Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 27
When God Says No
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35 (NCV)
There are times when the one thing you want is the one thing you never get....
You pray and wait.
No answer.
You pray and wait.
May I ask a very important question? What if God says no?
What if the request is delayed or even denied? When God says no to you, how will you respond? If God says, "I've given you my grace, and that is enough," will you be content?
Content. That's the word. A state of heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has.
Jeremiah 5
Not One Is Upright
1 "Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person
who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
I will forgive this city.
2 Although they say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
still they are swearing falsely."
3 O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You struck them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than stone
and refused to repent.
4 I thought, "These are only the poor;
they are foolish,
for they do not know the way of the LORD,
the requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the LORD,
the requirements of their God."
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.
7 "Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn by gods that are not gods.
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man's wife.
9 Should I not punish them for this?"
declares the LORD.
"Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
10 "Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.
Strip off her branches,
for these people do not belong to the LORD.
11 The house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly unfaithful to me,"
declares the LORD.
12 They have lied about the LORD;
they said, "He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;
we will never see sword or famine.
13 The prophets are but wind
and the word is not in them;
so let what they say be done to them."
14 Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says:
"Because the people have spoken these words,
I will make my words in your mouth a fire
and these people the wood it consumes.
15 O house of Israel," declares the LORD,
"I am bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvests and food,
devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
the fortified cities in which you trust.
18 "Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not destroy you completely. 19 And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.'
20 "Announce this to the house of Jacob
and proclaim it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
22 Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
"Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
'Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.
26 "Among my people are wicked men
who lie in wait like men who snare birds
and like those who set traps to catch men.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
they have become rich and powerful
28 and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,
they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29 Should I not punish them for this?"
declares the LORD.
"Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
30 "A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 6:25-34 (New International Version)
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
April 27, 2009
First Things First
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READ: Matthew 6:25-34
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. —Matthew 6:33
A seminar leader wanted to make an important point, so he took a wide-mouth jar and filled it with rocks. “Is the jar full?” he asked. “Yes,” came a reply. “Oh, really?” he said. Then he poured smaller pebbles into the jar to fill the spaces between the rocks. “Is it full now?” “Yes,” said someone else. “Oh, really?” He then filled the remaining spaces between the rocks and stones with sand. “Is it full now?” he asked. “Probably not,” said another, to the amusement of the audience. Then he took a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar.
“What’s the lesson we learn from this?” he asked. An eager participant spoke up, “No matter how full the jar is, there’s always room for more.” “Not quite,” said the leader. “The lesson is: to get everything in the jar, you must always put the big things in first.”
Jesus proclaimed a similar principle in the Sermon on the Mount. He knew that we waste our time worrying about the little things that seem so urgent but crowd out the big things of eternal value. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” Jesus reminded His hearers. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:32-33).
What are you putting first in your life? — Dennis J. De Haan
Make It Practical
• Always pray before planning.
• Always love people more than things.
• Do all things to please God.
Those who lay up treasures in heaven are the richest people on earth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 27, 2009
What Do You Want?
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READ:
Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you.
If you have only come as far as asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on your own terms. You protest, saying, "I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected." And instantly God puts His finger on the reason-you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you . . ." ( Matthew 7:7 ). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. "Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" ( Matthew 6:8 ). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him.
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, "Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit"? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— ". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . ." ( John 17:22 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Sleeping Through Your Wakeup Call - #5816
Monday, April 27, 2009
I saw an ad for one motel chain that had an interesting slant. Apparently, they wanted to highlight how very restful a stay at their motels can be. So as you watch the front of one of their facilities, you hear only the persistent ringing of a room phone. It continues to go unanswered as the narrator points out that you may sleep so soundly at their motel that you may sleep right through your wakeup call. Now, assuming the motel guest has a flight to catch or appointments to keep that day, that's not a good idea.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sleeping Through Your Wakeup Call."
Now, sleeping through a wakeup call from your motel can lead to serious consequences, like missing something you really can't afford to miss. Sleeping through a wakeup call from God can lead to deadly consequences, like missing the meaning of your life on earth and even the heaven that we hope to go to when we die.
Only hours before Jesus was crucified, He asked His close friends this haunting question, "Are you still sleeping?" (Mark 14:41). It might be a question Jesus is asking you today, "Are you still sleeping after the wakeup calls I've given you? After all the reminders and opportunities I've given you to get things settled with Me?"
Jesus loves you so much that He gave His life on that cross so you wouldn't have to die for your sins. He is not asking you to join a religion or go through some rituals. He's asking you to commit your life to the One who gave His life for you. But you've been putting Him off, you've been pursuing other things, maybe hiding behind some excuses, or hoping that all the Christians and Christianity you know will somehow be enough. You can lock Jesus out rudely or you can do it politely. Either way, He's still not in your life and you're still what He calls "lost."
But because Jesus doesn't want to lose you, He's sent you wake up calls. They may have been delivered through a Christian friend or maybe your spouse or a family member who knows Christ personally. But you keep putting them off; you keep blowing them off. Those calls weren't from them. They were from Jesus. Sometimes, Jesus will even allow you to run into a wall to get your attention: a crisis, a loss, a medical emergency, a close call. Wakeup calls to show you your need for a Savior.
In Matthew 23:37, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem and He said, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, but you were not willing." He may be saying something like that to you right now. "How many times I've called you to Myself, but you were not willing."
I don't know how many more times He's going to call. I don't know - you don't know - when your time is going to be over. Bottom line: this is heaven or hell we're talking about. Today, right now - Jesus is calling one more time. Don't sleep through His call again. There's so very much to lose.
Open the door of your heart to this man who loves you more than anyone has ever loved you. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." If you want to finally belong to Him, that happens when you tell Him this: "Jesus, I have been running my life. I know that's wrong. I know you were supposed to run it, and this very day I am accepting the forgiveness you gave for by dying for me on the cross. I did the sinning; you did the dying. This day I'm pinning all my hopes on you. I'm grabbing you like a drowning person would grab a life guard. You're my only hope." That moment of trusting in Jesus, your relationship with Him begins. Yours sins are forgiven, and your place in heaven in guaranteed.
Our website is all about how to begin life's most important relationship. I want you to know that because it might be a good place for you to go. The website is YoursForLife.net. The Bible puts it this way, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). That implies you may not always be able to find Him. He may not always be near, but He's near right now. Grab Him while you can.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Jeremiah 4, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 26
"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 34:15 (NKJV)
What the shepherd does with the flock, our Shepherd will do with us.
He will lead us to the high country. When the pasture is bare down here, God will lead us up there.
He will guide us through the gate, out of the flatlands, and up the path of the mountain.
Jeremiah 4
1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."
3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
"Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
Disaster From the North
5 "Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!'
Cry aloud and say:
'Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!'
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction."
7 A lion has come out of his lair;
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
has not turned away from us.
9 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled."
10 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. [l] Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 "Tell this to the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem:
'A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,' "
declares the LORD.
18 "Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!"
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 "My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good."
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 This is what the LORD says:
"The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back."
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted;
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, O devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why shade your eyes with paint?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
"Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Mark 7:5-15 (New International Version)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[a] 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
9And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[b] your own traditions! 10For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,'[c] and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[d] 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "[e]
April 26, 2009
Lip Service
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Mark 7:5-15
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. —Mark 7:6
Smile,” said Jay as we drove to church. “You look so unhappy.” I wasn’t; I was just thinking, and I can’t do two things at once. But to make him happy, I smiled. “Not like that,” he said. “I mean a real smile.”
His comment got me thinking even more intently. Is it reasonable to expect a real smile from someone who’s being issued a command? A real smile comes from inside; it’s an expression of the heart, not of the face.
We settle for phony smiles in photographs. We’re happy when everyone cooperates at the photographer’s studio and we get at least one picture with everyone smiling. After all, we’re creating an icon of happiness, so it doesn’t have to be genuine.
But phoniness before God is unacceptable. Whether we’re happy or sad or mad, honesty is essential. God doesn’t want false expressions of worship any more than He wants false statements about people or circumstances (Mark 7:6).
Changing our facial expression is easier than changing our attitude, but true worship requires that all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength agree that God is worthy of praise. Even when our circumstances are sad, we can be grateful for God’s mercy and compassion, which are worth more than the “lip service” of a phony smile. — Julie Ackerman Link
What a God we have to worship!
What a Son we have to praise!
What a future lies before us—
Everlasting, love-filled days! —Maynard
A song in the heart puts a smile on the face.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 26, 2009
The Supreme Climb
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Take now your son . . . and offer him . . . as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you —Genesis 22:2
A person’s character determines how he interprets God’s will (see Psalm 18:25-26 ). Abraham interpreted God’s command to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this traditional belief behind through the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will break us from those traditional beliefs that misrepresent Him. There are many such beliefs which must be removed-for example, that God removes a child because his mother loves him too much. That is the devil’s lie and a travesty on the true nature of God! If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of Himself.
