like it. Young men desperately need young women who will bring out the best in them - the brother in them.
If you're a young man, you need some sisters! Develop brother-sister relationships with the young women in your world. You'll experience a level of sharing and caring that the sexual conquerors will never even get close to. Treat her like family, like God's family...like your sister. The manliest men in the world are the men with whom a woman can know she is safe, that she is respected, and that she's treasure to be protected from anything that could spoil her.
Every sister needs that kind of brother. Let it be you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 18
Who Can Fathom Eternity?
God has planted eternity in the hearts of men.
Ecclesiastes 3:10 (TLB)
It doesn't take a wise person to know that people long for more than earth. When we see pain, we yearn. When we see hunger, we question why. Senseless deaths. Endless tears, needless loss. . . .
We have our moments. The newborn on our breast, the bride on our arm, the sunshine on our back. But even those moments are simply slivers of light breaking through heaven's window. God flirts with us. He tantalizes us. He romances us. Those moments are appetizers for the dish that is to come.
"No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love
him" (1 Cor. 2:9).
What a breathtaking verse! Do you see what it says? Heaven is beyond our imagination.... At our most creative moment, at our deepest thought, at our highest level, we still cannot fathom eternity.
1 Peter 1
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Be Holy
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Hebrews 13
Concluding Exhortations
1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[b]
September 18, 2008
Spare Beds
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Hebrews 13:1-6
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. —Hebrews 13:2
In 2004, Casey Fenton co-founded a nonprofit service that helps travelers find a “friendlier alternative” to unfriendly hotels. They find homeowners who are willing to offer their spare beds and couches to others.
The group boasts almost a quarter of a million friendships that have been formed from their service. “The more we network,” said Fenton, “the better chance we have of this world being a better place.”
That service sounds a lot like biblical hospitality. In the final pages of his letter to the Hebrews, the writer instructed believers to practice their faith in Jesus Christ through hospitality (13:2). That was defined by the early Christ-followers as acts of generosity toward strangers.
In the first century, hospitality often included housing a guest. This was hardest to do during a time of persecution. These believers would not know whether the person was a spy or a fellow believer being pursued. But by entertaining strangers, the writer said, they could indeed be inviting a blessing into their homes.
As God’s people, we are called to be hospitable to others as part of our gratitude for the salvation we have received from God. — Marvin Williams
Lord, grant me a loving heart,
A will to give and share,
A whispered prayer upon my lips
To show I really care. —Brandt
People with a heart for God have a heart for people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 18, 2008
His Temptation and Ours
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15
Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19 ), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One "who takes away the sin of the world" ( John 1:29 ) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness" ( Matthew 4:1 ) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation "without sin," and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Brotherness - #5659 - September 18, 2008
Category: Your Relationships
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I never had a sister when I was growing up, but my sons did. Our daughter is the oldest, and her two brothers each came at about two year intervals after that. As I watched their relationship over the years, it was interesting to see what I had missed: a lot of kidding around, some exciting disagreements, some hugs, some advice, some conflict, but a lot of loyalty. One thing was always very clear, say between our daughter and her older brother. No one had better do his sister wrong. He was always her personal "look-out-forer." Is that a word? No. And until our son-in-law came along, no guy had ever been good enough to get her brother's "thumbs up." Two years younger, he was always her protector. You know if you're a sister, it's nice to have a brother like that.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Brotherness."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Timothy 5:2, God's roadmap for relationships between young men and women. He says, "Treat the younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." That's not how our culture tells young men to treat young women. It's more like "treat the young women as conquests, as lovers or something like that." God says they should be treated as your sisters.
What does that mean? To tease them mercilessly? Argue with them? No, I don't think so. The love of a brother for a sister, well after all is said and done, it's protective love. Like our son for his sister. "Look, I'm your brother and I won't let anything happen to you that could hurt you." That's why God says that men should treat women "with absolute purity." "I won't use you. I won't push for us to get physically involved. I won't even think about taking your greatest gift - your virginity. I won't let my mind wander into fantasies that would reduce you to a thing. I'll guard your reputation. I'll guard your purity. I'll guard your character."
Now that is the heart of real manhood: protecting a woman from being hurt, from being used, from being exploited, from being devalued - especially by you. There is a critical shortage of that kind of manhood. The man who steps up to this kind of brotherness is a rare treasure, and like anything rare, he is very valuable. He stands head and shoulders above all the other men who are much more takers than givers.
How does this brotherness thing work out practically? It means that a young man focuses on developing friendships with women, not romances. It means opening the door to real closeness by throwing his sexual agenda for the relationship out the window. I have no sexual agenda for this relationship.
And if you're a young woman who wants young men to be like this, you need to encourage guys you know in that way. Dress like you want brothers and friends, not users. Talk like it, act like it. Young men desperately need young women who will bring out the best in them - the brother in them.
