Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 28
The Water of the Servant
He poured water into a bowl and began to wash the follower's feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:5 (NCV)
To place our feet in the basin of Jesus is to place the filthiest parts of our lives into his hands. In the ancient East, people's feet were caked with mud and dirt. The servant of the feast saw to it that the feet were cleaned. Jesus is assuming the role of the servant. He will wash the grimiest part of your life.
If you let him. The water of the Servant comes only when we confess that we are dirty. Only when we confess that we are caked with filth, that we have walked forbidden trails and followed the wrong paths....
We will never be cleansed until we confess we are dirty. We will never be pure until we admit we are filthy. And we will never be able to wash the feet of those who have hurt us until we allow Jesus, the one we have hurt, to wash ours.
Psalm 1
BOOK I : Psalms 1-41
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Exodus 20:1-17 (New International Version)
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
January 28, 2009
Murphy’s Laws
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Exodus 20:1-17
You shall have no other gods before Me. —Exodus 20:3
Murphy’s Laws are observations about life that seem to have the weight of experience behind them. You’ve probably heard this one: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Here’s another one: “You can’t do just one thing; everything has its consequences.”
My own experience seems to confirm many of Murphy’s Laws, but it’s that second one that I would hang on the wall as a motto. Wrong choices have their consequences. For example, if we choose to live for pleasure, that will affect our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (Ex. 20:4-5). If we walk away from God, we may discover that our children have taken that trip with us. Later, even if we return to Him, they may not.
But there is also good news. Devotion to the Lord has its consequences too. Men and women who live in faith before God can have a strong influence on their children and their children’s children. If they live a long life, they can witness the effect their faith has had on several generations. What satisfaction it brings to older people to see their posterity living for Christ!
Murphy and the Bible agree on this point: “Everything has its consequences.” — Haddon W. Robinson
If you sow seeds of wickedness,
Sin’s harvest you will reap;
But scattered seeds of righteousness
Yield blessings you can keep. —Sper
People who follow Christ lead others in the right direction.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 28, 2009
How Could Someone So Persecute Jesus!
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? —Acts 26:14
Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of "the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.
Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29 ). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Open Door On a Locked-Up Heart - #5753
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
When you live in the New York area, locking up your house is just second nature. In fact, it's wise to make sure that every door and every window is locked. Unfortunately, all those precautions can work against you if you forget or lose your house key. Listen to the voice of experience. Not only are all those nasty people locked out, you are now locked out! I've been there and done that. I can remember making a complete circuit of the house, desperately trying every window and every door. And the good news was that sometimes I actually found something that was unlocked. I'd take even a window that I had to be a contortionist to get through! Anything to find a way to get in!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Open Door On a Locked-Up Heart."
Probably there are some people in your world who you want in heaven with you someday; people who probably don't know Jesus yet, as far as you know. Maybe people who seem to have little interest in knowing Jesus. Sometimes, it seems as if the doors to their heart are all locked up when it comes to Him. But there is a way to get in, no matter how hostile they may seem.
In our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:12, Peter says we should "live 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." He even says that "by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men."
A lost person may resist your invitations to Christian meetings and reject your Christian beliefs; but random acts of love and kindness are usually a key that unlocks even the hardest hearts. As Jesus carried out His rescue mission here on earth, He wrapped His message in concrete acts of love - touching the leper that no one would touch, going to dinner with "sinners" that the religious people avoided, going to a neighborhood where racial barriers said He should never go, or cuddling the children who came to Him.
That kind of love tears down walls between a believer and an unbeliever; it challenges an unbeliever's misconceptions about Christians being condemning and uncaring, and it creates curiosity about what makes this caring person tick. And the good news is that anyone can show Jesus' love to a lost person. It doesn't require a theological education or a Hollywood personality. It simply requires that you focus on someone whose eternity you care about and ask yourself this question: "Knowing what I know about this person, what things could I do that would make him or her feel loved?"
Maybe it's babysitting or helping to care for a live-in parent for free, filling in at work so they can have a day off, or helping with a school subject that person is struggling with, or maybe it could be providing transportation, or offering to do some "dirty work" for them, forgiving a debt, or providing work. You could introduce a newcomer to his new surroundings, open your home for dinner, repair a vehicle or an appliance, or just take an interest in something that matters to them.
I call it "rescue loving." It involves a conscious effort to identify what would make a lost person in your life feel loved. You can find a person's language of love by asking, "What need do they have right now that I could help with?" You literally go looking for needs into which you can pour the kind of love with which Jesus has loved you. That's how you find the open door on a life that you can't get into any other way.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
1 Chronicles 29, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 27
He Weeps with Us
Jesus wept.
John 11:35 (NKJV)
Jesus…weeps. He sits between Mary and Martha, puts an arm around each, and sobs….
He weeps with them.
He weeps for them.
He weeps with you.
He weeps for you.
He weeps so we will know: Mourning is not disbelieving. Flooded eyes don’t represent a faithless heart. A person can enter a cemetery Jesus-certain of life after death and still have a Twin Tower crater in the heart. Christ did. He wept, and he knew he was ten minutes from seeing a living Lazarus!
And his tears give you permission to shed your own. Grief does not mean you don’t trust; it simply means you can’t stand the thought of another day without the Lazarus of your life. If Jesus gave the love, he understands the tears. So grieve, but don’t grieve like those who don’t know the rest of this story.
1 Chronicles 29
Gifts for Building the Temple
1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, [a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents [b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents [c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD ?"
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents [d] and ten thousand darics [e] of gold, ten thousand talents [f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents [g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents [h] of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
David's Prayer
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
"Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day.
Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
The Death of David
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Luke 18:9-14 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
January 27, 2009
Prayer Circles
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Luke 18:9-14
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. —Luke 18:14
Around the circle the 6th-grade girls went, taking turns praying for each other in the Bible-study group. “Father in heaven,” Anna prayed, “please help Tonya not to be so boy-crazy.” Tonya added with a giggle, “And help Anna to stop acting so horrible in school and bothering other kids.” Then Talia prayed, “Lord, help Tonya to listen to her mother instead of always talking back.”
Although the requests were real, the girls seemed to enjoy teasing their friends by pointing out their flaws in front of the others instead of caring about their need for God’s help. Their group leader reminded them about the seriousness of talking to almighty God and the importance of evaluating their own hearts.
If we use prayer to point out the faults of others while ignoring our own, we’re like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. He prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). Instead, we’re to be like the man who asked God to be merciful to him, “a sinner” (v.13).
Let’s be careful not to let our prayers become a listing of others’ flaws. The kind of prayer God desires flows out of a humble evaluation of our own sinful hearts. — Anne Cetas
Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
Oh, lead us in Your way;
Humbly we bow in Your pure light;
Lord, teach us how to pray. —Anon.
The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 27, 2009
Look Again and Think
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not worry about your life . . . —Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be repeated is that "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches," and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
"I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . ." Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, "That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.
"Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, "What are your plans for next month— or next summer?" Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the "much more" of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Never Get Lost - #5752
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
A dear friend of this ministry donated the car that he was about to trade in. It was a whole lot more car than I was used to driving, and it was a wonderful gift. It was pretty much fully loaded. One of its nice features was a compass that was mounted on the rear view mirror. At any given moment, it was showing an "N" for north, or an "S" for south...you get the idea. Now for someone with my sense of direction. Wait...did I say "sense"? That compass is a real boon. I have no excuse now for not knowing where I'm going. Hey, just consult the compass!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Never Get Lost."
If you belong to Jesus Christ, I have great news for you. You don't ever have to be lost when it comes to knowing the right direction. God is in the business of providing a compass for all His children so they can know on a daily basis the right way to go.
There's a dramatic example of that in our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 9:15. It says, "On the day the tabernacle...was set up, the cloud covered it...and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped...whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out."