The great lesson to be learned from Abraham’s faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God, no matter what contrary belief of his might be violated by his obedience. Abraham was not devoted to his own convictions or else he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was actually the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did that you are willing to do anything, even "to go . . . both to prison and to death" ( Luke 22:33 ). Abraham did not make any such statement— he simply remained true to God, and God purified his faith.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 26
"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 34:15 (NKJV)
What the shepherd does with the flock, our Shepherd will do with us.
He will lead us to the high country. When the pasture is bare down here, God will lead us up there.
He will guide us through the gate, out of the flatlands, and up the path of the mountain.
Jeremiah 4
1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."
3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
"Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
Disaster From the North
5 "Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!'
Cry aloud and say:
'Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!'
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction."
7 A lion has come out of his lair;
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
has not turned away from us.
9 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled."
10 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. [l] Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 "Tell this to the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem:
'A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,' "
declares the LORD.
18 "Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!"
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 "My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good."
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 This is what the LORD says:
"The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back."
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted;
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, O devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why shade your eyes with paint?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
"Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Mark 7:5-15 (New International Version)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[a] 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
9And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[b] your own traditions! 10For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,'[c] and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[d] 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "[e]
April 26, 2009
Lip Service
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Mark 7:5-15
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. —Mark 7:6
Smile,” said Jay as we drove to church. “You look so unhappy.” I wasn’t; I was just thinking, and I can’t do two things at once. But to make him happy, I smiled. “Not like that,” he said. “I mean a real smile.”
His comment got me thinking even more intently. Is it reasonable to expect a real smile from someone who’s being issued a command? A real smile comes from inside; it’s an expression of the heart, not of the face.
We settle for phony smiles in photographs. We’re happy when everyone cooperates at the photographer’s studio and we get at least one picture with everyone smiling. After all, we’re creating an icon of happiness, so it doesn’t have to be genuine.
But phoniness before God is unacceptable. Whether we’re happy or sad or mad, honesty is essential. God doesn’t want false expressions of worship any more than He wants false statements about people or circumstances (Mark 7:6).
Changing our facial expression is easier than changing our attitude, but true worship requires that all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength agree that God is worthy of praise. Even when our circumstances are sad, we can be grateful for God’s mercy and compassion, which are worth more than the “lip service” of a phony smile. — Julie Ackerman Link
What a God we have to worship!
What a Son we have to praise!
What a future lies before us—
Everlasting, love-filled days! —Maynard
A song in the heart puts a smile on the face.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 26, 2009
The Supreme Climb
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READ:
Take now your son . . . and offer him . . . as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you —Genesis 22:2
A person’s character determines how he interprets God’s will (see Psalm 18:25-26 ). Abraham interpreted God’s command to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this traditional belief behind through the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will break us from those traditional beliefs that misrepresent Him. There are many such beliefs which must be removed-for example, that God removes a child because his mother loves him too much. That is the devil’s lie and a travesty on the true nature of God! If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of Himself.
The great lesson to be learned from Abraham’s faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God, no matter what contrary belief of his might be violated by his obedience. Abraham was not devoted to his own convictions or else he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was actually the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did that you are willing to do anything, even "to go . . . both to prison and to death" ( Luke 22:33 ). Abraham did not make any such statement— he simply remained true to God, and God purified his faith.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Jeremiah 3, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 25
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.
Isaiah 53:2 (NCV)
Drop-dead smile? Steal-your-breath physique? No.
Heads didn't turn when Jesus passed. If he was anything like his peers, he had a broad peasant's face, dark olive skin, short curly hair, and a prominent nose.
He stood five feet one inch tall and weighed around 110 pounds. Hardly
worthy of a GQ cover....
Are your looks run-of-the-mill and your ways simple? So were his.
He's been there.
Jeremiah 3
1 "If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
would you now return to me?"
declares the LORD.
2 "Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad [k] in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
'My Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?'
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can."
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD.
11 The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
" 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD,
'I will frown on you no longer,
for I am merciful,' declares the LORD,
'I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have rebelled against the LORD your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,' "
declares the LORD.
14 "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.
19 "I myself said,
" 'How gladly would I treat you like sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.'
I thought you would call me 'Father'
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
declares the LORD.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 "Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding."
"Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the LORD our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the LORD our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits of our fathers' labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the LORD our God,
both we and our fathers;
from our youth till this day
we have not obeyed the LORD our God."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 8:31-39 (New International Version)
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[a] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
April 25, 2009
Against The Wall
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 8:31-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? —Romans 8:35
On April 25, 1915, soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli peninsula expecting a quick victory. But fierce resistance by the Turkish defenders resulted in an 8-month stalemate during which thousands on both sides were wounded or killed.
Many of the ANZAC troops who were evacuated to Egypt visited the YMCA camp outside Cairo where chaplain Oswald Chambers offered hospitality and hope to these men so broken and disillusioned by war. With great insight and compassion, Chambers told them, “No man is the same after an agony; he is either better or worse, and the agony of a man’s experience is nearly always the first thing that opens his mind to understand the need of redemption worked out by Jesus Christ. At the back of the wall of the world stands God with His arms outstretched, and every man driven there is driven into the arms of God. The cross of Jesus is the supreme evidence of the love of God.”
Paul asked: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35). His confident answer was that nothing can remove us from God’s love in Christ (vv.38-39).
When we’re up against the wall, God is there with open arms. — David C. McCasland
God knows each winding way I take
And every sorrow, pain, and ache;
His children He will not forsake—
He knows and loves His own. —Bosch
God’s love still stands when all else has fallen.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25, 2009
'Ready in Season'
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Be ready in season and out of season —2 Timothy 4:2
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to "be ready" only "out of season." The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, "Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season." In other words, we should "be ready" whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, "Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God." No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 25
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.
Isaiah 53:2 (NCV)
Drop-dead smile? Steal-your-breath physique? No.
Heads didn't turn when Jesus passed. If he was anything like his peers, he had a broad peasant's face, dark olive skin, short curly hair, and a prominent nose.
He stood five feet one inch tall and weighed around 110 pounds. Hardly
worthy of a GQ cover....
Are your looks run-of-the-mill and your ways simple? So were his.
He's been there.
Jeremiah 3
1 "If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
would you now return to me?"
declares the LORD.
2 "Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad [k] in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
'My Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?'
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can."
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD.
11 The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
" 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD,
'I will frown on you no longer,
for I am merciful,' declares the LORD,
'I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have rebelled against the LORD your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,' "
declares the LORD.
14 "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.
19 "I myself said,
" 'How gladly would I treat you like sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.'
I thought you would call me 'Father'
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
declares the LORD.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 "Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding."
"Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the LORD our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the LORD our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits of our fathers' labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the LORD our God,
both we and our fathers;
from our youth till this day
we have not obeyed the LORD our God."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Romans 8:31-39 (New International Version)
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[a] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
April 25, 2009
Against The Wall
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Romans 8:31-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? —Romans 8:35
On April 25, 1915, soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli peninsula expecting a quick victory. But fierce resistance by the Turkish defenders resulted in an 8-month stalemate during which thousands on both sides were wounded or killed.
Many of the ANZAC troops who were evacuated to Egypt visited the YMCA camp outside Cairo where chaplain Oswald Chambers offered hospitality and hope to these men so broken and disillusioned by war. With great insight and compassion, Chambers told them, “No man is the same after an agony; he is either better or worse, and the agony of a man’s experience is nearly always the first thing that opens his mind to understand the need of redemption worked out by Jesus Christ. At the back of the wall of the world stands God with His arms outstretched, and every man driven there is driven into the arms of God. The cross of Jesus is the supreme evidence of the love of God.”
Paul asked: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35). His confident answer was that nothing can remove us from God’s love in Christ (vv.38-39).
When we’re up against the wall, God is there with open arms. — David C. McCasland
God knows each winding way I take
And every sorrow, pain, and ache;
His children He will not forsake—
He knows and loves His own. —Bosch
God’s love still stands when all else has fallen.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25, 2009
'Ready in Season'
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Be ready in season and out of season —2 Timothy 4:2
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to "be ready" only "out of season." The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, "Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season." In other words, we should "be ready" whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, "Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God." No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Jeremiah 2, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 24
The Dungeon of Bitterness
If you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins.
Matthew 6:14 (NCV)
Bitterness is its own prison.
The sides are slippery with resentment. A floor of muddy anger stills the feet. The stench of betrayal fills the air and stings the eyes. A cloud of self-pity blocks the view of the tiny exit above.
Step in and look at the prisoners. Victims are chained to the walls. Victims of betrayal. Victims of abuse.
The dungeon, deep and dark, is beckoning you to enter.... You can, you know. You've experienced enough hurt....You can choose, like many, to chain yourself to your hurt.... Or you can choose, like some, to put away your hurts before they become hates....