If you're a young man, you need some sisters! Develop brother-sister relationships with the young women in your world. You'll experience a level of sharing and caring that the sexual conquerors will never even get close to. Treat her like family, like God's family...like your sister. The manliest men in the world are the men with whom a woman can know she is safe, that she is respected, and that she's treasure to be protected from anything that could spoil her.
Every sister needs that kind of brother. Let it be you.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
James 5, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 17
In the Beginning
“In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people.”
John 1:4 (NCV)
I’ve always perceived the apostle John as a fellow who viewed life simply. “Right is right and wrong is wrong, and things aren’t nearly as complicated as we make them out to be.”
For example, defining Jesus would be a challenge to the best of writers, but John handles the task with casual analogy. The Messiah, in a word, was “the Word.” A walking message. A love letter. Be he a fiery verb or a tender adjective, he was, quite simply, a word.
And life? Well, life is divided into two sections, light and darkness. If you are one, you are not in the other and vice versa.
Next question?
James 5
Warning to Rich Oppressors
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering
7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
The Prayer of Faith
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 45:18-25
18 For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
'Seek me in vain.'
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 "Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the LORD ?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
22 "Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone
are righteousness and strength.' "
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25 But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel
will be found righteous and will exult.
September 17, 2008
He’s There All The Time
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 45:18-25
I did not say . . . , “Seek Me in vain.” —Isaiah 45:19
I’ll never forget my frustrating experience when I went to Chicago’s Union Station early one morning to pick up an elderly relative who was arriving by train. When I got there, she wasn’t where I thought she would be. With increasing anxiety I scoured the place—to no avail. Thinking she had missed her train, I was about to leave when I glanced down a hallway toward the baggage area. There she was, luggage at her feet, patiently waiting for me to arrive. She had been there all the time. And, to my chagrin, she was right where she was supposed to be.
It’s that way with God. He’s there, patiently waiting for us. He assures us, “I did not say . . . , ‘Seek Me in vain’” (Isa. 45:19). Why, then, do we often have trouble finding Him? Probably because we are looking in all the wrong places.
You’ll find Him right where He is supposed to be—in His Word, in prayer, and in the voice of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. The God who says “seek, and you will find” (Matt. 7:7) also promises that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). So, you can rejoice that God is right where He is supposed to be, and He’s waiting for you right now. — Joe Stowell
The Lord is near to all who call;
He promised in His holy Word
That if we will draw near to Him,
Our faintest heartcry will be heard. —Hess
Have we been looking for God in all the wrong places?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 17, 2008
Is There Good in Temptation?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . —1 Corinthians 10:13
The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.
Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.
Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else--what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations--He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Storm Peace - #5658 - September 17, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Sometimes I'll throw out a word to an audience of teenagers, and I'll ask them to draw a picture that represents that word for them. Later they'll describe their picture. Now what if I did that with you and the word was peace. How do you draw peace?
That was the challenge, actually, for artists in one community where there was an art contest. The painters were asked to enter a painting that represented peace. There was one that spectators were sure would win. It was this beautiful pastoral scene, a rolling green meadow, punctuated with these colorful flowers, there was a deep blue sky with little puffy white clouds, and a boy walking through the field with a fishing pole. Well, that came in second. First place went to a painting that portrayed a storm! The sky was dark, it was angry, the ocean was slamming into the cliffs, and lightning was flashing in the sky. At first look the spectators said, "What does this have to do with peace?" Then they looked again...
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Storm Peace."
On that second look they saw a cleft in the rock of the cliff and a mother bird with her babies all nestled under her wings, and they were sleeping. Now that's peace. Not the absence of the storm, but peace in the middle of the storm. Maybe the kind of peace you need right now?
That peace is graphically portrayed for us in an incident in the life of Paul, recorded in Acts 27. Paul is being transported to Rome for trial on this large ship that's carrying grain to the Emperor, and they're hit by a massive storm that is so violent and strong that it batters them for two weeks. During that time they have no idea where they are because they can't see the sun, the moon, or the stars. They get so desperate they even jettison their cargo and even the ships' tackle. In verse 20 it says, "We finally gave up all hope of being saved." Even Paul seems to have despaired, he says "we." But then, there is a sudden change in Paul and he becomes the one man under control in an out-of-control situation. Would you like that to be you?
Here's our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 27:22, Paul says this, "Now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me." Now, suddenly, Paul goes from hopeless to hopeful! He's in control. What's the secret? A personal visit from God in the midst of your storm. In the words of the Psalmist, "He is a very present help in time of trouble." You can touch, and feel, and experience your Lord's power and love during a storm as at no other time in your life. And His message for you is the same as it was for Paul, He wants to use the storm to clarify what really matters. He says, "Hey, the ship won't make it, but it's the people that matter." God is saying, "Focus on the people around you right now, maybe people you've been neglecting because you've been so busy with the ship." Use this time to be sure that the people in your life are O.K. Get close to them during this storm, maybe get back to them.