Here's the picture: two important guidelines for God's children today from this example of how He led His children yesterday. First, God guides us in ways that we won't miss Him. We can miss Him if we're not following closely, but we always can know the direction He wants us to go. In this case, there was this massive cloud that His children couldn't miss. When it's dark, you can't see a cloud very well, so God lit it up with fire at night; again, so they could not miss if He was moving or where He was going. By the way, notice that the darker it is, the brighter God's direction is.
Now how does God lead us today? How can we see the pillar of cloud? Where's His compass? Let me suggest three factors that God uses to give clear direction to those who are seeking it. First, a timely verse. As you pray for direction, God will just light up a verse or verses in His Word that seem as if they were written just for you, just for this situation. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" the Bible says. The lantern of God's Word doesn't show you the whole picture, usually just the next step. Secondly, God directs us through defining circumstances as He did Paul in Acts 16. It says God's Spirit closed the door to one mission field and opened the door to another.
Thirdly, the "pillar" comes in the form of an inner compulsion - the kind Paul talked about in Acts 20:20, "I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing..." He didn't know what awaited Him, but the magnet of God was pulling Him to Jerusalem. God's Spirit often leads us with a strong inner pull that seems to say, "I can't not do this!"
So God guides us in ways we won't miss Him. There's a Part 2 to this equation, though. Our job is to move only and always as He does. Just like those Old Testament believers. No matter how long the cloud stood still, they didn't let their impatience with the status quo make them run ahead of God. Conversely, no matter how quickly or how often the cloud moved, they didn't get so settled into the status quo that they refused to move when God was moving.
This very day, God's wanting to show you the way to go with His pillar of cloud. Your Holy Spirit compass can keep you from ever getting lost. Listen to God's promise, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go" (Isaiah 48:17).
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 27
He Weeps with Us
Jesus wept.
John 11:35 (NKJV)
Jesus…weeps. He sits between Mary and Martha, puts an arm around each, and sobs….
He weeps with them.
He weeps for them.
He weeps with you.
He weeps for you.
He weeps so we will know: Mourning is not disbelieving. Flooded eyes don’t represent a faithless heart. A person can enter a cemetery Jesus-certain of life after death and still have a Twin Tower crater in the heart. Christ did. He wept, and he knew he was ten minutes from seeing a living Lazarus!
And his tears give you permission to shed your own. Grief does not mean you don’t trust; it simply means you can’t stand the thought of another day without the Lazarus of your life. If Jesus gave the love, he understands the tears. So grieve, but don’t grieve like those who don’t know the rest of this story.
1 Chronicles 29
Gifts for Building the Temple
1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, [a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents [b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents [c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD ?"
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents [d] and ten thousand darics [e] of gold, ten thousand talents [f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents [g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents [h] of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
David's Prayer
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
"Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day.
Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
The Death of David
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Luke 18:9-14 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
January 27, 2009
Prayer Circles
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Luke 18:9-14
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. —Luke 18:14
Around the circle the 6th-grade girls went, taking turns praying for each other in the Bible-study group. “Father in heaven,” Anna prayed, “please help Tonya not to be so boy-crazy.” Tonya added with a giggle, “And help Anna to stop acting so horrible in school and bothering other kids.” Then Talia prayed, “Lord, help Tonya to listen to her mother instead of always talking back.”
Although the requests were real, the girls seemed to enjoy teasing their friends by pointing out their flaws in front of the others instead of caring about their need for God’s help. Their group leader reminded them about the seriousness of talking to almighty God and the importance of evaluating their own hearts.
If we use prayer to point out the faults of others while ignoring our own, we’re like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. He prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). Instead, we’re to be like the man who asked God to be merciful to him, “a sinner” (v.13).
Let’s be careful not to let our prayers become a listing of others’ flaws. The kind of prayer God desires flows out of a humble evaluation of our own sinful hearts. — Anne Cetas
Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
Oh, lead us in Your way;
Humbly we bow in Your pure light;
Lord, teach us how to pray. —Anon.
The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 27, 2009
Look Again and Think
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not worry about your life . . . —Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be repeated is that "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches," and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
"I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . ." Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, "That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.
"Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, "What are your plans for next month— or next summer?" Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the "much more" of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
How to Never Get Lost - #5752
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
A dear friend of this ministry donated the car that he was about to trade in. It was a whole lot more car than I was used to driving, and it was a wonderful gift. It was pretty much fully loaded. One of its nice features was a compass that was mounted on the rear view mirror. At any given moment, it was showing an "N" for north, or an "S" for south...you get the idea. Now for someone with my sense of direction. Wait...did I say "sense"? That compass is a real boon. I have no excuse now for not knowing where I'm going. Hey, just consult the compass!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Never Get Lost."
If you belong to Jesus Christ, I have great news for you. You don't ever have to be lost when it comes to knowing the right direction. God is in the business of providing a compass for all His children so they can know on a daily basis the right way to go.
There's a dramatic example of that in our word for today from the Word of God in Numbers 9:15. It says, "On the day the tabernacle...was set up, the cloud covered it...and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped...whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out."
Here's the picture: two important guidelines for God's children today from this example of how He led His children yesterday. First, God guides us in ways that we won't miss Him. We can miss Him if we're not following closely, but we always can know the direction He wants us to go. In this case, there was this massive cloud that His children couldn't miss. When it's dark, you can't see a cloud very well, so God lit it up with fire at night; again, so they could not miss if He was moving or where He was going. By the way, notice that the darker it is, the brighter God's direction is.
Now how does God lead us today? How can we see the pillar of cloud? Where's His compass? Let me suggest three factors that God uses to give clear direction to those who are seeking it. First, a timely verse. As you pray for direction, God will just light up a verse or verses in His Word that seem as if they were written just for you, just for this situation. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" the Bible says. The lantern of God's Word doesn't show you the whole picture, usually just the next step. Secondly, God directs us through defining circumstances as He did Paul in Acts 16. It says God's Spirit closed the door to one mission field and opened the door to another.
Thirdly, the "pillar" comes in the form of an inner compulsion - the kind Paul talked about in Acts 20:20, "I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing..." He didn't know what awaited Him, but the magnet of God was pulling Him to Jerusalem. God's Spirit often leads us with a strong inner pull that seems to say, "I can't not do this!"
So God guides us in ways we won't miss Him. There's a Part 2 to this equation, though. Our job is to move only and always as He does. Just like those Old Testament believers. No matter how long the cloud stood still, they didn't let their impatience with the status quo make them run ahead of God. Conversely, no matter how quickly or how often the cloud moved, they didn't get so settled into the status quo that they refused to move when God was moving.
This very day, God's wanting to show you the way to go with His pillar of cloud. Your Holy Spirit compass can keep you from ever getting lost. Listen to God's promise, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go" (Isaiah 48:17).
Monday, January 26, 2009
1 Chronicles 28, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 26
More than Meets the Eye
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
Hebrews 11:1 (NCV)
Faith is trusting what the eye can't see.
Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's angel.
Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow.
Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan.
Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior.
Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees his blood.
Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.
1 Chronicles 28
David's Plans for the Temple
1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 13 He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 16:8-11 (New International Version)
8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
January 26, 2009
Cod Liver Oil Coercion
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 16:8-11
When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. —John 15:26
A woman bought a bottle of cod liver oil to give to her dog so he could have a healthier and shinier coat. Every morning, she pried the dog’s jaws open and forced the liquid down his throat. He struggled, but she persisted. He doesn’t know what’s good for him! she thought. Faithfully, each day she repeated the process.
One day, however, the bottle tipped over and she released her grip on the dog for just a moment to wipe up the mess. The dog sniffed at the fishy liquid and began lapping up what she had spilled. He actually loved the stuff. He had simply objected to being coerced!