How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that what you have is more important than what you don't have. You still have your relationship with God. No one can take that.
Jeremiah 2
Israel Forsakes God
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
" 'I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,' "
declares the LORD.
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the LORD says:
"What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness, [c]
a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
7 I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask,
'Where is the LORD ?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
9 "Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Kittim [d] and look,
send to Kedar [e] and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their [f] Glory
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions have roared;
they have growled at him.
They have laid waste his land;
his towns are burned and deserted.
16 Also, the men of Memphis [g] and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head. [h]
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves
by forsaking the LORD your God
when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt
to drink water from the Shihor [i] ?
And why go to Assyria
to drink water from the River [j] ?
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the LORD your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
20 "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, 'I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
21 I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?
22 Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign LORD.
23 "How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals'?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, 'It's no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.'
26 "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the house of Israel is disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests and their prophets.
27 They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and save us!'
28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.
29 "Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me,"
declares the LORD.
30 "In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31 "You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD :
"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more'?
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes men find
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
35 you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
36 Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 107
BOOK V : Psalms 107-150
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south. [a]
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
April 24, 2009
The Father’s Faithfulness
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Psalm 107:1-16
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. . . . Great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23
Hudson Taylor, the humble servant of God to China, demonstrated extraordinary trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:
“Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning. . . . He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all. . . . Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
We may be faint and weary, but our heavenly Father is all-powerful. Our feelings may fluctuate, but He is unchangeable. Even creation itself is a record of His steadfastness. That’s why we can sing these words from a hymn by Thomas Chisholm: “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”
What an encouragement to live for Him! Our strength for the present and hope for the future are not based on the stability of our own perseverance but on the fidelity of God. No matter what our need, we can count on the Father’s faithfulness. — Paul Van Gorder
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! —Chisholm
© Renewal 1951 Hope Publishing.
He who abandons himself to God will never be abandoned by God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 24, 2009
The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you . . . —Luke 10:20
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go "outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:13 ). In Luke 10:20 , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view— we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God’s grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God’s testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.
Unless the worker lives a life that "is hidden with Christ in God" ( Colossians 3:3 ), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an "if," never with the forceful or dogmatic statement— "You must." Discipleship carries with it an option.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Playing "Catch" With Daddy - #5815
Friday, April 24, 2009
Our son really likes to read. In fact, he's got this spot by his office window where he likes to sit in the morning and read as the sunshine comes streaming in. The one book he reads there every morning is his Bible. He wants to make sure he gets his time with Jesus right at the top of the day. But this particular day was particularly unforgettable because as he opened his eyes from praying, there was a little chair next to his big chair and our precious two-year-old granddaughter was there reading (well, as much reading as a two-year-old can do) a book. It was her toddler's Bible, and there was one like melted daddy all over the floor.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Playing 'Catch' With Daddy."
Did you know children are playing "catch" with their dads all the time? They spend their lives catching how we live, catching how we talk, catching our ways of responding, and catching our walk with God or lack thereof. Faith is contagious. So is apathy.
The spiritual responsibility of the man of the house is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, starting with the very first man. After Eve violated the restrictions God gave Adam regarding the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, God didn't come looking for Eve. He walked the garden, calling, "Where are you, Adam?" (Genesis 3:9) It was clear the buck stopped with the man. When aging Sarah laughed at God's promise that she and Abraham would have a child in their old age, guess who God asked about why she didn't believe? He didn't ask Sarah. He asked Abraham as if He was saying, "You mean after all these years around you, she doesn't have any more faith than that?" By New Testament times, God identifies the man as the Christ-figure of the home, responsible to lead the home by loving his wife with the same kind of sacrificing love that Jesus showed us.
Then, in our word for today from the Word of God, He defies our culture's copout misconception that the man is just the physical provider while the spiritual provider of the home is the woman. Ephesians 6:4 shows us what the manufacturer's manual says about how the family is designed to run: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Dad, you're God's designated spiritual coach for your son or your daughter. He's counting on you to "instruct" them; to regularly explain God's love and God's ways to them. And He's expecting you to "train" them it says, to show them by your life what God is like, and to model for them a consistent, powerful relationship with Him. How are you doing, Coach?
Just look at your children and you may very well be looking into a mirror of the vitality and reality of your own relationship with Jesus Christ. If you're cool or cold toward God, you'll probably see it in them. If you're excited about God, about His Word, about His work, you'll probably see it in them. If you're negative and critical spiritually and they hear a lot about what's wrong with Christians, don't be surprised if they don't want much to do with Jesus. If your actions contradict your Christian words, it will be hard for them to think of Jesus as very real. If they see you responding to problems by trusting God in prayer, that's what they'll learn to do. And if they see you seeking your Lord regularly in the Bible, you may even find them next to you one day, seeking Him, too.
If you're like most of us guys, you don't like to do things you don't feel secure doing, and you may not feel secure trying to step up to spiritual leadership at home. You're afraid you'll fail. But you know, the only way you can really fail is if you don't do it. You won't nag your son or daughter into loving and following Jesus. You won't legislate them into it. Children learn what they live. Make sure as they live with you, that they're living with a walking, talking example of a man who's just in love with Jesus.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 24
The Dungeon of Bitterness
If you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins.
Matthew 6:14 (NCV)
Bitterness is its own prison.
The sides are slippery with resentment. A floor of muddy anger stills the feet. The stench of betrayal fills the air and stings the eyes. A cloud of self-pity blocks the view of the tiny exit above.
Step in and look at the prisoners. Victims are chained to the walls. Victims of betrayal. Victims of abuse.
The dungeon, deep and dark, is beckoning you to enter.... You can, you know. You've experienced enough hurt....You can choose, like many, to chain yourself to your hurt.... Or you can choose, like some, to put away your hurts before they become hates....
How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that what you have is more important than what you don't have. You still have your relationship with God. No one can take that.
Jeremiah 2
Israel Forsakes God
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
" 'I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,' "
declares the LORD.
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the LORD says:
"What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness, [c]
a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
7 I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask,
'Where is the LORD ?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
9 "Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Kittim [d] and look,
send to Kedar [e] and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their [f] Glory
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions have roared;
they have growled at him.
They have laid waste his land;
his towns are burned and deserted.
16 Also, the men of Memphis [g] and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head. [h]
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves
by forsaking the LORD your God
when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt
to drink water from the Shihor [i] ?
And why go to Assyria
to drink water from the River [j] ?
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the LORD your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
20 "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, 'I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
21 I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?
22 Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign LORD.
23 "How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals'?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, 'It's no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.'
26 "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the house of Israel is disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests and their prophets.
27 They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and save us!'
28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.
29 "Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me,"
declares the LORD.
30 "In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31 "You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD :
"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more'?
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes men find
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
35 you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
36 Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 107
BOOK V : Psalms 107-150
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south. [a]
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
April 24, 2009
The Father’s Faithfulness
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Psalm 107:1-16
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. . . . Great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23
Hudson Taylor, the humble servant of God to China, demonstrated extraordinary trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:
“Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning. . . . He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all. . . . Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
We may be faint and weary, but our heavenly Father is all-powerful. Our feelings may fluctuate, but He is unchangeable. Even creation itself is a record of His steadfastness. That’s why we can sing these words from a hymn by Thomas Chisholm: “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”
What an encouragement to live for Him! Our strength for the present and hope for the future are not based on the stability of our own perseverance but on the fidelity of God. No matter what our need, we can count on the Father’s faithfulness. — Paul Van Gorder
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! —Chisholm
© Renewal 1951 Hope Publishing.
He who abandons himself to God will never be abandoned by God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 24, 2009
The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you . . . —Luke 10:20
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go "outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:13 ). In Luke 10:20 , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view— we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God’s grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God’s testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.
Unless the worker lives a life that "is hidden with Christ in God" ( Colossians 3:3 ), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an "if," never with the forceful or dogmatic statement— "You must." Discipleship carries with it an option.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Playing "Catch" With Daddy - #5815
Friday, April 24, 2009
Our son really likes to read. In fact, he's got this spot by his office window where he likes to sit in the morning and read as the sunshine comes streaming in. The one book he reads there every morning is his Bible. He wants to make sure he gets his time with Jesus right at the top of the day. But this particular day was particularly unforgettable because as he opened his eyes from praying, there was a little chair next to his big chair and our precious two-year-old granddaughter was there reading (well, as much reading as a two-year-old can do) a book. It was her toddler's Bible, and there was one like melted daddy all over the floor.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Playing 'Catch' With Daddy."
Did you know children are playing "catch" with their dads all the time? They spend their lives catching how we live, catching how we talk, catching our ways of responding, and catching our walk with God or lack thereof. Faith is contagious. So is apathy.