Then God also focuses Paul on the mission he was on. He says, "Hey, I told you I want you to represent me in Rome, you'll get there. It's your mission that matters, man!" Well, maybe in your business, in your stress you've neglected the work of God that He's asked you to do for Him: serving Him, using your gifts for His work, telling lost people about the Savior. And God wants to use the storm to re-focus you on what He wants you to do for Him. In the middle of the storm your Lord wants to move in very close to you. He's saying, 'Don't worry about the storm. Don't worry about the ship. It's expendable.' Take care of the people and stay focused on your mission. Nestle beneath the protection of your Savior, the God whose you are and whom you serve. Remember, peace is not the absence of a storm. It is peace in the middle of your storm.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 17
In the Beginning
“In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people.”
John 1:4 (NCV)
I’ve always perceived the apostle John as a fellow who viewed life simply. “Right is right and wrong is wrong, and things aren’t nearly as complicated as we make them out to be.”
For example, defining Jesus would be a challenge to the best of writers, but John handles the task with casual analogy. The Messiah, in a word, was “the Word.” A walking message. A love letter. Be he a fiery verb or a tender adjective, he was, quite simply, a word.
And life? Well, life is divided into two sections, light and darkness. If you are one, you are not in the other and vice versa.
Next question?
James 5
Warning to Rich Oppressors
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering
7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
The Prayer of Faith
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 45:18-25
18 For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
'Seek me in vain.'
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 "Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the LORD ?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
22 "Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone
are righteousness and strength.' "
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25 But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel
will be found righteous and will exult.
September 17, 2008
He’s There All The Time
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 45:18-25
I did not say . . . , “Seek Me in vain.” —Isaiah 45:19
I’ll never forget my frustrating experience when I went to Chicago’s Union Station early one morning to pick up an elderly relative who was arriving by train. When I got there, she wasn’t where I thought she would be. With increasing anxiety I scoured the place—to no avail. Thinking she had missed her train, I was about to leave when I glanced down a hallway toward the baggage area. There she was, luggage at her feet, patiently waiting for me to arrive. She had been there all the time. And, to my chagrin, she was right where she was supposed to be.
It’s that way with God. He’s there, patiently waiting for us. He assures us, “I did not say . . . , ‘Seek Me in vain’” (Isa. 45:19). Why, then, do we often have trouble finding Him? Probably because we are looking in all the wrong places.
You’ll find Him right where He is supposed to be—in His Word, in prayer, and in the voice of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. The God who says “seek, and you will find” (Matt. 7:7) also promises that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). So, you can rejoice that God is right where He is supposed to be, and He’s waiting for you right now. — Joe Stowell
The Lord is near to all who call;
He promised in His holy Word
That if we will draw near to Him,
Our faintest heartcry will be heard. —Hess
Have we been looking for God in all the wrong places?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 17, 2008
Is There Good in Temptation?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . —1 Corinthians 10:13
The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.
Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.
Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else--what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations--He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Storm Peace - #5658 - September 17, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Sometimes I'll throw out a word to an audience of teenagers, and I'll ask them to draw a picture that represents that word for them. Later they'll describe their picture. Now what if I did that with you and the word was peace. How do you draw peace?
That was the challenge, actually, for artists in one community where there was an art contest. The painters were asked to enter a painting that represented peace. There was one that spectators were sure would win. It was this beautiful pastoral scene, a rolling green meadow, punctuated with these colorful flowers, there was a deep blue sky with little puffy white clouds, and a boy walking through the field with a fishing pole. Well, that came in second. First place went to a painting that portrayed a storm! The sky was dark, it was angry, the ocean was slamming into the cliffs, and lightning was flashing in the sky. At first look the spectators said, "What does this have to do with peace?" Then they looked again...
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Storm Peace."
On that second look they saw a cleft in the rock of the cliff and a mother bird with her babies all nestled under her wings, and they were sleeping. Now that's peace. Not the absence of the storm, but peace in the middle of the storm. Maybe the kind of peace you need right now?
That peace is graphically portrayed for us in an incident in the life of Paul, recorded in Acts 27. Paul is being transported to Rome for trial on this large ship that's carrying grain to the Emperor, and they're hit by a massive storm that is so violent and strong that it batters them for two weeks. During that time they have no idea where they are because they can't see the sun, the moon, or the stars. They get so desperate they even jettison their cargo and even the ships' tackle. In verse 20 it says, "We finally gave up all hope of being saved." Even Paul seems to have despaired, he says "we." But then, there is a sudden change in Paul and he becomes the one man under control in an out-of-control situation. Would you like that to be you?