Sometimes we use a similar method in telling others about Christ. Called buttonholing, it’s an intense, in-your-face kind of confrontation. While earnestly desiring to share the gospel, we may end up repelling people instead. In our sincere but overly enthusiastic attempt, we create resistance.
We are called to share the good news, but we are not responsible for someone’s acceptance or rejection of Christ. It’s not our job to try to convict someone of sin. That’s the Holy Spirit’s responsibility (John 16:8).
As you tell others of Christ’s sacrifice, be sensitive. Know when to slow down and let God and His Word do the convicting and drawing to Himself. — Cindy Hess Kasper
The Spirit’s role is to convict
The world of all their sin
So they will seek forgiveness and
Be cleansed and changed within. —Sper
The Spirit convicts so that Christ might cleanse.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 26, 2009
Look Again and Consecrate
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that "if God so clothes the grass of the field . . ." how "much more" will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed "the cares of this world" to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the "much more" of our heavenly Father.
"Look at the birds of the air . . ." (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your "feathers" too.
"Consider the lilies of the field . . ." (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the "much more" He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When It Hurts to Copy Your Father - #5751
Monday, January 26, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Our daughter was just a toddler, and she'd often talk with me while I was getting ready in the morning. I'd be brushing my teeth, or shaving, or combing my hair. But one morning, unbeknownst to my wife, our daughter got in the bathroom, stood on something, and got the blade razor that I shaved with. When her mother walked in, our daughter was stroking that razor across her face, minus any shaving cream and leaving some serious scratches and scrapes behind.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When It Hurts to Copy Your Father."
All our daughter was doing was copying her father and inflicting wounds as a result. That's a mistake a lot of folks, grownup folks, have made...copying their father or their mother, and inflicting wounds as a result.
There are things our father and mother did, things they said, that we were determined not to repeat when we had kids. Well, so much for that good intention. All too often, the longer we live, the more we sound like or act like our father or mother in ways that we never wanted to repeat. We know how much those things hurt us, and in spite of ourselves, they are now hurting our children: that same temper, that same critical spirit, that same manipulating, guilt tripping, harsh words, withdrawal or selfishness.
It seems like we're almost powerless to change the dark side of us. We hate it, especially the part that was handed down to us by what I call "family sins." If we could have changed those things we would have by now, which makes our word for today from the Word of God really, really good news. It's in 1 Peter 1:18-19.
God says, "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers." In other words, there's actually hope of changing, of actually getting rid of some of those "empty ways" handed down to us by our father or mother. How does this "redeeming" happen? The Bible goes on to say "you were redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ." So there's a connection between my family baggage and the violent death of Jesus Christ on the cross?
There's all the connection in the world. Because all this dark stuff inside us, whether it's from our past or from our own choices, is wrapped up in God's word for it - sin. And our sin is what Jesus died for on the cross to forgive it, to break its power, to make possible a relationship where Jesus comes right into your heart, into your personality, and changes you from the inside out!
That is good news - not only for you, but for all the people you love. There's a Savior who literally stands ready to save you from the sin that's already done way too much damage. The transformation begins when you reach out to Jesus and you trust Him to be your own personal Savior from your personal sin which He died to make possible that relationship. If you've never begun your relationship with Him, you have yet to have your sins forgiven. You have yet to experience His life-changing power on the inside of you, this could be your day for that new beginning.
Now, it's a matter of talking to Him and telling Him in total faith, "Jesus, I cannot change myself. I cannot forgive my own sin. I cannot get out from under my dark side. But I believe you died on the cross, and the reason you died was to deal with all of that darkness - all of that sin. Today I'm ready to turn from that and let go of that sin with both hands, so I have both hands to grab You. Jesus, beginning right here; beginning right now, I am Yours."
We would love to help you be sure that you have that relationship. A lot of people have gone to our website and found a lot of help there in getting started with Jesus. And I'd like to invite you to do that today as soon as you can. Go to YoursForLife.net. Or call toll free if you want to get the little booklet Yours For Life. It's 877-741-1200.
When you open up your life to Jesus, you have for the first time in your life the power to say, "It stops in this generation!"
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 26
More than Meets the Eye
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
Hebrews 11:1 (NCV)
Faith is trusting what the eye can't see.
Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's angel.
Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow.
Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan.
Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior.
Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees his blood.
Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.
1 Chronicles 28
David's Plans for the Temple
1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 13 He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 16:8-11 (New International Version)
8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
January 26, 2009
Cod Liver Oil Coercion
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 16:8-11
When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. —John 15:26
A woman bought a bottle of cod liver oil to give to her dog so he could have a healthier and shinier coat. Every morning, she pried the dog’s jaws open and forced the liquid down his throat. He struggled, but she persisted. He doesn’t know what’s good for him! she thought. Faithfully, each day she repeated the process.
One day, however, the bottle tipped over and she released her grip on the dog for just a moment to wipe up the mess. The dog sniffed at the fishy liquid and began lapping up what she had spilled. He actually loved the stuff. He had simply objected to being coerced!
Sometimes we use a similar method in telling others about Christ. Called buttonholing, it’s an intense, in-your-face kind of confrontation. While earnestly desiring to share the gospel, we may end up repelling people instead. In our sincere but overly enthusiastic attempt, we create resistance.
We are called to share the good news, but we are not responsible for someone’s acceptance or rejection of Christ. It’s not our job to try to convict someone of sin. That’s the Holy Spirit’s responsibility (John 16:8).
As you tell others of Christ’s sacrifice, be sensitive. Know when to slow down and let God and His Word do the convicting and drawing to Himself. — Cindy Hess Kasper
The Spirit’s role is to convict
The world of all their sin
So they will seek forgiveness and
Be cleansed and changed within. —Sper
The Spirit convicts so that Christ might cleanse.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 26, 2009
Look Again and Consecrate
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that "if God so clothes the grass of the field . . ." how "much more" will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed "the cares of this world" to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the "much more" of our heavenly Father.
"Look at the birds of the air . . ." (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your "feathers" too.
"Consider the lilies of the field . . ." (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the "much more" He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When It Hurts to Copy Your Father - #5751
Monday, January 26, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Our daughter was just a toddler, and she'd often talk with me while I was getting ready in the morning. I'd be brushing my teeth, or shaving, or combing my hair. But one morning, unbeknownst to my wife, our daughter got in the bathroom, stood on something, and got the blade razor that I shaved with. When her mother walked in, our daughter was stroking that razor across her face, minus any shaving cream and leaving some serious scratches and scrapes behind.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When It Hurts to Copy Your Father."
All our daughter was doing was copying her father and inflicting wounds as a result. That's a mistake a lot of folks, grownup folks, have made...copying their father or their mother, and inflicting wounds as a result.
There are things our father and mother did, things they said, that we were determined not to repeat when we had kids. Well, so much for that good intention. All too often, the longer we live, the more we sound like or act like our father or mother in ways that we never wanted to repeat. We know how much those things hurt us, and in spite of ourselves, they are now hurting our children: that same temper, that same critical spirit, that same manipulating, guilt tripping, harsh words, withdrawal or selfishness.
It seems like we're almost powerless to change the dark side of us. We hate it, especially the part that was handed down to us by what I call "family sins." If we could have changed those things we would have by now, which makes our word for today from the Word of God really, really good news. It's in 1 Peter 1:18-19.
God says, "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers." In other words, there's actually hope of changing, of actually getting rid of some of those "empty ways" handed down to us by our father or mother. How does this "redeeming" happen? The Bible goes on to say "you were redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ." So there's a connection between my family baggage and the violent death of Jesus Christ on the cross?
There's all the connection in the world. Because all this dark stuff inside us, whether it's from our past or from our own choices, is wrapped up in God's word for it - sin. And our sin is what Jesus died for on the cross to forgive it, to break its power, to make possible a relationship where Jesus comes right into your heart, into your personality, and changes you from the inside out!