The spiritual responsibility of the man of the house is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, starting with the very first man. After Eve violated the restrictions God gave Adam regarding the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, God didn't come looking for Eve. He walked the garden, calling, "Where are you, Adam?" (Genesis 3:9) It was clear the buck stopped with the man. When aging Sarah laughed at God's promise that she and Abraham would have a child in their old age, guess who God asked about why she didn't believe? He didn't ask Sarah. He asked Abraham as if He was saying, "You mean after all these years around you, she doesn't have any more faith than that?" By New Testament times, God identifies the man as the Christ-figure of the home, responsible to lead the home by loving his wife with the same kind of sacrificing love that Jesus showed us.
Then, in our word for today from the Word of God, He defies our culture's copout misconception that the man is just the physical provider while the spiritual provider of the home is the woman. Ephesians 6:4 shows us what the manufacturer's manual says about how the family is designed to run: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Dad, you're God's designated spiritual coach for your son or your daughter. He's counting on you to "instruct" them; to regularly explain God's love and God's ways to them. And He's expecting you to "train" them it says, to show them by your life what God is like, and to model for them a consistent, powerful relationship with Him. How are you doing, Coach?
Just look at your children and you may very well be looking into a mirror of the vitality and reality of your own relationship with Jesus Christ. If you're cool or cold toward God, you'll probably see it in them. If you're excited about God, about His Word, about His work, you'll probably see it in them. If you're negative and critical spiritually and they hear a lot about what's wrong with Christians, don't be surprised if they don't want much to do with Jesus. If your actions contradict your Christian words, it will be hard for them to think of Jesus as very real. If they see you responding to problems by trusting God in prayer, that's what they'll learn to do. And if they see you seeking your Lord regularly in the Bible, you may even find them next to you one day, seeking Him, too.
If you're like most of us guys, you don't like to do things you don't feel secure doing, and you may not feel secure trying to step up to spiritual leadership at home. You're afraid you'll fail. But you know, the only way you can really fail is if you don't do it. You won't nag your son or daughter into loving and following Jesus. You won't legislate them into it. Children learn what they live. Make sure as they live with you, that they're living with a walking, talking example of a man who's just in love with Jesus.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Jeremiah 1, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 23
Claiming Courage
You will teach me how to live a holy life.
Psalm 16:11 (NCV)
Are you a brief journey away from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache?
Learn a lesson from your master. Don’t march into battle with the enemy without first claiming the courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you”’ (Jer.29:11 NCV).
If you feel weighted by yesterday’s failures: “So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty” (Rom. 8:1 NCV)
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hos.11:9 NCV).
Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."
13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.
14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'[a] and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father[c]' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[d]"
April 23, 2009
Agreeing With God
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 15:1-9
These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. —Matthew 15:8
The caller to the radio program mentioned religion, so the radio talk show host began to rant about hypocrites. “I can’t stand religious hypocrites,” he said. “They talk about religion, but they’re no better than I am. That’s why I don’t like all this religious stuff.”
This man didn’t realize it, but he was agreeing with God. God has made it clear that He can’t stand hypocrisy either. It’s ironic, though, that something God opposes is used by some people as an excuse not to seek Him.
Jesus said this about hypocrisy: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9).
Notice what Jesus said to perhaps the biggest hypocrites of His day, the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, He called them hypocrites—not once, not twice, but seven times! They were religious people who were putting on a big show, but God knew their hearts. He knew they were far from Him.
Non-Christians who point out hypocrisy in us when they see it are right in doing so. They are agreeing with God, who also despises it. Our task is to make sure our lives honor the One who deserves our total dedication. — Dave Branon
Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who’ll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. —Bosch
The devil is content to let us profess Christianity as long as we do not practice it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 23, 2009
Do You Worship The Work?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true--once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing--to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . ." (Ecclesiastes 9:10 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When You Don't Have Enough to Finish - #5814
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A lot of my writing, including for these visits that we have together, takes place while I'm on the road. Now, recently, my wife did a chunk of driving to some ministry events so me and my little friend, Laptop, could do some work. I had about twelve hours of writing work to do and my computer battery lasts for maybe two or three hours. Oh, no problemo! I have this power strip I can plug into the cigarette lighter, and when I plug Laptop into that, he's running on the power in the car, not just the power in himself. Which means there's basically no limit to what we can do together!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Don't Have Enough to Finish."
My problem with my laptop computer is that, well in itself, it has limited power which means limited accomplishment. But when it's plugged into a regular power source, it has basically unlimited power, which means unlimited possibilities.
Now, if you've been living for Jesus Christ very long, that power equation probably sounds familiar to you. Or it should. Your resources run out. But that doesn't mean you're done - not if you plug into His. His resources never run out.
I've been running lately on this tremendous promise in Hebrews 13:20-21. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It says, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep..." (Now, this is where you want to plug in your fading battery.) "...equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."
Well, there it is. The God of peace will equip you with everything good for doing His will. There is nothing you need to carry out and complete what He wants you to do that He is not going to provide. When you're out of strength, He's not. When you can't take another step, His strength starts to carry you, so you can keep going when you don't have anything else to go with!
When you need wisdom to carry out what He's given you to do, He's promised to give it to you liberally upon request (James 1:5). So many times - actually, often many times a day - I have no idea what to say, how to respond, or how to proceed. That's time to abandon the finite battery of what I know and plug into the infinite power of what God knows. When you're out of creativity, you're out of ideas, again, plug into His. People often ask me, "Where do you get all those ideas for 'A Word with You'?" Well, literally, I do get the ideas from God. You'll never know the times I sit down to work on this program and I say, "That's it! I'm out of ideas." And, I am, but God isn't. And He continually amazes me with what He comes up with. When you're out of love, when you're out of answers, when you're out of patience, He's not, so you don't have to be.
So, weary mom or dad, depleted servant of the Lord, beat-up warrior, know that you can go on, you can win this because of the infinite resources of the God you belong to. Depend on your finite power - finite accomplishment. But plug into His infinite resources, unlimited possibilities. He's committed to give you everything you need to do and to finish what He's given you to do. Like the hymn writer says, "When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed e'er the day is half done; when we've reached the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again."
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 23
Claiming Courage
You will teach me how to live a holy life.
Psalm 16:11 (NCV)
Are you a brief journey away from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache?
Learn a lesson from your master. Don’t march into battle with the enemy without first claiming the courage from God’s promises. May I give you a few examples?
When you are confused: “‘I know what I am planning for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you”’ (Jer.29:11 NCV).
If you feel weighted by yesterday’s failures: “So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty” (Rom. 8:1 NCV)
On those nights when you wonder where God is: “I am the Holy One, and I am among you” (Hos.11:9 NCV).
Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."
13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.
14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'[a] and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father[c]' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[d]"
April 23, 2009
Agreeing With God
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 15:1-9
These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. —Matthew 15:8
The caller to the radio program mentioned religion, so the radio talk show host began to rant about hypocrites. “I can’t stand religious hypocrites,” he said. “They talk about religion, but they’re no better than I am. That’s why I don’t like all this religious stuff.”
This man didn’t realize it, but he was agreeing with God. God has made it clear that He can’t stand hypocrisy either. It’s ironic, though, that something God opposes is used by some people as an excuse not to seek Him.
Jesus said this about hypocrisy: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9).
Notice what Jesus said to perhaps the biggest hypocrites of His day, the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, He called them hypocrites—not once, not twice, but seven times! They were religious people who were putting on a big show, but God knew their hearts. He knew they were far from Him.
Non-Christians who point out hypocrisy in us when they see it are right in doing so. They are agreeing with God, who also despises it. Our task is to make sure our lives honor the One who deserves our total dedication. — Dave Branon
Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who’ll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. —Bosch
The devil is content to let us profess Christianity as long as we do not practice it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 23, 2009
Do You Worship The Work?
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READ:
We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true--once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing--to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . ." (Ecclesiastes 9:10 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When You Don't Have Enough to Finish - #5814
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A lot of my writing, including for these visits that we have together, takes place while I'm on the road. Now, recently, my wife did a chunk of driving to some ministry events so me and my little friend, Laptop, could do some work. I had about twelve hours of writing work to do and my computer battery lasts for maybe two or three hours. Oh, no problemo! I have this power strip I can plug into the cigarette lighter, and when I plug Laptop into that, he's running on the power in the car, not just the power in himself. Which means there's basically no limit to what we can do together!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Don't Have Enough to Finish."
My problem with my laptop computer is that, well in itself, it has limited power which means limited accomplishment. But when it's plugged into a regular power source, it has basically unlimited power, which means unlimited possibilities.
Now, if you've been living for Jesus Christ very long, that power equation probably sounds familiar to you. Or it should. Your resources run out. But that doesn't mean you're done - not if you plug into His. His resources never run out.
I've been running lately on this tremendous promise in Hebrews 13:20-21. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It says, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep..." (Now, this is where you want to plug in your fading battery.) "...equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."