Here's our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 27:22, Paul says this, "Now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me." Now, suddenly, Paul goes from hopeless to hopeful! He's in control. What's the secret? A personal visit from God in the midst of your storm. In the words of the Psalmist, "He is a very present help in time of trouble." You can touch, and feel, and experience your Lord's power and love during a storm as at no other time in your life. And His message for you is the same as it was for Paul, He wants to use the storm to clarify what really matters. He says, "Hey, the ship won't make it, but it's the people that matter." God is saying, "Focus on the people around you right now, maybe people you've been neglecting because you've been so busy with the ship." Use this time to be sure that the people in your life are O.K. Get close to them during this storm, maybe get back to them.
Then God also focuses Paul on the mission he was on. He says, "Hey, I told you I want you to represent me in Rome, you'll get there. It's your mission that matters, man!" Well, maybe in your business, in your stress you've neglected the work of God that He's asked you to do for Him: serving Him, using your gifts for His work, telling lost people about the Savior. And God wants to use the storm to re-focus you on what He wants you to do for Him. In the middle of the storm your Lord wants to move in very close to you. He's saying, 'Don't worry about the storm. Don't worry about the ship. It's expendable.' Take care of the people and stay focused on your mission. Nestle beneath the protection of your Savior, the God whose you are and whom you serve. Remember, peace is not the absence of a storm. It is peace in the middle of your storm.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
James 4, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 16
The Courtroom of the World
You will be my witnesses--in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.
Acts 1:8 (NCV)
We are witnesses. And like witnesses in a court, we are called to testify, to tell what we have seen and heard. And we are to speak truthfully. Our task is not to whitewash nor bloat the truth. Our task is to tell the truth. Period.
There is, however, one difference between the witness in court and the witness for Christ. The witness in court eventually steps down from the witness chair, but the witness for Christ never does. Since the claims of Christ are always on trial, court is perpetually in session, and we remain under oath.
James 4
Submit Yourselves to God
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?[a] 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."[b]
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 2:4-12
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
September 16, 2008
Responding To Criticism
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 2:4-12
When they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God. —1 Peter 2:12
Abraham Lincoln knew what it meant to face criticism. He is quoted as saying, “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what’s said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Lincoln, against huge opposition, went on to reunite the fractured United States, win the Civil War, and abolish slavery in the US. Had he allowed his critics to defeat him, Lincoln would not have accomplished what he did.
The apostle Peter understood the dangers of unfounded criticism. He wrote, “Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
Criticism can consume our lives to the point of emotional paralysis, or we can set our hearts to serve God faithfully undeterred by that criticism and put our God on display. When we do that, we won’t need to answer our critics with words—our lives will say all that is needed. — Bill Crowder
If we keep doing what is right—
And serving Christ each day,
We need not fear what others think
Nor what the critics say. —D. De Haan
The most powerful testimony is a godly life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 16, 2008
Praying to God in Secret
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . . —Matthew 6:6
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
"When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . ." ( Matthew 6:7 ). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19 ), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
"Everyone who asks receives . . ." (Matthew 7:8 ). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, ". . . you will ask what you desire. . ." ( John 15:7 ). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, "Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask." But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Turf Curse - #5657 - September 16, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Ahhh, Nantucket! My wife and I had some wonderful, romantic times on that picturesque little island. It's 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The little village of Nantucket is just full of colonial charm and quaint shops and cobblestone streets. And everywhere you look you find reminders of its glory days of whaling history. I was surprised to learn, though, that during those glory days most of the town actually burned to the ground, right up to the docks. It was a tragedy that nearly put Nantucket out of business. But it was a tragedy that never had to happen. It was an ugly, four-letter word that ultimately destroyed Nantucket, and the word was not fire. It's a word that's still destroying things.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Turf Curse."
Turf. Yep, that's what destroyed Nantucket Village years ago. See, when the fire companies arrived at the site of the blaze that day, the fire was still small. But the firefighters got into an argument over who got to use the fire hydrants. They all wanted to be the heroes. And while they were fighting over turf, literally, the fire spread and they lost the town. That's hard to believe isn't it? But true. Or is it that hard to believe? Losing the town while the rescuers fight over turf...it's still happening today, and it's not a new problem.
It's talked about in our word for today from the Word of God 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. "I appeal to you, brothers," Paul said," in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some of Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you." Sadly, this tendency for God's people to fragment into camps and different groups, to focus on their differences, to get entangled in quarrels, has infected Christ's church for two thousand years.
And we tend to operate as if only our group, our leader is right. Paul said here, "One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas"; and still another, 'I follow Christ' (That was the spiritual group). Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" The apostle seems to be saying, "Folks, can't you see? It's all about Jesus! This turf thing is tearing His Body apart!"
It was this turf pride that allowed a fire to destroy Nantucket Village while the rescuers argued with each other. Well, today our world is burning down. Lost people are farther from Christ than ever, but we have more means of rescuing them than ever before! So where are the spiritual firefighters? They're fighting over turf.