That is good news - not only for you, but for all the people you love. There's a Savior who literally stands ready to save you from the sin that's already done way too much damage. The transformation begins when you reach out to Jesus and you trust Him to be your own personal Savior from your personal sin which He died to make possible that relationship. If you've never begun your relationship with Him, you have yet to have your sins forgiven. You have yet to experience His life-changing power on the inside of you, this could be your day for that new beginning.
Now, it's a matter of talking to Him and telling Him in total faith, "Jesus, I cannot change myself. I cannot forgive my own sin. I cannot get out from under my dark side. But I believe you died on the cross, and the reason you died was to deal with all of that darkness - all of that sin. Today I'm ready to turn from that and let go of that sin with both hands, so I have both hands to grab You. Jesus, beginning right here; beginning right now, I am Yours."
We would love to help you be sure that you have that relationship. A lot of people have gone to our website and found a lot of help there in getting started with Jesus. And I'd like to invite you to do that today as soon as you can. Go to YoursForLife.net. Or call toll free if you want to get the little booklet Yours For Life. It's 877-741-1200.
When you open up your life to Jesus, you have for the first time in your life the power to say, "It stops in this generation!"
Sunday, January 25, 2009
1 Chronicles 22, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 25
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3 (NASB)
Worship is the act of magnifying God.
Enlarging our vision of Him. Stepping into the cockpit to see where He sits and observe how He works. Of course, His size doesn't change, but our perception of Him does.
As we draw nearer, He seems larger. Isn't that what we need? A big view of God?
1 Chronicles 22
1 Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, [e] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents [f] of gold, a million talents [g] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Numbers 6:22-27 (New International Version)
The Priestly Blessing
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '
27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
January 25, 2009
Benediction Blessing
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Numbers 6:22-27
The Lord bless you and keep you. —Numbers 6:24
Our church introduced a new practice for the close of our traditional morning worship service. We turn to one another and sing the familiar Aaronic blessing the Lord gave to Moses to give to Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you . . .” (Num. 6:24-26). Our hearts are uplifted as we mutually catch the eye of a fellow believer and extend our blessing to him or her.
One Sunday, I noticed a heartwarming and special exchange that has now become a weekly event. In a pew near the front sat Oscar and Marian Carlson, faithful followers of Jesus Christ and devoted partners for the 62 years of their married life. When we began to sing, Oscar reached over and took Marian’s hands in his. They sang the opening words of this special blessing to each other before looking to others. Everyone nearby sneaked a peek at the look of love and tenderness on their faces.
A benediction is not simply a ritualistic closing; it’s a genuine prayerful wish for God’s goodness to follow the other person. In offering it to one another, Oscar and Marian exemplify its warmest and deepest meaning. In blessing others, we express gratitude for what God has done for us through Christ’s death (Heb. 13:20-21). — David C. Egner
Bless me, Lord, and make me a blessing;
I’ll gladly your message convey;
Use me to help some poor needy soul,
And make me a blessing today. —Anon.
God gives blessing to us so we can be a blessing to others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 25, 2009
Leave Room for God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
When it pleased God . . . —Galatians Galatians
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God "elbow room." We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly— God meets our life ". . . when it pleased God . . . ."
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 25
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3 (NASB)
Worship is the act of magnifying God.
Enlarging our vision of Him. Stepping into the cockpit to see where He sits and observe how He works. Of course, His size doesn't change, but our perception of Him does.
As we draw nearer, He seems larger. Isn't that what we need? A big view of God?
1 Chronicles 22
1 Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, [e] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents [f] of gold, a million talents [g] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Numbers 6:22-27 (New International Version)
The Priestly Blessing
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '
27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
January 25, 2009
Benediction Blessing
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Numbers 6:22-27
The Lord bless you and keep you. —Numbers 6:24
Our church introduced a new practice for the close of our traditional morning worship service. We turn to one another and sing the familiar Aaronic blessing the Lord gave to Moses to give to Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you . . .” (Num. 6:24-26). Our hearts are uplifted as we mutually catch the eye of a fellow believer and extend our blessing to him or her.
One Sunday, I noticed a heartwarming and special exchange that has now become a weekly event. In a pew near the front sat Oscar and Marian Carlson, faithful followers of Jesus Christ and devoted partners for the 62 years of their married life. When we began to sing, Oscar reached over and took Marian’s hands in his. They sang the opening words of this special blessing to each other before looking to others. Everyone nearby sneaked a peek at the look of love and tenderness on their faces.
A benediction is not simply a ritualistic closing; it’s a genuine prayerful wish for God’s goodness to follow the other person. In offering it to one another, Oscar and Marian exemplify its warmest and deepest meaning. In blessing others, we express gratitude for what God has done for us through Christ’s death (Heb. 13:20-21). — David C. Egner
Bless me, Lord, and make me a blessing;
I’ll gladly your message convey;
Use me to help some poor needy soul,
And make me a blessing today. —Anon.
God gives blessing to us so we can be a blessing to others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 25, 2009
Leave Room for God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
When it pleased God . . . —Galatians Galatians
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God "elbow room." We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly— God meets our life ". . . when it pleased God . . . ."
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
1 Chronicles 21, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 24
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.
1 Peter 1:17 (THE MESSAGE)
Each life is...a story to be written. The Author starts each life story, but
each life will write his or her own ending.
What a dangerous liberty. How much safer it would have been to finish the story for each Adam. To script every opinion. It would have been simpler. It would have been safer. But it would not have been love.
Love is only love if chosen.
1 Chronicles 21
David Numbers the Fighting Men
1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
9 The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, 10 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away [a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah [b] the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."
18 Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."
23 Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."
24 But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
25 So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels [c] of gold for the site. 26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [d] He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
27 Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29 The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 6:53-71 (New International Version)
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit[a] and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
January 24, 2009
Small Is Beautiful
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 6:53-71
Who has despised the day of small things? —Zechariah 4:10
Just the other day someone said of a friend, “This man is destined for a great ministry,” by which he meant he was headed for the big time—a high-profile church with a big budget.
It made me wonder: Why do we think that God’s call is necessarily upwardly mobile? Why wouldn’t He send His best workers to labor for a lifetime in some small place? Aren’t there people in obscure places who need to be evangelized and taught? God is not willing that any perish.
Jesus cared about the individual as well as the masses. He taught large crowds if they appeared, but it never bothered Him that His audience grew smaller every day. Many left Him, John said (John 6:66), a fickle attrition that would have thrown most of us into high panic. Yet Jesus pressed on with those the Father gave Him.
We live in a culture where bigger is better, where size is the measure of success. It takes a strong person to resist that trend, especially if he or she is laboring in a small place.
But size is nothing; substance is everything. Whether you’re pastoring a small church or leading a small Bible study or Sunday school class, serve them with all your heart. Pray, love, teach by word and example. Your little place is not a steppingstone to greatness. It is greatness. — David H. Roper
The Lord will give you help and strength
For work He bids you do;
To serve Him from a heart of love
Is all He asks of you. —Fasick
Little is much when God is in it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 24, 2009
God’s Overpowering Purpose
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . . —Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And the Lord also says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . ." (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be "disobedient to the heavenly vision" not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling ". . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . ." There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 24
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.
1 Peter 1:17 (THE MESSAGE)
Each life is...a story to be written. The Author starts each life story, but
each life will write his or her own ending.
What a dangerous liberty. How much safer it would have been to finish the story for each Adam. To script every opinion. It would have been simpler. It would have been safer. But it would not have been love.
Love is only love if chosen.
1 Chronicles 21
David Numbers the Fighting Men
1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
9 The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, 10 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away [a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah [b] the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."
18 Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."
23 Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."