Well, there it is. The God of peace will equip you with everything good for doing His will. There is nothing you need to carry out and complete what He wants you to do that He is not going to provide. When you're out of strength, He's not. When you can't take another step, His strength starts to carry you, so you can keep going when you don't have anything else to go with!
When you need wisdom to carry out what He's given you to do, He's promised to give it to you liberally upon request (James 1:5). So many times - actually, often many times a day - I have no idea what to say, how to respond, or how to proceed. That's time to abandon the finite battery of what I know and plug into the infinite power of what God knows. When you're out of creativity, you're out of ideas, again, plug into His. People often ask me, "Where do you get all those ideas for 'A Word with You'?" Well, literally, I do get the ideas from God. You'll never know the times I sit down to work on this program and I say, "That's it! I'm out of ideas." And, I am, but God isn't. And He continually amazes me with what He comes up with. When you're out of love, when you're out of answers, when you're out of patience, He's not, so you don't have to be.
So, weary mom or dad, depleted servant of the Lord, beat-up warrior, know that you can go on, you can win this because of the infinite resources of the God you belong to. Depend on your finite power - finite accomplishment. But plug into His infinite resources, unlimited possibilities. He's committed to give you everything you need to do and to finish what He's given you to do. Like the hymn writer says, "When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed e'er the day is half done; when we've reached the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again."
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Zephaniah 3, daily reading and devotions.
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 22
A Heart Like His
From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does.
2 Corinthians 5:16 (NCV)
Ask God to help you have his eternal view of the world. His view of humanity is starkly simple. From his perspective every person is either:
Entering through the small gate or the wide gate (Matt. 7:13-14)...
Heaven called or hell bound (Mark 16:15-16)....
Our ledger, however, is cluttered with unnecessary columns. Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What color is her skin? Does she have a college degree? These matters are irrelevant to God....
To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the saved and rejoice! They are just one grave away from being just like Jesus. To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the lost and pray. For unless they turn, they are one grave away from torment.
Zephaniah 3
Jerusalem’s Rebellion and Redemption
1 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,
the city of violence and crime!
2 No one can tell it anything;
it refuses all correction.
It does not trust in the Lord
or draw near to its God.
3 Its leaders are like roaring lions
hunting for their victims.
Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time,
who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain.
Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.
5 But the Lord is still there in the city,
and he does no wrong.
Day by day he hands down justice,
and he does not fail.
But the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have wiped out many nations,
devastating their fortress walls and towers.
Their streets are now deserted;
their cities lie in silent ruin.
There are no survivors—
none at all.
7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!
Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again,
destroying their homes.’
But no, they get up early
to continue their evil deeds.
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord.
“Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth
and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured
by the fire of my jealousy.
9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people,
so that everyone can worship the Lord together.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia[a]
will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed,
for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment
and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,
will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over,
and you will never again fear disaster.
16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
“Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[b]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals;
you will be disgraced no more.[c]
19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you.
I will save the weak and helpless ones;
I will bring together
those who were chased away.
I will give glory and fame to my former exiles,
wherever they have been mocked and shamed.
20 On that day I will gather you together
and bring you home again.
I will give you a good name, a name of distinction,
among all the nations of the earth,
as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 17:15-22 (New Living Translation)
Sarai Is Named Sarah
15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.[a] 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac,[b] and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” 22 When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
April 22, 2009
Too Old?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 17:15-22
My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. —Genesis 17:4
When God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son, Abraham laughed in unbelief and replied, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Gen. 17:17).
Later, Sarah laughed for the same reason: “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (18:12).
We too grow old and wonder if the Lord can fulfill His promises to us. We no longer have prominence or status. Our minds are not as nimble as they once were. We’re hampered by physical problems that limit our mobility and keep us close to home. Every day we seem to lose more of the things we have spent a lifetime acquiring. Robert Frost underscores something that we sometimes ask ourselves: “The question . . . is what to make of a diminished thing.”
Not much—if we are left to ourselves. But God is able to do more with us than we can imagine. He asks us, as He asked Sarah, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (18:14). Of course not!
We’re never too old to be useful if we make ourselves available to God for His purposes. — David H. Roper
Growing old but not retiring,
For the battle still is on;
Going on without relenting
Till the final victory’s won. —Anon.
As God adds years to your life, ask Him to add life to your years.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22, 2009
The Light That Never Fails
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, ". . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . ." (2 Timothy 4:16-17 ). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When "important" individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— ". . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him" ( Exodus 34:29 ).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Setting Without the Stones - #5813
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
My wife isn't really very big on jewelry, but she takes special joy in pieces that are family heirlooms, like an engagement ring that originally belonged to my grandmother. Over the years, the three small diamonds that had been in that ring had been removed. So, all that was left was a gold band with three empty settings. Well, my wife managed to get a great deal on some stones that she could have set in that ring. It wasn't particularly beautiful before. It's really beautiful now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Setting Without the Stones."
The setting by itself wasn't really very attractive. But it was those gems that made all the difference. In today's world where a woman's desire to be "beautiful" drives so much of the marketing that is directed to women, it's easy for a woman to believe some very big lies about herself. The models in the magazines and the stars on the screen are supposed to define beauty. Well, they don't, at least not according to the Creator. And He should know. Much of what we think is beauty is really a setting without the stones.
God's idea of beautiful, therefore the final word on the subject, is part of our word for today from the Word of God. In 1 Peter 3, beginning in verse 2, God calls women to be known and noticed for "the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
What God says is worth little is worth little. What God says is worth a lot is worth a lot. And He's saying that the outward stuff - your face, your figure, your clothes, your makeup, your hair - those are not what beauty is all about, no matter how many times our culture bombards you with the message that it is. Your outward appearance is at best the setting, but it's not the gems that make the setting come to life. Those are on the inside.
God says the real jewels are things like being a woman who's pure, who's gentle, making people feel special and safe, who conveys a calm spirit, who's poised and peaceful under pressure. Those things just never wrinkle or they never fade. Many a woman who spends hours on how she looks is missing this inner glow that makes a woman radiant. Just think about the women who have made a difference in your own life, who have been beautiful for you. It probably had everything to do with what they were, and almost nothing to do with how they looked.
Do you know where a woman finds her true worth? She finds it when she meets Jesus Christ. When all but one of Jesus' disciples had abandoned Him, do you know who was still at His cross? The women; women whose lives had been changed by Him. If you've never been to that cross where Jesus died for every wrong thing you've ever done, I want to invite you to join the millions of women over the centuries who have found in Jesus Christ the love they have looked for their whole life. He is the one person with whom you are totally safe, whom you can totally trust, who knows all about you and takes you just as you are and loves you just as you are but doesn't leave you there. It makes you into a women you'd otherwise never could have been except for His beauty inside you.
If you've never opened your heart to this One who loves you the most, would you do that today just by saying, "Jesus, beginning this day I am yours."
Our website, YoursForLife.net, is actually set up to help you know how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's all about life's most important relationship. Let me encourage you at your first convenience today to go there - YoursForLife.net. I think you'll be encouraged. Or I'd be glad to send you my little booklet Yours for Life is you'll just call the toll free number and let me know you want it. The number is 877-741-1200.
Every woman who has ever come to Jesus has found in him that love that no one else has ever been able to give them.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 22
A Heart Like His
From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does.
2 Corinthians 5:16 (NCV)
Ask God to help you have his eternal view of the world. His view of humanity is starkly simple. From his perspective every person is either:
Entering through the small gate or the wide gate (Matt. 7:13-14)...
Heaven called or hell bound (Mark 16:15-16)....
Our ledger, however, is cluttered with unnecessary columns. Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What color is her skin? Does she have a college degree? These matters are irrelevant to God....
To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the saved and rejoice! They are just one grave away from being just like Jesus. To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the lost and pray. For unless they turn, they are one grave away from torment.
Zephaniah 3
Jerusalem’s Rebellion and Redemption
1 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,
the city of violence and crime!
2 No one can tell it anything;
it refuses all correction.
It does not trust in the Lord
or draw near to its God.
3 Its leaders are like roaring lions
hunting for their victims.
Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time,
who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain.
Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.
5 But the Lord is still there in the city,
and he does no wrong.
Day by day he hands down justice,
and he does not fail.
But the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have wiped out many nations,
devastating their fortress walls and towers.
Their streets are now deserted;
their cities lie in silent ruin.
There are no survivors—
none at all.
7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!
Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again,
destroying their homes.’
But no, they get up early
to continue their evil deeds.
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord.
“Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth
and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured
by the fire of my jealousy.
9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people,
so that everyone can worship the Lord together.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia[a]
will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed,
for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment
and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,
will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over,
and you will never again fear disaster.
16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
“Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[b]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals;
you will be disgraced no more.[c]
19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you.
I will save the weak and helpless ones;
I will bring together
those who were chased away.
I will give glory and fame to my former exiles,
wherever they have been mocked and shamed.