We are so concerned about our organization, our denomination, our budget, our church, our group's doctrinal distinctives, the agenda of our group, getting the credit so we can get the glory, or maybe the donations, loyalty to human leaders rather than to the Lord who raised up those leaders. And meanwhile, a lost world is burning down around us. This has to break the heart of God.
There's probably 90 percent Bible-based Christians agree on, maybe ten percent we disagree on. Why must we spend 90 percent of our energy on the ten percent we disagree on? That's what makes us "us." We're surrounded by a life-or-death situation! And like the people at Ground Zero when the towers came down, we need to pull together for a desperate rescue operation! Turf doesn't matter when people are dying!
It's time to unite our resources to defeat a militant and united enemy; to get the attention of neighbors who know nothing about the cross, replacing "My kingdom come" with "Thy kingdom come!"
There's no stopping God's people when they're united; there's no stomaching God's people when they're divided into hundreds of little personal kingdoms. The town's on fire, folks! The firemen have to work together!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 16
The Courtroom of the World
You will be my witnesses--in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.
Acts 1:8 (NCV)
We are witnesses. And like witnesses in a court, we are called to testify, to tell what we have seen and heard. And we are to speak truthfully. Our task is not to whitewash nor bloat the truth. Our task is to tell the truth. Period.
There is, however, one difference between the witness in court and the witness for Christ. The witness in court eventually steps down from the witness chair, but the witness for Christ never does. Since the claims of Christ are always on trial, court is perpetually in session, and we remain under oath.
James 4
Submit Yourselves to God
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?[a] 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."[b]
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 2:4-12
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
September 16, 2008
Responding To Criticism
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 2:4-12
When they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God. —1 Peter 2:12
Abraham Lincoln knew what it meant to face criticism. He is quoted as saying, “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what’s said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Lincoln, against huge opposition, went on to reunite the fractured United States, win the Civil War, and abolish slavery in the US. Had he allowed his critics to defeat him, Lincoln would not have accomplished what he did.
The apostle Peter understood the dangers of unfounded criticism. He wrote, “Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).
Criticism can consume our lives to the point of emotional paralysis, or we can set our hearts to serve God faithfully undeterred by that criticism and put our God on display. When we do that, we won’t need to answer our critics with words—our lives will say all that is needed. — Bill Crowder
If we keep doing what is right—
And serving Christ each day,
We need not fear what others think
Nor what the critics say. —D. De Haan
The most powerful testimony is a godly life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 16, 2008
Praying to God in Secret
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . . —Matthew 6:6
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
"When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . ." ( Matthew 6:7 ). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19 ), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
"Everyone who asks receives . . ." (Matthew 7:8 ). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, ". . . you will ask what you desire. . ." ( John 15:7 ). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, "Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask." But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Turf Curse - #5657 - September 16, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Ahhh, Nantucket! My wife and I had some wonderful, romantic times on that picturesque little island. It's 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The little village of Nantucket is just full of colonial charm and quaint shops and cobblestone streets. And everywhere you look you find reminders of its glory days of whaling history. I was surprised to learn, though, that during those glory days most of the town actually burned to the ground, right up to the docks. It was a tragedy that nearly put Nantucket out of business. But it was a tragedy that never had to happen. It was an ugly, four-letter word that ultimately destroyed Nantucket, and the word was not fire. It's a word that's still destroying things.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Turf Curse."
Turf. Yep, that's what destroyed Nantucket Village years ago. See, when the fire companies arrived at the site of the blaze that day, the fire was still small. But the firefighters got into an argument over who got to use the fire hydrants. They all wanted to be the heroes. And while they were fighting over turf, literally, the fire spread and they lost the town. That's hard to believe isn't it? But true. Or is it that hard to believe? Losing the town while the rescuers fight over turf...it's still happening today, and it's not a new problem.
It's talked about in our word for today from the Word of God 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. "I appeal to you, brothers," Paul said," in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some of Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you." Sadly, this tendency for God's people to fragment into camps and different groups, to focus on their differences, to get entangled in quarrels, has infected Christ's church for two thousand years.
And we tend to operate as if only our group, our leader is right. Paul said here, "One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas"; and still another, 'I follow Christ' (That was the spiritual group). Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" The apostle seems to be saying, "Folks, can't you see? It's all about Jesus! This turf thing is tearing His Body apart!"
It was this turf pride that allowed a fire to destroy Nantucket Village while the rescuers argued with each other. Well, today our world is burning down. Lost people are farther from Christ than ever, but we have more means of rescuing them than ever before! So where are the spiritual firefighters? They're fighting over turf.
We are so concerned about our organization, our denomination, our budget, our church, our group's doctrinal distinctives, the agenda of our group, getting the credit so we can get the glory, or maybe the donations, loyalty to human leaders rather than to the Lord who raised up those leaders. And meanwhile, a lost world is burning down around us. This has to break the heart of God.