24 But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
25 So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels [c] of gold for the site. 26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [d] He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
27 Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29 The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 6:53-71 (New International Version)
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit[a] and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
January 24, 2009
Small Is Beautiful
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: John 6:53-71
Who has despised the day of small things? —Zechariah 4:10
Just the other day someone said of a friend, “This man is destined for a great ministry,” by which he meant he was headed for the big time—a high-profile church with a big budget.
It made me wonder: Why do we think that God’s call is necessarily upwardly mobile? Why wouldn’t He send His best workers to labor for a lifetime in some small place? Aren’t there people in obscure places who need to be evangelized and taught? God is not willing that any perish.
Jesus cared about the individual as well as the masses. He taught large crowds if they appeared, but it never bothered Him that His audience grew smaller every day. Many left Him, John said (John 6:66), a fickle attrition that would have thrown most of us into high panic. Yet Jesus pressed on with those the Father gave Him.
We live in a culture where bigger is better, where size is the measure of success. It takes a strong person to resist that trend, especially if he or she is laboring in a small place.
But size is nothing; substance is everything. Whether you’re pastoring a small church or leading a small Bible study or Sunday school class, serve them with all your heart. Pray, love, teach by word and example. Your little place is not a steppingstone to greatness. It is greatness. — David H. Roper
The Lord will give you help and strength
For work He bids you do;
To serve Him from a heart of love
Is all He asks of you. —Fasick
Little is much when God is in it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 24, 2009
God’s Overpowering Purpose
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . . —Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And the Lord also says to us, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . ." (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be "disobedient to the heavenly vision" not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling ". . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . ." There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).
Friday, January 23, 2009
2 Samuel 18, daily readings and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 23
Sowing Seeds of Peace
Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge.
Hosea 10:12 (NCV)
Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heartdeep in a person's life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens.
An employee gets a compliment. A wife receives a bouquet of flowers. A cake is baked and carried next door. A widow is hugged. A gas-station attendant is honored. A preacher is praised.
Sowing seeds of peace is like sowing beans. You don't know why it works; you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and topsoils of hurt are shoved away.
Don't forget the principle. Never underestimate the power of a seed.
2 Samuel 18
Absalom's Death
1 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent the troops out—a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out with you."
3 But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. [a] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city."
4 The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you."
So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There the army of Israel was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.
9 Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10 When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels [b] of silver and a warrior's belt."
12 But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels [c] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. [d] ' 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy [e] —and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me."
14 Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his enemies."
20 "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told him. "You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king's son is dead."
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite."
But Joab replied, "My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring you a reward."
23 He said, "Come what may, I want to run."
So Joab said, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain [f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to the king and reported it.
The king said, "If he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!"
The king said, "He must be bringing good news, too."
27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok."
"He's a good man," the king said. "He comes with good news."
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king."
29 The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
Ahimaaz answered, "I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."
30 The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you."
32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man."
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 6
Isaiah's Commission
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes. [a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."
January 23, 2009
Supersize It
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 6:1-10
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. —Isaiah 6:1
After you placed your food order at a popular fast food restaurant, the cashiers used to ask that famous question: “Would you like to supersize that?” In essence, they were asking the customers if they wanted more of what they were already getting.
In a similar way, when we come into God’s presence, I believe He asks us: “Would you like to enlarge your understanding of Me today?”
Isaiah had one such experience with God. Through a painful event in his life, Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1). Through this encounter, God supersized Isaiah’s understanding of His holiness. He saw God’s complete moral excellence that unifies His attributes.
God also enlarged Isaiah’s realization of his own sin (v.5). This led to an expansion of his understanding of God’s complete forgiveness and cleansing (vv.6-7). Only when Isaiah understood the depth of his sin could he appreciate and accept forgiveness and cleansing from God. Finally, his encounter with God led to Isaiah’s declaration of availability and commitment to reach out to others and to help them increase their understanding of God (vv.8-9).
Let’s ask God to supersize our understanding of His greatness today. — Marvin Williams
Oh, I want to know You, blessed Lord,
Better than I’ve ever known before!
In Your Word I read of Your great purpose—
Help me understand it more and more. —Hess
Knowing about God is fascinating. Knowing God personally is life-changing.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 23, 2009
Transformed by Beholding
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that "is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . ."
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Price to Go Free - #5750
Friday, January 23, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I guess you could call it a "tale of two cities." It was during the Civil War. The Confederate Army had again invaded the North. The Confederate General came to Hagerstown, Maryland, and he threatened to burn the town unless they came up with a $20,000 ransom. A local businessman rallied the townspeople and he collected the ransom. Hagerstown was spared. Then the Confederate forces moved up to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and they made the same demand. Those folks didn't come up with the ransom. Chambersburg was burned to the ground.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Price to Go Free."
Ransom unpaid, you pay the penalty. Ransom paid, you go free. The ransom made the difference. That's true, not only in the history of those Civil War communities; it's true in our own personal histories. You and I face a terrible penalty, and the ransom makes all the difference. Not just for now, but for all eternity.
The penalty every one of us faces is spelled out in six stark words in the Bible: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). In other words, what we get paid for running our life our way instead of God's way is "death." And the Bible makes it clear that death isn't just your heart stopping. It's a spiritual death - eternal separation from the God who made us. "Hell" is the word God uses to describe an unspeakable eternity without Him, without His love and with no relief. It's a price I deserve to pay because I have made me the center of my universe and I have pushed God to the edge. That's God! It's a price we all deserve to pay. Our fear of death is not an irrational one; especially in light of the judgment that's right on the other side.
But then there's the ransom. Jesus tells us about it in Mark 10:45, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." The price for you to go free has been paid by the only Son God has. When Jesus was going through that awful agony of the cross, He was literally paying for everything you've ever done against God. For you to pay for your sins would take an eternity in hell. But the Son of God was paying your price, going through your hell for you, and He sacrificed His life on the cross. He was literally taking your place and mine!
So the price has been paid. But only you can personalize for yourself what Jesus died to do for you. Your penalty before God is marked "paid" the moment you put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your own personal Savior from your own personal sins. A rescuer comes and throws out a line to a drowning man, but that man has to grab the line. Jesus has done everything that was needed to be done for your sins to be forgiven, for you to be rescued from an awful eternity. But you have to grab Him with all the faith you've got and say, "Jesus, You are my only hope."
Have you ever done that? If you never have, and you want to be able to go to bed tonight knowing that you're forgiven and knowing that you're going to heaven, and knowing that you are right with God, why don't you tell Jesus right now that you are His from now on. You don't have to be in stained glass windows. You don't have to be in a church. God is right there waiting. He's been waiting a long time to hear you say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
He's alive today because He walked out of His grave after He died for you. Now He waits for you to turn from the running of your own life and grab Him with both hands and say, "You are my only hope."
We would love to help you begin your relationship with Him. A lot of people have gone to our website and found that kind of help. And I want to invite you to go there as soon as you can today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I will send you our little booklet Yours For Life at no cost and the call is toll free to get it. It's 877-741-1200.
The ransom is the difference between paying the price and going free. Jesus Christ shed His blood to pay the price for you. Don't risk another day without Him.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 23
Sowing Seeds of Peace
Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge.
Hosea 10:12 (NCV)
Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heartdeep in a person's life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens.
An employee gets a compliment. A wife receives a bouquet of flowers. A cake is baked and carried next door. A widow is hugged. A gas-station attendant is honored. A preacher is praised.
Sowing seeds of peace is like sowing beans. You don't know why it works; you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and topsoils of hurt are shoved away.
Don't forget the principle. Never underestimate the power of a seed.
2 Samuel 18
Absalom's Death
1 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent the troops out—a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out with you."
3 But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. [a] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city."
4 The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you."
So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There the army of Israel was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.
9 Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10 When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels [b] of silver and a warrior's belt."
12 But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels [c] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. [d] ' 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy [e] —and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me."
14 Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his enemies."
20 "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told him. "You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king's son is dead."
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite."
But Joab replied, "My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring you a reward."