20 On that day I will gather you together
and bring you home again.
I will give you a good name, a name of distinction,
among all the nations of the earth,
as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Genesis 17:15-22 (New Living Translation)
Sarai Is Named Sarah
15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.[a] 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac,[b] and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” 22 When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
April 22, 2009
Too Old?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Genesis 17:15-22
My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. —Genesis 17:4
When God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son, Abraham laughed in unbelief and replied, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Gen. 17:17).
Later, Sarah laughed for the same reason: “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (18:12).
We too grow old and wonder if the Lord can fulfill His promises to us. We no longer have prominence or status. Our minds are not as nimble as they once were. We’re hampered by physical problems that limit our mobility and keep us close to home. Every day we seem to lose more of the things we have spent a lifetime acquiring. Robert Frost underscores something that we sometimes ask ourselves: “The question . . . is what to make of a diminished thing.”
Not much—if we are left to ourselves. But God is able to do more with us than we can imagine. He asks us, as He asked Sarah, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (18:14). Of course not!
We’re never too old to be useful if we make ourselves available to God for His purposes. — David H. Roper
Growing old but not retiring,
For the battle still is on;
Going on without relenting
Till the final victory’s won. —Anon.
As God adds years to your life, ask Him to add life to your years.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22, 2009
The Light That Never Fails
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, ". . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . ." (2 Timothy 4:16-17 ). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When "important" individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— ". . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him" ( Exodus 34:29 ).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Setting Without the Stones - #5813
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
My wife isn't really very big on jewelry, but she takes special joy in pieces that are family heirlooms, like an engagement ring that originally belonged to my grandmother. Over the years, the three small diamonds that had been in that ring had been removed. So, all that was left was a gold band with three empty settings. Well, my wife managed to get a great deal on some stones that she could have set in that ring. It wasn't particularly beautiful before. It's really beautiful now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Setting Without the Stones."
The setting by itself wasn't really very attractive. But it was those gems that made all the difference. In today's world where a woman's desire to be "beautiful" drives so much of the marketing that is directed to women, it's easy for a woman to believe some very big lies about herself. The models in the magazines and the stars on the screen are supposed to define beauty. Well, they don't, at least not according to the Creator. And He should know. Much of what we think is beauty is really a setting without the stones.
God's idea of beautiful, therefore the final word on the subject, is part of our word for today from the Word of God. In 1 Peter 3, beginning in verse 2, God calls women to be known and noticed for "the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
What God says is worth little is worth little. What God says is worth a lot is worth a lot. And He's saying that the outward stuff - your face, your figure, your clothes, your makeup, your hair - those are not what beauty is all about, no matter how many times our culture bombards you with the message that it is. Your outward appearance is at best the setting, but it's not the gems that make the setting come to life. Those are on the inside.
God says the real jewels are things like being a woman who's pure, who's gentle, making people feel special and safe, who conveys a calm spirit, who's poised and peaceful under pressure. Those things just never wrinkle or they never fade. Many a woman who spends hours on how she looks is missing this inner glow that makes a woman radiant. Just think about the women who have made a difference in your own life, who have been beautiful for you. It probably had everything to do with what they were, and almost nothing to do with how they looked.
Do you know where a woman finds her true worth? She finds it when she meets Jesus Christ. When all but one of Jesus' disciples had abandoned Him, do you know who was still at His cross? The women; women whose lives had been changed by Him. If you've never been to that cross where Jesus died for every wrong thing you've ever done, I want to invite you to join the millions of women over the centuries who have found in Jesus Christ the love they have looked for their whole life. He is the one person with whom you are totally safe, whom you can totally trust, who knows all about you and takes you just as you are and loves you just as you are but doesn't leave you there. It makes you into a women you'd otherwise never could have been except for His beauty inside you.
If you've never opened your heart to this One who loves you the most, would you do that today just by saying, "Jesus, beginning this day I am yours."
Our website, YoursForLife.net, is actually set up to help you know how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's all about life's most important relationship. Let me encourage you at your first convenience today to go there - YoursForLife.net. I think you'll be encouraged. Or I'd be glad to send you my little booklet Yours for Life is you'll just call the toll free number and let me know you want it. The number is 877-741-1200.
Every woman who has ever come to Jesus has found in him that love that no one else has ever been able to give them.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Nahum 1, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 21
Think of Home
When you have many kinds of trouble, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.
James 1:2 (NCV)
God didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles”…he said, “When you have many kinds of troubles…” Troubles are part of the package. Betrayals are part of our troubles. Don’t be surprised when betrayals come. Don’t look for fairness here—look instead where Jesus looked.
While going through hell, Jesus kept his eyes on heaven. While surrounded by enemies he kept his mind on his father. While abandoned on earth, he kept his heart on home. “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky” (Matt. 26:64).
When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you. To keep your balance in a crooked world,…think of home.
Nahum 1
1 This message concerning Nineveh came as a vision to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh.
The Lord’s Anger against Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!
3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,
and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.
The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 At his command the oceans dry up,
and the rivers disappear.
The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade,
and the green forests of Lebanon wither.
5 In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
6 Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
7 The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
8 But he will sweep away his enemies
in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
into the darkness of night.
9 Why are you scheming against the Lord?
He will destroy you with one blow;
he won’t need to strike twice!
10 His enemies, tangled like thornbushes
and staggering like drunks,
will be burned up like dry stubble in a field.
11 Who is this wicked counselor of yours
who plots evil against the Lord?
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Though the Assyrians have many allies,
they will be destroyed and disappear.
O my people, I have punished you before,
but I will not punish you again.
13 Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck
and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.”
14 And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh:
“You will have no more children to carry on your name.
I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods.
I am preparing a grave for you
because you are despicable!”
15 [a]Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news!
He is bringing a message of peace.
Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah,
and fulfill all your vows,
for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again.
They will be completely destroyed!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 8:23-27 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Calms the Storm
23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”
April 21, 2009
Thunderstorm Thoughts
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 8:23-27
The God of peace will be with you. —Philippians 4:9
I laugh every time I hear the radio commercial that has a woman shouting to her friend in conversation. She’s trying to talk above the sounds of the thunderstorm in her own head. Ever since a storm damaged part of her home, that’s all she hears because her insurance company isn’t taking care of her claims.
I’ve heard thunderstorms in my head, and maybe you have too. It happens when a tragedy occurs—to us, to someone close to us, or to someone we hear about in the news. Our minds become a tempest of “what if” questions. We focus on all the possible bad outcomes. Our fear, worry, and trust in God fluctuate as we wait, we pray, we grieve, and we wonder what the Lord will do.
It’s natural for us to be fearful in a storm (literal or figurative). The disciples had Jesus right there in the boat with them, yet they were afraid (Matt. 8:23-27). He used the calming of the storm as a lesson to show them who He was—a powerful God who also cares for them.
We wish that Jesus would always calm the storms of our life as He calmed the storm for the disciples that day. But we can find moments of peace when we’re anchored to the truth that He’s in the boat with us and He cares. — Anne Cetas
Fierce drives the storm, but wind and waves
Within His hand are held,
And trusting His omnipotence
My fears are sweetly quelled. —Brown
To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 21, 2009
Don’t Hurt the Lord
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? —John 14:9
Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how "un-simple" we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-"Lord, show us the Father . . ." (John 14:8 ). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, "Can’t you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found." We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.
"Let not your heart be troubled . . ." ( 14:1, 27 ). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Weather Channel's Executive Producer - #5812
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
After watching the Weather Channel on TV, we changed our plans. A big storm was coming, faster than originally anticipated, and we took off almost immediately to avoid getting seriously delayed or, you know, driving on dangerous roads. It was just one of those countless times when the weather changed our plans. Like the numerous times that storms have delayed or cancelled airplane flights I was on. And, because I travel so much, I'm a faithful viewer of the Weather Channel. It's really something to watch the weather form and move across the country, and even across the world, and to watch how often it surprises all of us, including the weather forecaster. Of course, these aren't random developments we're watching unfold on that map, not for those of us who belong to the Lord of the weather.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Weather Channel's Executive Producer."
Over the years, I've been frustrated by the weather, delayed by the weather, cancelled by the weather, held back by the weather. But increasingly, I'm learning to be amazed by the weather. Actually, to be amazed by the One who makes the weather.
Recently, I read these awe-inspiring verses from Job 37, beginning with verse 5. They reveal the ways that we can see and celebrate the power and majesty of our God by just looking at the weather, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Listen to this, "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from His labor." Man, that is so true. We have got all our big schedules - our plans - until God intervenes with something we have absolutely no control over - the weather. It's a powerful reminder that we are not in charge and God is.
Job goes on: "The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them." Wow! Man! The winds, the fronts, the storms, the clouds - they're doing what God tells them to do! I'm reminded of the prophet Nahum's observation that the Lord has "His way in the whirlwind and the storm" (Nahum 1:3).