There's probably 90 percent Bible-based Christians agree on, maybe ten percent we disagree on. Why must we spend 90 percent of our energy on the ten percent we disagree on? That's what makes us "us." We're surrounded by a life-or-death situation! And like the people at Ground Zero when the towers came down, we need to pull together for a desperate rescue operation! Turf doesn't matter when people are dying!
It's time to unite our resources to defeat a militant and united enemy; to get the attention of neighbors who know nothing about the cross, replacing "My kingdom come" with "Thy kingdom come!"
There's no stopping God's people when they're united; there's no stomaching God's people when they're divided into hundreds of little personal kingdoms. The town's on fire, folks! The firemen have to work together!
Monday, September 15, 2008
James 3, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 15
Applaud Loud and Often
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works!
Psalm 105:2 (NKJV)
God has never taken his eyes off you. Not for a millisecond. He’s always near. He lives to hear your heartbeat. He loves to hear your prayers. He’d die for your sin before he’d let you die in your sin, so he did.
What do you do with such a Savior? Don’t you sing to him? Don’t you declare, confess, and proclaim his name? Don’t you bow a knee, lower a head, hammer a nail, feed the poor, and lift up your gift in worship? Of course you do.
Worship God. Applaud him loud and often. For your sake, you need it. And for heaven’s sake, he deserves it.
James 3
Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 26:9-18
9"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
12"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
September 15, 2008
What’s Your Story?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Acts 26:9-18
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. —Acts 16:31
Every believer has a unique story of encountering Christ. Ann, a receptionist at RBC Ministries, told me that she has kept a journal for much of her life. She treasures the account she recorded about her conversion when she was 15. Here is an excerpt. “[I] went to see Billy Graham. I got saved! I’m very happy. . . . When I got saved I felt warmth in my heart.”
Years ago, in a personal evangelism course I taught, I asked the students to write out their story of how they came to faith in Christ. It struck me how different each journey was. Some were saved out of a life of drugs and immorality. Others were church attenders who came to Christ after years of biblical instruction.
Conversions vary. The apostle Paul had a crisis encounter with the Savior that turned him from a persecutor into a preacher of the gospel (Acts 26). In contrast, Timothy was quietly nurtured in the Scriptures from early childhood, resulting in his salvation experience (2 Tim. 3:14-15). No two faith journeys are identical. But each has the common element of turning to the Lord Jesus in faith to be saved from sin and to receive a new heart.
Can you retrace the steps that God helped you take in coming to Christ? What’s your story? — Dennis Fisher
We once were held by Satan’s chains,
Imprisoned by our sin;
Then Jesus Christ delivered us
And made us new within. —Sper
We need more than a new start—we need a new heart!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 15, 2008
What To Renounce
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . . —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you "renounced the hidden things of shame" in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3 ). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
". . . not walking in craftiness. . ." ( 2 Corinthians 4:2 ). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stuck On the Welcome Mat - #5656 - September 15, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Monday, September 15, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
We've always had a wide variety of folks come to our front door. Like salesmen, for example. They get as far as the front step. Then there are the neighborhood kids raising money, they make it inside the door; they get to our welcome mat usually. And there are lots of acquaintances and friends who we invite into the living room to sit down and visit for a while. And sometimes it's a relative or a real close friend. They'll go straight to the fridge, and they feel free to use the telephone and the bathroom. You can tell how close we are to a person by how far that person is allowed to go in our house.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stuck On the Welcome Mat."
Our word for today from the Word of God describes a healthy, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And it has a lot to do with how far into the house of your life you allow Jesus to go. Colossians 2:6, "Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith."
Now, there's a surprising spiritual secret in these words. In a sense, you learned the secret of growing in Christ the day you met Christ! The way you live in Him and get rooted and built up in Him is the way you first began your relationship with Him - you "received" Him, you invited Him in. So, just as you invited Christ Jesus in to be your Lord and Savior, so you keep on inviting Him in to more and more of your life.
Right now your life-house may be a mess. In fact, I've been asked, "I invited Christ in. How come I still feel so lonely? So depressed? So defeated?" Here's one possible reason: Jesus is still just inside the door; He's still on the welcome mat. You've never received Him farther into your life. He's in, but you're not inviting Him into any rooms. Yes, you had a time when you "accepted Christ as your Savior." But maybe your relationship with Him is like a couple that had a great wedding but not much of a marriage. You started with Jesus, but not much has really happened since.
Jesus Christ will only change and improve that which is consciously turned over to Him. He didn't come into your life until you opened the door, right? He won't come into the parts of your life until you open the door. If you let Christ into ten percent of you, then the other 90 percent will probably be as much of a mess as it was B. C. (before Christ). He's been treated like a visitor, a stranger, an acquaintance - not like your closest Friend, not like the most important person in your life. He wants to do so much more in those rooms: your temper, your tongue, your lust, your relationships, your marriage, your loneliness, your depression, or the pain of your past. But He just hasn't been invited.