23 He said, "Come what may, I want to run."
So Joab said, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain [f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to the king and reported it.
The king said, "If he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!"
The king said, "He must be bringing good news, too."
27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok."
"He's a good man," the king said. "He comes with good news."
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king."
29 The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
Ahimaaz answered, "I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."
30 The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you."
32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man."
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Isaiah 6
Isaiah's Commission
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes. [a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."
January 23, 2009
Supersize It
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Isaiah 6:1-10
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. —Isaiah 6:1
After you placed your food order at a popular fast food restaurant, the cashiers used to ask that famous question: “Would you like to supersize that?” In essence, they were asking the customers if they wanted more of what they were already getting.
In a similar way, when we come into God’s presence, I believe He asks us: “Would you like to enlarge your understanding of Me today?”
Isaiah had one such experience with God. Through a painful event in his life, Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1). Through this encounter, God supersized Isaiah’s understanding of His holiness. He saw God’s complete moral excellence that unifies His attributes.
God also enlarged Isaiah’s realization of his own sin (v.5). This led to an expansion of his understanding of God’s complete forgiveness and cleansing (vv.6-7). Only when Isaiah understood the depth of his sin could he appreciate and accept forgiveness and cleansing from God. Finally, his encounter with God led to Isaiah’s declaration of availability and commitment to reach out to others and to help them increase their understanding of God (vv.8-9).
Let’s ask God to supersize our understanding of His greatness today. — Marvin Williams
Oh, I want to know You, blessed Lord,
Better than I’ve ever known before!
In Your Word I read of Your great purpose—
Help me understand it more and more. —Hess
Knowing about God is fascinating. Knowing God personally is life-changing.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 23, 2009
Transformed by Beholding
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that "is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . ."
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Price to Go Free - #5750
Friday, January 23, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I guess you could call it a "tale of two cities." It was during the Civil War. The Confederate Army had again invaded the North. The Confederate General came to Hagerstown, Maryland, and he threatened to burn the town unless they came up with a $20,000 ransom. A local businessman rallied the townspeople and he collected the ransom. Hagerstown was spared. Then the Confederate forces moved up to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and they made the same demand. Those folks didn't come up with the ransom. Chambersburg was burned to the ground.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Price to Go Free."
Ransom unpaid, you pay the penalty. Ransom paid, you go free. The ransom made the difference. That's true, not only in the history of those Civil War communities; it's true in our own personal histories. You and I face a terrible penalty, and the ransom makes all the difference. Not just for now, but for all eternity.
The penalty every one of us faces is spelled out in six stark words in the Bible: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). In other words, what we get paid for running our life our way instead of God's way is "death." And the Bible makes it clear that death isn't just your heart stopping. It's a spiritual death - eternal separation from the God who made us. "Hell" is the word God uses to describe an unspeakable eternity without Him, without His love and with no relief. It's a price I deserve to pay because I have made me the center of my universe and I have pushed God to the edge. That's God! It's a price we all deserve to pay. Our fear of death is not an irrational one; especially in light of the judgment that's right on the other side.
But then there's the ransom. Jesus tells us about it in Mark 10:45, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." The price for you to go free has been paid by the only Son God has. When Jesus was going through that awful agony of the cross, He was literally paying for everything you've ever done against God. For you to pay for your sins would take an eternity in hell. But the Son of God was paying your price, going through your hell for you, and He sacrificed His life on the cross. He was literally taking your place and mine!
So the price has been paid. But only you can personalize for yourself what Jesus died to do for you. Your penalty before God is marked "paid" the moment you put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your own personal Savior from your own personal sins. A rescuer comes and throws out a line to a drowning man, but that man has to grab the line. Jesus has done everything that was needed to be done for your sins to be forgiven, for you to be rescued from an awful eternity. But you have to grab Him with all the faith you've got and say, "Jesus, You are my only hope."
Have you ever done that? If you never have, and you want to be able to go to bed tonight knowing that you're forgiven and knowing that you're going to heaven, and knowing that you are right with God, why don't you tell Jesus right now that you are His from now on. You don't have to be in stained glass windows. You don't have to be in a church. God is right there waiting. He's been waiting a long time to hear you say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
He's alive today because He walked out of His grave after He died for you. Now He waits for you to turn from the running of your own life and grab Him with both hands and say, "You are my only hope."
We would love to help you begin your relationship with Him. A lot of people have gone to our website and found that kind of help. And I want to invite you to go there as soon as you can today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I will send you our little booklet Yours For Life at no cost and the call is toll free to get it. It's 877-741-1200.
The ransom is the difference between paying the price and going free. Jesus Christ shed His blood to pay the price for you. Don't risk another day without Him.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2 Samuel 15, daily readings and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 22
Jesus Honors You
It is good to…sing praises to Your name…to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning.
Psalm 92 1-2 (NKJV)
Listen closely. Jesus’ love does not depend upon what we do for him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well. Your value is inborn.
Period.
Think about that for just a minute. You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone’s steamboat ambition. Remember that the next time some trickster tries to hang a bargain basement price tag on your self-worth. The next time someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy, just think about the way Jesus honors you…and smile.
I do. I smile because I know I don’t deserve love like that. None of us do.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom's Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4 And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 At the end of four [a] years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [b] ' "
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."
21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be."
22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices [c] until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (New International Version)
14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
January 22, 2009
The God Of Victory
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. —Romans 12:21
In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory. Nike fought on the side of the Olympian gods, gaining a victory over the mighty Titans. As a result, she became a symbol of winning. But Nike’s alleged powers were not just limited to warfare. She also became a favorite goddess of athletes who wanted to win in competitive sports. The Romans adopted her into their worship and gave her the Latin name Victoria.
In the Greco-Roman world where Paul taught, victory was highly valued. So when he expressed Christian truth, he used words his audience could understand. In his letters, he described Christ as the One who leads us in a military procession of triumph (2 Cor. 2:14-17) and compared the Christian life to someone training for the ancient Olympic games (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
Paul also used the word for victory in reference to our struggles with those who intentionally hurt us. “Overcome [be a victor over] evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). This may mean returning kindness for spite or respectfully setting limits on evil behavior. In either case, an attitude of love cannot be generated in our own strength. But in Christ, we have divine power that ancient pagans could only hope for. Jesus Christ is the genuine God of victory. — Dennis Fisher
Through trials we learn to overcome,
Through Christ our victories are won;
Come lay your burdens at His feet
And find this inner peace so sweet. —Halsey
God will give us the victory when we join Him in the fight.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 22, 2009
Am I Looking To God?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Look to Me, and be saved . . . —Isaiah 45:22
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, "Look to Me, and be saved . . . ." The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. "Look to Me . . . ."
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, "Look to Me and you are saved," not "You will be saved someday." We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, "Look to Me, and be saved . . . ." Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.
Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. "Look to Me . . . ." Salvation is yours the moment you look.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Fighting the Cold - #5749 - January 22, 2009
Category: Your Mission
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It's amazing how you can go outside on a brutally cold winter day, and you go from shivering to sweating in a few minutes. If you just stand around in the cold or just move around a little bit, you're not going to stay outside for long. It's just too frigid out there, right! But in a very short time you can get to where you barely even notice the cold. Just start shoveling snow or some other vigorous activity. Not long ago my wife was out in the middle of a snowstorm, working on some outside chores, and she told me, "It is amazing how you can work up a sweat on a day like this!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting the Cold."
When you're exercising, the cold just doesn't really affect you that much. That's a very important equation for Christians who are living in times like these, because Jesus said it was going to get really chilly among His children.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is describing the days that will precede His return to earth. Now, I can't tell when those "last days" are going to be, but I can tell you that the world has never looked so much like the kind of world Jesus said He would return to than our world looks today. As time runs shorter for Planet Earth, Jesus' prediction of how His followers would live seems to be more and more true, and there will be a chill in the air.