So when we're watching the weather on TV, we're watching the hand of God. He's making weather that will accomplish His purposes, to change plans, to direct our lives, to get people's attention, to chastise where necessary, sometimes to call people home, to protect us from making mistakes. He's doing the same thing with the changing weather of your life: the unexpected storms, the sunshine, the foggy times, the cold seasons, the warm seasons. God reaches into His weather tool kit and He pulls out whatever system will turn us to Him that will line us up with His plans, or remind us of who's really in charge here.
Watching the weather forecast ought to be an experience of praise and worship for the child of God. In a sense, the Weather Channel becomes the "Worship Channel" for seeing God at work. That is your all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father, reminding the world that He is in control. No government is, no billionaire is, no power broker is, God is in control. And don't be surprised if He uses the weather to blow you right into His arms!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 21
Think of Home
When you have many kinds of trouble, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.
James 1:2 (NCV)
God didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles”…he said, “When you have many kinds of troubles…” Troubles are part of the package. Betrayals are part of our troubles. Don’t be surprised when betrayals come. Don’t look for fairness here—look instead where Jesus looked.
While going through hell, Jesus kept his eyes on heaven. While surrounded by enemies he kept his mind on his father. While abandoned on earth, he kept his heart on home. “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky” (Matt. 26:64).
When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you. To keep your balance in a crooked world,…think of home.
Nahum 1
1 This message concerning Nineveh came as a vision to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh.
The Lord’s Anger against Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!
3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,
and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.
The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 At his command the oceans dry up,
and the rivers disappear.
The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade,
and the green forests of Lebanon wither.
5 In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
6 Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
7 The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
8 But he will sweep away his enemies
in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
into the darkness of night.
9 Why are you scheming against the Lord?
He will destroy you with one blow;
he won’t need to strike twice!
10 His enemies, tangled like thornbushes
and staggering like drunks,
will be burned up like dry stubble in a field.
11 Who is this wicked counselor of yours
who plots evil against the Lord?
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Though the Assyrians have many allies,
they will be destroyed and disappear.
O my people, I have punished you before,
but I will not punish you again.
13 Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck
and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.”
14 And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh:
“You will have no more children to carry on your name.
I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods.
I am preparing a grave for you
because you are despicable!”
15 [a]Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news!
He is bringing a message of peace.
Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah,
and fulfill all your vows,
for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again.
They will be completely destroyed!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 8:23-27 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Calms the Storm
23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”
April 21, 2009
Thunderstorm Thoughts
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 8:23-27
The God of peace will be with you. —Philippians 4:9
I laugh every time I hear the radio commercial that has a woman shouting to her friend in conversation. She’s trying to talk above the sounds of the thunderstorm in her own head. Ever since a storm damaged part of her home, that’s all she hears because her insurance company isn’t taking care of her claims.
I’ve heard thunderstorms in my head, and maybe you have too. It happens when a tragedy occurs—to us, to someone close to us, or to someone we hear about in the news. Our minds become a tempest of “what if” questions. We focus on all the possible bad outcomes. Our fear, worry, and trust in God fluctuate as we wait, we pray, we grieve, and we wonder what the Lord will do.
It’s natural for us to be fearful in a storm (literal or figurative). The disciples had Jesus right there in the boat with them, yet they were afraid (Matt. 8:23-27). He used the calming of the storm as a lesson to show them who He was—a powerful God who also cares for them.
We wish that Jesus would always calm the storms of our life as He calmed the storm for the disciples that day. But we can find moments of peace when we’re anchored to the truth that He’s in the boat with us and He cares. — Anne Cetas
Fierce drives the storm, but wind and waves
Within His hand are held,
And trusting His omnipotence
My fears are sweetly quelled. —Brown
To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 21, 2009
Don’t Hurt the Lord
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? —John 14:9
Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how "un-simple" we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-"Lord, show us the Father . . ." (John 14:8 ). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, "Can’t you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found." We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.
"Let not your heart be troubled . . ." ( 14:1, 27 ). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Weather Channel's Executive Producer - #5812
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
After watching the Weather Channel on TV, we changed our plans. A big storm was coming, faster than originally anticipated, and we took off almost immediately to avoid getting seriously delayed or, you know, driving on dangerous roads. It was just one of those countless times when the weather changed our plans. Like the numerous times that storms have delayed or cancelled airplane flights I was on. And, because I travel so much, I'm a faithful viewer of the Weather Channel. It's really something to watch the weather form and move across the country, and even across the world, and to watch how often it surprises all of us, including the weather forecaster. Of course, these aren't random developments we're watching unfold on that map, not for those of us who belong to the Lord of the weather.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Weather Channel's Executive Producer."
Over the years, I've been frustrated by the weather, delayed by the weather, cancelled by the weather, held back by the weather. But increasingly, I'm learning to be amazed by the weather. Actually, to be amazed by the One who makes the weather.
Recently, I read these awe-inspiring verses from Job 37, beginning with verse 5. They reveal the ways that we can see and celebrate the power and majesty of our God by just looking at the weather, and they're our word for today from the Word of God. Listen to this, "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from His labor." Man, that is so true. We have got all our big schedules - our plans - until God intervenes with something we have absolutely no control over - the weather. It's a powerful reminder that we are not in charge and God is.
Job goes on: "The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them." Wow! Man! The winds, the fronts, the storms, the clouds - they're doing what God tells them to do! I'm reminded of the prophet Nahum's observation that the Lord has "His way in the whirlwind and the storm" (Nahum 1:3).
So when we're watching the weather on TV, we're watching the hand of God. He's making weather that will accomplish His purposes, to change plans, to direct our lives, to get people's attention, to chastise where necessary, sometimes to call people home, to protect us from making mistakes. He's doing the same thing with the changing weather of your life: the unexpected storms, the sunshine, the foggy times, the cold seasons, the warm seasons. God reaches into His weather tool kit and He pulls out whatever system will turn us to Him that will line us up with His plans, or remind us of who's really in charge here.
Watching the weather forecast ought to be an experience of praise and worship for the child of God. In a sense, the Weather Channel becomes the "Worship Channel" for seeing God at work. That is your all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father, reminding the world that He is in control. No government is, no billionaire is, no power broker is, God is in control. And don't be surprised if He uses the weather to blow you right into His arms!
Monday, April 20, 2009
2 Chronicles 35, daily reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 20
God’s Name in Your Heart
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)
When you are confused about the future, go to your Jehovah-raah, your caring shepherd. When you are anxious about provision, talk to Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides. Are your challenges too great? Seek the help of Jehovah-shalom, the Lord is peace. Is your body sick? Are your emotions weak? Jehovah-rophe, the Lord who heals you, will see you now. Do you feel like a soldier stranded behind enemy lines? Take refuge in Jehovah-nissi, the Lord my banner.
Meditating on the names of God reminds you of the character of God. Take these names and bury them in your heart.
God is
the shepherd who guides,
the Lord who provides,
the voice who brings peace in the storm,
the physician who heals the sick, and
the banner that guides the soldier.
2 Chronicles 35
Josiah Celebrates Passover
1 Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord would be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.[h] 2 Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. 3 He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve the Lord: “Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Report for duty according to the family divisions of your ancestors, following the directions of King David of Israel and the directions of his son Solomon.
5 “Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the Lord gave through Moses.”
7 Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people’s Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king’s own flocks and herds. 8 The king’s officials also made willing contributions to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of God’s Temple, gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 cattle as Passover offerings. 9 The Levite leaders—Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad—gave 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 cattle to the Levites for their Passover offerings.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover celebration, the priests and the Levites took their places, organized by their divisions, as the king had commanded. 11 The Levites then slaughtered the Passover lambs and presented the blood to the priests, who sprinkled the blood on the altar while the Levites prepared the animals. 12 They divided the burnt offerings among the people by their family groups, so they could offer them to the Lord as prescribed in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 Then they roasted the Passover lambs as prescribed; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly so the people could eat them.
14 Afterward the Levites prepared Passover offerings for themselves and for the priests—the descendants of Aaron—because the priests had been busy from morning till night offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions. The Levites took responsibility for all these preparations.
15 The musicians, descendants of Asaph, were in their assigned places, following the commands that had been given by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer. The gatekeepers guarded the gates and did not need to leave their posts of duty, for their Passover offerings were prepared for them by their fellow Levites.
16 The entire ceremony for the Lord’s Passover was completed that day. All the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had commanded. 17 All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. 19 This Passover celebration took place in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
Josiah Dies in Battle
20 After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him.[i] 21 But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message:
“What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”
22 But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. 23 But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, “Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
24 So they lifted Josiah out of his chariot and placed him in another chariot. Then they brought him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried there in the royal cemetery. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. 25 The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments.
26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion (carried out according to what was written in the Law of the Lord), 27 from beginning to end—all are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
3 John 1
Greetings
1 This letter is from John, the elder.[a]
I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers[b] recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
Caring for the Lord’s Workers
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord,[c] and they accept nothing from people who are not believers.[d] 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.[e]
12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.