You may be missing much of the love, the peace or the meaning that you came to Christ hoping to receive because you've never asked Him past the welcome mat, or a couple of rooms. Remember, Jesus only goes where He's invited in your life. So what specific part of you did you invite Him to be the ruler of today? That could be the Lordship question each new day.
Keep on opening doors to your Savior. Keep on inviting Him deeper and deeper into the things that matter to you. You can tell how close you are to Jesus by how far you allow Him to go in that "house" called your life.
You know, it's possible that you've never even opened the door of your life to Jesus Christ. You could be in the church your whole life. You can know the Bible in and out. You can know all the answers. You can know lots of Christian people and still have missed that step that's the difference between heaven and hell. That's opening the door to let Him come in. Have you missed that step? If you don't know you did it, you probably haven't. This could be the day to take care of it and get it settled. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Go to our website. It's there really to help you to be sure that you belong to Him. It's YoursForLife.net. I hope you'll go there today.
You may have been around Jesus for a long time, but maybe you have never really belonged to Him. Let this be the day that the Jesus who you have known about becomes the Jesus you know.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 15
Applaud Loud and Often
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works!
Psalm 105:2 (NKJV)
God has never taken his eyes off you. Not for a millisecond. He’s always near. He lives to hear your heartbeat. He loves to hear your prayers. He’d die for your sin before he’d let you die in your sin, so he did.
What do you do with such a Savior? Don’t you sing to him? Don’t you declare, confess, and proclaim his name? Don’t you bow a knee, lower a head, hammer a nail, feed the poor, and lift up your gift in worship? Of course you do.
Worship God. Applaud him loud and often. For your sake, you need it. And for heaven’s sake, he deserves it.
James 3
Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 26:9-18
9"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
12"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
September 15, 2008
What’s Your Story?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Acts 26:9-18
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. —Acts 16:31
Every believer has a unique story of encountering Christ. Ann, a receptionist at RBC Ministries, told me that she has kept a journal for much of her life. She treasures the account she recorded about her conversion when she was 15. Here is an excerpt. “[I] went to see Billy Graham. I got saved! I’m very happy. . . . When I got saved I felt warmth in my heart.”
Years ago, in a personal evangelism course I taught, I asked the students to write out their story of how they came to faith in Christ. It struck me how different each journey was. Some were saved out of a life of drugs and immorality. Others were church attenders who came to Christ after years of biblical instruction.
Conversions vary. The apostle Paul had a crisis encounter with the Savior that turned him from a persecutor into a preacher of the gospel (Acts 26). In contrast, Timothy was quietly nurtured in the Scriptures from early childhood, resulting in his salvation experience (2 Tim. 3:14-15). No two faith journeys are identical. But each has the common element of turning to the Lord Jesus in faith to be saved from sin and to receive a new heart.
Can you retrace the steps that God helped you take in coming to Christ? What’s your story? — Dennis Fisher
We once were held by Satan’s chains,
Imprisoned by our sin;
Then Jesus Christ delivered us
And made us new within. —Sper
We need more than a new start—we need a new heart!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 15, 2008
What To Renounce
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . . —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you "renounced the hidden things of shame" in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3 ). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
". . . not walking in craftiness. . ." ( 2 Corinthians 4:2 ). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stuck On the Welcome Mat - #5656 - September 15, 2008
Category: Your Personal Power
Monday, September 15, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
We've always had a wide variety of folks come to our front door. Like salesmen, for example. They get as far as the front step. Then there are the neighborhood kids raising money, they make it inside the door; they get to our welcome mat usually. And there are lots of acquaintances and friends who we invite into the living room to sit down and visit for a while. And sometimes it's a relative or a real close friend. They'll go straight to the fridge, and they feel free to use the telephone and the bathroom. You can tell how close we are to a person by how far that person is allowed to go in our house.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stuck On the Welcome Mat."
Our word for today from the Word of God describes a healthy, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And it has a lot to do with how far into the house of your life you allow Jesus to go. Colossians 2:6, "Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith."
Now, there's a surprising spiritual secret in these words. In a sense, you learned the secret of growing in Christ the day you met Christ! The way you live in Him and get rooted and built up in Him is the way you first began your relationship with Him - you "received" Him, you invited Him in. So, just as you invited Christ Jesus in to be your Lord and Savior, so you keep on inviting Him in to more and more of your life.
Right now your life-house may be a mess. In fact, I've been asked, "I invited Christ in. How come I still feel so lonely? So depressed? So defeated?" Here's one possible reason: Jesus is still just inside the door; He's still on the welcome mat. You've never received Him farther into your life. He's in, but you're not inviting Him into any rooms. Yes, you had a time when you "accepted Christ as your Savior." But maybe your relationship with Him is like a couple that had a great wedding but not much of a marriage. You started with Jesus, but not much has really happened since.