Notice: two groups of believers in these important times. Pick your group. You are in one of them. In Matthew 24 beginning in verse 12, Jesus says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most (that's most believers by the way) will grow cold." Alright, there's group one - the cold. That's the group Jesus said most of believers would be in. Living in a world where sin is permeating everything, in a world where sin becomes everyday stuff, most Christians will just turn spiritually cold. That's amazing! At the time when Jesus needs them to be fully engaged in the decisive spiritual battles going on around them, they go cold.
But some believers are going to be fighting the cold with some important spiritual exercise, and they are group two. Jesus says that at the same time sin is exploding across the world and into people's lives, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Okay, there they are. The bold! These are the believers who have checked the stadium clock, they can tell it's late in the game and they're going for broke to get the Good News about Jesus to as many people as possible.
So where are you in this picture? Are you getting colder or bolder? Are you pursuing your kingdom or Jesus' Kingdom? Living in a sin-saturated world, it's easy to grow numb, especially numb to the lostness, the dyingness of the people around us. To care only about that which affects your personal world and not much about the world for whom Jesus gave His life.
I believe Jesus is summoning many of us to join Him in an all-out effort to rescue as many dying people as possible in the time we've got left. He's asking you to throw yourself totally; I mean your influence, your money, your home, your talents, and your time into the greatest cause in the universe. It is the cause for which Jesus gave His very life.
If you're not in the bold, you're part of the cold. But your heart and your life will warm up fast with some exercise, fighting for the eternal souls of people that Jesus thought were worth His life.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 22
Jesus Honors You
It is good to…sing praises to Your name…to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning.
Psalm 92 1-2 (NKJV)
Listen closely. Jesus’ love does not depend upon what we do for him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well. Your value is inborn.
Period.
Think about that for just a minute. You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone’s steamboat ambition. Remember that the next time some trickster tries to hang a bargain basement price tag on your self-worth. The next time someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy, just think about the way Jesus honors you…and smile.
I do. I smile because I know I don’t deserve love like that. None of us do.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom's Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4 And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 At the end of four [a] years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [b] ' "
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."
21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be."
22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices [c] until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (New International Version)
14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
January 22, 2009
The God Of Victory
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. —Romans 12:21
In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory. Nike fought on the side of the Olympian gods, gaining a victory over the mighty Titans. As a result, she became a symbol of winning. But Nike’s alleged powers were not just limited to warfare. She also became a favorite goddess of athletes who wanted to win in competitive sports. The Romans adopted her into their worship and gave her the Latin name Victoria.
In the Greco-Roman world where Paul taught, victory was highly valued. So when he expressed Christian truth, he used words his audience could understand. In his letters, he described Christ as the One who leads us in a military procession of triumph (2 Cor. 2:14-17) and compared the Christian life to someone training for the ancient Olympic games (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
Paul also used the word for victory in reference to our struggles with those who intentionally hurt us. “Overcome [be a victor over] evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). This may mean returning kindness for spite or respectfully setting limits on evil behavior. In either case, an attitude of love cannot be generated in our own strength. But in Christ, we have divine power that ancient pagans could only hope for. Jesus Christ is the genuine God of victory. — Dennis Fisher
Through trials we learn to overcome,
Through Christ our victories are won;
Come lay your burdens at His feet
And find this inner peace so sweet. —Halsey
God will give us the victory when we join Him in the fight.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 22, 2009
Am I Looking To God?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Look to Me, and be saved . . . —Isaiah 45:22
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, "Look to Me, and be saved . . . ." The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. "Look to Me . . . ."
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, "Look to Me and you are saved," not "You will be saved someday." We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, "Look to Me, and be saved . . . ." Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.
Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. "Look to Me . . . ." Salvation is yours the moment you look.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Fighting the Cold - #5749 - January 22, 2009
Category: Your Mission
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It's amazing how you can go outside on a brutally cold winter day, and you go from shivering to sweating in a few minutes. If you just stand around in the cold or just move around a little bit, you're not going to stay outside for long. It's just too frigid out there, right! But in a very short time you can get to where you barely even notice the cold. Just start shoveling snow or some other vigorous activity. Not long ago my wife was out in the middle of a snowstorm, working on some outside chores, and she told me, "It is amazing how you can work up a sweat on a day like this!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fighting the Cold."
When you're exercising, the cold just doesn't really affect you that much. That's a very important equation for Christians who are living in times like these, because Jesus said it was going to get really chilly among His children.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is describing the days that will precede His return to earth. Now, I can't tell when those "last days" are going to be, but I can tell you that the world has never looked so much like the kind of world Jesus said He would return to than our world looks today. As time runs shorter for Planet Earth, Jesus' prediction of how His followers would live seems to be more and more true, and there will be a chill in the air.
Notice: two groups of believers in these important times. Pick your group. You are in one of them. In Matthew 24 beginning in verse 12, Jesus says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most (that's most believers by the way) will grow cold." Alright, there's group one - the cold. That's the group Jesus said most of believers would be in. Living in a world where sin is permeating everything, in a world where sin becomes everyday stuff, most Christians will just turn spiritually cold. That's amazing! At the time when Jesus needs them to be fully engaged in the decisive spiritual battles going on around them, they go cold.
But some believers are going to be fighting the cold with some important spiritual exercise, and they are group two. Jesus says that at the same time sin is exploding across the world and into people's lives, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Okay, there they are. The bold! These are the believers who have checked the stadium clock, they can tell it's late in the game and they're going for broke to get the Good News about Jesus to as many people as possible.
So where are you in this picture? Are you getting colder or bolder? Are you pursuing your kingdom or Jesus' Kingdom? Living in a sin-saturated world, it's easy to grow numb, especially numb to the lostness, the dyingness of the people around us. To care only about that which affects your personal world and not much about the world for whom Jesus gave His life.
I believe Jesus is summoning many of us to join Him in an all-out effort to rescue as many dying people as possible in the time we've got left. He's asking you to throw yourself totally; I mean your influence, your money, your home, your talents, and your time into the greatest cause in the universe. It is the cause for which Jesus gave His very life.
If you're not in the bold, you're part of the cold. But your heart and your life will warm up fast with some exercise, fighting for the eternal souls of people that Jesus thought were worth His life.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
2 Samuel 13, daily readings and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 21
A Parent’s Precious Prayers
All your children will be taught by the LORD, and they will have much peace.
Isaiah 54:13 (NCV)
Never underestimate the ponderings of a Christian parent. Never underestimate the power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child. Who knows how many prayers are being answered right now because of the faithful ponderings of a parent ten or twenty years ago? God listens to thoughtful parents.
Praying for our children is a noble task. If what we are doing, in this fast-paced society, is taking us away from prayer time for our children, we're doing too much. There is nothing more special, more precious than time that a parent spends struggling and pondering with God on behalf of a child.
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?"
Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand."
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
"Send everyone out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!"
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me."
But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented [h] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented [i] robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?"
25 "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us."
The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: "Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left." 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead."
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill." [j]
35 Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said."
36 As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And the spirit of the king [k] longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Exodus 3:13-18 (New International Version)
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, [b] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.'
January 21, 2009
The Perfect Sentence
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Exodus 3:13-18
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? —Exodus 15:11
As a young girl writing in my diary, my secret ambition was to compose the perfect sentence. I wondered what it would look and sound like. Perhaps it would include a strong verb and colorful adjectives.
My pursuit of the perfect sentence will never be satisfied, but I have found a statement of perfection in Exodus 3:14. When the Lord God called Moses from the burning bush, He told him that he had been chosen to bring His people out of bondage in Egypt (v.10). Moses, who was anxious about this responsibility, wondered what to say if the Israelites doubted him and asked who he was representing.
The Lord replied, “I AM WHO I AM” (v.14). By using His unique name, He offered Moses a glimpse of the nature of His eternal existence in one sentence. You might say it’s a statement of perfection!