Jesus Christ will only change and improve that which is consciously turned over to Him. He didn't come into your life until you opened the door, right? He won't come into the parts of your life until you open the door. If you let Christ into ten percent of you, then the other 90 percent will probably be as much of a mess as it was B. C. (before Christ). He's been treated like a visitor, a stranger, an acquaintance - not like your closest Friend, not like the most important person in your life. He wants to do so much more in those rooms: your temper, your tongue, your lust, your relationships, your marriage, your loneliness, your depression, or the pain of your past. But He just hasn't been invited.
You may be missing much of the love, the peace or the meaning that you came to Christ hoping to receive because you've never asked Him past the welcome mat, or a couple of rooms. Remember, Jesus only goes where He's invited in your life. So what specific part of you did you invite Him to be the ruler of today? That could be the Lordship question each new day.
Keep on opening doors to your Savior. Keep on inviting Him deeper and deeper into the things that matter to you. You can tell how close you are to Jesus by how far you allow Him to go in that "house" called your life.
You know, it's possible that you've never even opened the door of your life to Jesus Christ. You could be in the church your whole life. You can know the Bible in and out. You can know all the answers. You can know lots of Christian people and still have missed that step that's the difference between heaven and hell. That's opening the door to let Him come in. Have you missed that step? If you don't know you did it, you probably haven't. This could be the day to take care of it and get it settled. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Go to our website. It's there really to help you to be sure that you belong to Him. It's YoursForLife.net. I hope you'll go there today.
You may have been around Jesus for a long time, but maybe you have never really belonged to Him. Let this be the day that the Jesus who you have known about becomes the Jesus you know.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
James 2, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 14
Our Lord God, the Almighty, rules. Let us rejoice and be happy.
Revelation 19:6-7 (NCV)
In the Book of Revelation...we, the soldiers are privileged a glimpse into
the final battlefield. All hell breaks loose as all heaven comes forth.
The two collide in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Left standing amidst the smoke and thunder is the Son of God. Jesus, born in a manger--now triumphant over Satan....
And we, the soldiers are assured of victory.
Let us march.
James 2
Favoritism Forbidden
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"[b] also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Jude 1:20-25
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Doxology
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
September 14, 2008
End Of Construction
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Jude 1:20-25
To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory. . . . —Jude 1:24
Years ago, Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, saw a sign by the road: “End of Construction—Thank you for your patience.” Smiling, she remarked that she wanted those words on her gravestone.
After her death in June 2007, her desire was carried out. Her grave marker bears the Chinese character for righteousness (Mrs. Graham was born in China), followed by the words that made her smile.
Every follower of Christ can share the confidence that God’s faithfulness will carry us through this period of spiritual building on earth. We echo Jude’s words of praise: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever” (Jude 1:24-25).
Today, we’re in the construction zone. Jude’s letter challenges us to grow in faith, pray in the Spirit, and remain surrounded by God’s love (vv.20-21). But this construction is not a self-centered process. We are to show mercy to others and rescue those in danger of spiritual ruin (vv.22-23).
One day our construction will be complete, a prospect that’s worth so much more than a smile. — David C. McCasland
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way. —Crosby
To build a godly life, let God be the architect and His Word the blueprint.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your "arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25 ).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 14
Our Lord God, the Almighty, rules. Let us rejoice and be happy.
Revelation 19:6-7 (NCV)
In the Book of Revelation...we, the soldiers are privileged a glimpse into
the final battlefield. All hell breaks loose as all heaven comes forth.
The two collide in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Left standing amidst the smoke and thunder is the Son of God. Jesus, born in a manger--now triumphant over Satan....
And we, the soldiers are assured of victory.
Let us march.
James 2
Favoritism Forbidden
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself,"[a] you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"[b] also said, "Do not murder."[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Jude 1:20-25
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Doxology
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
September 14, 2008
End Of Construction
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Jude 1:20-25
To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory. . . . —Jude 1:24
Years ago, Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, saw a sign by the road: “End of Construction—Thank you for your patience.” Smiling, she remarked that she wanted those words on her gravestone.
After her death in June 2007, her desire was carried out. Her grave marker bears the Chinese character for righteousness (Mrs. Graham was born in China), followed by the words that made her smile.
Every follower of Christ can share the confidence that God’s faithfulness will carry us through this period of spiritual building on earth. We echo Jude’s words of praise: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever” (Jude 1:24-25).
Today, we’re in the construction zone. Jude’s letter challenges us to grow in faith, pray in the Spirit, and remain surrounded by God’s love (vv.20-21). But this construction is not a self-centered process. We are to show mercy to others and rescue those in danger of spiritual ruin (vv.22-23).
One day our construction will be complete, a prospect that’s worth so much more than a smile. — David C. McCasland
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way. —Crosby
To build a godly life, let God be the architect and His Word the blueprint.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your "arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25 ).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
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