Bible commentator G. Bush writes this about God’s description of Himself: “He, in distinction from all others, is the one only true God, the God who really is . . . . The eternal, self-existent, and immutable Being; the only being who can say that He always will be what He always has been.”
God says, “I AM WHO I AM.” He and His name are perfect. In reverence we are to bow before Him. — Anne Cetas
For Further Study
At the name of Jesus, every knee will one day bow.
To learn about His name read The Amazing Prophecy
Of Names at www.discoveryseries.org/q0207
Looking for perfection? Look to Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 21, 2009
Recall What God Remembers
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— "Give Me a drink" (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, "You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were." He says, "I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . ." (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and "godly sorrow produces repentance . . ." (2 Corinthians 7:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Child In Your Inbox - #5748 - January 21, 2009
Category: Your Relationships
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It was one of those days when I hadn't spent much time at my desk, and I had to be all over the building. I was working with different staff to finish several projects, and someone said, "Ron, have you checked your inbox lately?" Well, I hadn't looked at anything in my top bin of incoming work all day, and I figured whatever had appeared there in the last few hours, well it's going to self-destruct soon, right? Well, what roused my curiosity was this strange announcement: "There's a boy in your inbox." I checked, and sure enough, there was a boy in my inbox. Actually, it was a big, new, irresistible picture of my grandson, just standing there in my inbox, smiling at me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Child In Your Inbox."
Now, an inbox is where you find things that need your attention, right? Well, in a sense, there may be a boy or a girl in your inbox right now needing your attention.
The problem may be that a lot of other things are demanding your attention right now, too. You've got pressures, and deadlines, and problems. There's your career, your finances, people you work with, people you work for, and they all want a piece of you, right? But no one needs you more than that child of yours. You are the only mommy or daddy they have. And though they may not demand your attention like other things and other people do, they really need your attention more than they do. They deserve your attention.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 27:23-24. In that book that is such a blueprint for living wisely, here's God's warning: "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks; give careful attention to your herds." In other words, stay up-to-date on what belongs to you. And if a person is supposed to give careful attention to their animals, well, surely it's your responsibility to always "know the condition" of the child God has entrusted to you. Do you? Are you taking daily time to listen to that child? To make that child feel loved? Do you give that child all of you for a little while each day? If you don't, you'll lose track of who they are, what they need, and who they're becoming.
God goes on to point out some of the consequences of not paying attention to what's yours: "For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations." In other words, what you neglect...you start to lose. If that's a son or daughter, well that is way too high a price to pay.
God is so serious about our relationship with our children that He even makes it a qualifying standard for anyone who wants to be a spiritual leader. In the requirements for leaders in 1 Timothy 3:4-5, God says, "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?"
Right now you may be seeing in a son or daughter of yours, the effects of...I guess I'd call it a form of Attention Deficit Disorder. Now in this case, they're showing signs of a deficit in your attention. So it might be a good day to check your inbox. There might be a boy in your inbox or a girl in your inbox, desperately needing your priority attention.
And you know, no matter what else you have to do, you just don't have anything more important to do than give them the attention that they need
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 21
A Parent’s Precious Prayers
All your children will be taught by the LORD, and they will have much peace.
Isaiah 54:13 (NCV)
Never underestimate the ponderings of a Christian parent. Never underestimate the power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child. Who knows how many prayers are being answered right now because of the faithful ponderings of a parent ten or twenty years ago? God listens to thoughtful parents.
Praying for our children is a noble task. If what we are doing, in this fast-paced society, is taking us away from prayer time for our children, we're doing too much. There is nothing more special, more precious than time that a parent spends struggling and pondering with God on behalf of a child.
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?"
Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand."
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
"Send everyone out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!"
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me."
But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented [h] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented [i] robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?"
25 "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us."
The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: "Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left." 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead."
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill." [j]
35 Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said."
36 As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And the spirit of the king [k] longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Exodus 3:13-18 (New International Version)
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, [b] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.'
January 21, 2009
The Perfect Sentence
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Exodus 3:13-18
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? —Exodus 15:11
As a young girl writing in my diary, my secret ambition was to compose the perfect sentence. I wondered what it would look and sound like. Perhaps it would include a strong verb and colorful adjectives.
My pursuit of the perfect sentence will never be satisfied, but I have found a statement of perfection in Exodus 3:14. When the Lord God called Moses from the burning bush, He told him that he had been chosen to bring His people out of bondage in Egypt (v.10). Moses, who was anxious about this responsibility, wondered what to say if the Israelites doubted him and asked who he was representing.
The Lord replied, “I AM WHO I AM” (v.14). By using His unique name, He offered Moses a glimpse of the nature of His eternal existence in one sentence. You might say it’s a statement of perfection!
Bible commentator G. Bush writes this about God’s description of Himself: “He, in distinction from all others, is the one only true God, the God who really is . . . . The eternal, self-existent, and immutable Being; the only being who can say that He always will be what He always has been.”
God says, “I AM WHO I AM.” He and His name are perfect. In reverence we are to bow before Him. — Anne Cetas
For Further Study
At the name of Jesus, every knee will one day bow.
To learn about His name read The Amazing Prophecy
Of Names at www.discoveryseries.org/q0207
Looking for perfection? Look to Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 21, 2009
Recall What God Remembers
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— "Give Me a drink" (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, "You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were." He says, "I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . ." (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and "godly sorrow produces repentance . . ." (2 Corinthians 7:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Child In Your Inbox - #5748 - January 21, 2009
Category: Your Relationships
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It was one of those days when I hadn't spent much time at my desk, and I had to be all over the building. I was working with different staff to finish several projects, and someone said, "Ron, have you checked your inbox lately?" Well, I hadn't looked at anything in my top bin of incoming work all day, and I figured whatever had appeared there in the last few hours, well it's going to self-destruct soon, right? Well, what roused my curiosity was this strange announcement: "There's a boy in your inbox." I checked, and sure enough, there was a boy in my inbox. Actually, it was a big, new, irresistible picture of my grandson, just standing there in my inbox, smiling at me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Child In Your Inbox."
Now, an inbox is where you find things that need your attention, right? Well, in a sense, there may be a boy or a girl in your inbox right now needing your attention.
The problem may be that a lot of other things are demanding your attention right now, too. You've got pressures, and deadlines, and problems. There's your career, your finances, people you work with, people you work for, and they all want a piece of you, right? But no one needs you more than that child of yours. You are the only mommy or daddy they have. And though they may not demand your attention like other things and other people do, they really need your attention more than they do. They deserve your attention.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 27:23-24. In that book that is such a blueprint for living wisely, here's God's warning: "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks; give careful attention to your herds." In other words, stay up-to-date on what belongs to you. And if a person is supposed to give careful attention to their animals, well, surely it's your responsibility to always "know the condition" of the child God has entrusted to you. Do you? Are you taking daily time to listen to that child? To make that child feel loved? Do you give that child all of you for a little while each day? If you don't, you'll lose track of who they are, what they need, and who they're becoming.
God goes on to point out some of the consequences of not paying attention to what's yours: "For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations." In other words, what you neglect...you start to lose. If that's a son or daughter, well that is way too high a price to pay.
God is so serious about our relationship with our children that He even makes it a qualifying standard for anyone who wants to be a spiritual leader. In the requirements for leaders in 1 Timothy 3:4-5, God says, "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?"
Right now you may be seeing in a son or daughter of yours, the effects of...I guess I'd call it a form of Attention Deficit Disorder. Now in this case, they're showing signs of a deficit in your attention. So it might be a good day to check your inbox. There might be a boy in your inbox or a girl in your inbox, desperately needing your priority attention.
And you know, no matter what else you have to do, you just don't have anything more important to do than give them the attention that they need
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)