Conclusion
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.
15 [f]Peace be with you.
Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.
April 20, 2009
Faithful Gaius
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 3 John
Beloved [Gaius], you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers. —3 John 1:5
Third John presents a sharp contrast between the way two members of the church welcomed believers who visited them. The letter is addressed to “the beloved” Gaius, whom John loved “in truth” (v.1). The truth was in him as he walked with God (v.3). Whatever he did for his “brethren”—itinerant missionaries and teachers such as Paul—he did it faithfully and with love (vv.5-6).
Diotrephes was another story. He was proud and domineering (v.9), and he spoke against those who came in the name of Christ (v.10), probably even Paul. In addition, he drove out of the church anyone who wanted to accept them. No doubt he did this to protect his position and self-interests and to keep the focus on himself.
My wife, Shirley, and I, along with our granddaughter Bree, recently visited a country once closed to the gospel. The believers welcomed us with trust, openness, hospitality, and genuine love. Though they had little, their generosity was astounding. What an encouragement to us! They truly followed the example of faithful Gaius.
May God give us a loving and faithful spirit that enables us to treat our fellow believers in “a manner worthy of God” (v.6). — David C. Egner
A time for fellowship that’s sweet,
A time for sacred song;
But never is there time to treat
A human being wrong. —Isenhour
Christlike hospitality is an open heart and an open home.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 20, 2009
Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . —2 Corinthians 1:20
Jesus’ parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, "You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me." When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, "I can’t." Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.
The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, "Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me." Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"? ( Matthew 6:33 ). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied— "I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable." A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, "I haven’t had a decent chance," and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.
Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What God Gives Bonuses For - #5811
Monday, April 20, 2009
So your boss calls you in - it could be good news, it could be bad news. You've probably had some of each, right? But the best good news is probably words like these: "We're giving you a raise." You're trying to be cool. You try not to leap out of your chair yelling, "Yes!", but face it, it really is good news. They will usually give you the reason you're getting a raise, or maybe a bonus: your performance, your longevity, your additional responsibilities, you're married to the boss's daughter.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What God Gives Bonuses For."
So what does the boss, I mean The Boss, base His rewards on? It's not performance, or longevity, or additional responsibilities, at least according to our word for today from the Word of God.
After David's many ups and downs, his years of being a leader for the Lord, he sums up what he has learned about the one thing that impresses God. He recorded it for us in Psalm 18:20-24. "The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me."
David goes on to explain what "righteousness" and "cleanness" involve, "For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning away from my God. All His laws are before me; I have not turned away from His decrees ... I have kept myself from sin." And just in case we missed it the first time, he says again: "The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight."
Well, there it is. God blesses and rewards us for something that human authorities may care little about: whether or not we are keeping away from sin and whether or not we are keeping God's ways. God isn't impressed by how hard you're working, how skillful you are, the results you're getting, the number of people who think you're the best, how much experience you have, the numbers you've got to show. No, it's your cleanness that God's looking for.
God gives His best to those who are passionate about being pure; who are aggressively cleaning out their remaining dirty closets, not content with just status quo holiness. The Lord rewards you because you always do what you do by the book - His Book, the Bible - from how you handle the money, to how you handle your problems, to how you handle people. He's looking for stubborn integrity. He's looking for a zero tolerance for sin and compromise in your life; a desire to be, as one great preacher said, "as holy a person as a redeemed sinner can be."
We can't earn our relationship with God. Heaven is based on us trusting completely in the work that Jesus did on the cross. But God's rewards in heaven, but also here on earth, are based on how we live. And He's got His eye on you. He has some wonderful life-bonuses He wants to give you. But He's a holy God. He can only reward holiness.
Make that the goal you strive for, to be totally His man or His woman. Because if God is impressed with you, you are unlocking heaven's blessing gate, which is bolted on our side, not His. He's looking for someone after His own holy heart. Or, in God's own words, "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 20
God’s Name in Your Heart
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)
When you are confused about the future, go to your Jehovah-raah, your caring shepherd. When you are anxious about provision, talk to Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides. Are your challenges too great? Seek the help of Jehovah-shalom, the Lord is peace. Is your body sick? Are your emotions weak? Jehovah-rophe, the Lord who heals you, will see you now. Do you feel like a soldier stranded behind enemy lines? Take refuge in Jehovah-nissi, the Lord my banner.
Meditating on the names of God reminds you of the character of God. Take these names and bury them in your heart.
God is
the shepherd who guides,
the Lord who provides,
the voice who brings peace in the storm,
the physician who heals the sick, and
the banner that guides the soldier.
2 Chronicles 35
Josiah Celebrates Passover
1 Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord would be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.[h] 2 Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. 3 He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve the Lord: “Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Report for duty according to the family divisions of your ancestors, following the directions of King David of Israel and the directions of his son Solomon.
5 “Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the Lord gave through Moses.”
7 Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people’s Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king’s own flocks and herds. 8 The king’s officials also made willing contributions to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of God’s Temple, gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 cattle as Passover offerings. 9 The Levite leaders—Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad—gave 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 cattle to the Levites for their Passover offerings.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover celebration, the priests and the Levites took their places, organized by their divisions, as the king had commanded. 11 The Levites then slaughtered the Passover lambs and presented the blood to the priests, who sprinkled the blood on the altar while the Levites prepared the animals. 12 They divided the burnt offerings among the people by their family groups, so they could offer them to the Lord as prescribed in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 Then they roasted the Passover lambs as prescribed; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly so the people could eat them.
14 Afterward the Levites prepared Passover offerings for themselves and for the priests—the descendants of Aaron—because the priests had been busy from morning till night offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions. The Levites took responsibility for all these preparations.
15 The musicians, descendants of Asaph, were in their assigned places, following the commands that had been given by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer. The gatekeepers guarded the gates and did not need to leave their posts of duty, for their Passover offerings were prepared for them by their fellow Levites.
16 The entire ceremony for the Lord’s Passover was completed that day. All the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had commanded. 17 All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. 19 This Passover celebration took place in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
Josiah Dies in Battle
20 After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him.[i] 21 But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message:
“What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”
22 But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. 23 But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, “Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
24 So they lifted Josiah out of his chariot and placed him in another chariot. Then they brought him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried there in the royal cemetery. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. 25 The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments.
26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion (carried out according to what was written in the Law of the Lord), 27 from beginning to end—all are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
3 John 1
Greetings
1 This letter is from John, the elder.[a]
I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers[b] recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
Caring for the Lord’s Workers
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord,[c] and they accept nothing from people who are not believers.[d] 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.[e]
12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.
Conclusion
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.
15 [f]Peace be with you.
Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.
April 20, 2009
Faithful Gaius
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 3 John
Beloved [Gaius], you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers. —3 John 1:5
Third John presents a sharp contrast between the way two members of the church welcomed believers who visited them. The letter is addressed to “the beloved” Gaius, whom John loved “in truth” (v.1). The truth was in him as he walked with God (v.3). Whatever he did for his “brethren”—itinerant missionaries and teachers such as Paul—he did it faithfully and with love (vv.5-6).
Diotrephes was another story. He was proud and domineering (v.9), and he spoke against those who came in the name of Christ (v.10), probably even Paul. In addition, he drove out of the church anyone who wanted to accept them. No doubt he did this to protect his position and self-interests and to keep the focus on himself.
My wife, Shirley, and I, along with our granddaughter Bree, recently visited a country once closed to the gospel. The believers welcomed us with trust, openness, hospitality, and genuine love. Though they had little, their generosity was astounding. What an encouragement to us! They truly followed the example of faithful Gaius.
May God give us a loving and faithful spirit that enables us to treat our fellow believers in “a manner worthy of God” (v.6). — David C. Egner
A time for fellowship that’s sweet,
A time for sacred song;
But never is there time to treat
A human being wrong. —Isenhour
Christlike hospitality is an open heart and an open home.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 20, 2009
Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . —2 Corinthians 1:20
Jesus’ parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, "You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me." When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, "I can’t." Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.
The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, "Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me." Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"? ( Matthew 6:33 ). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied— "I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable." A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, "I haven’t had a decent chance," and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.
Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What God Gives Bonuses For - #5811
Monday, April 20, 2009
So your boss calls you in - it could be good news, it could be bad news. You've probably had some of each, right? But the best good news is probably words like these: "We're giving you a raise." You're trying to be cool. You try not to leap out of your chair yelling, "Yes!", but face it, it really is good news. They will usually give you the reason you're getting a raise, or maybe a bonus: your performance, your longevity, your additional responsibilities, you're married to the boss's daughter.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What God Gives Bonuses For."
So what does the boss, I mean The Boss, base His rewards on? It's not performance, or longevity, or additional responsibilities, at least according to our word for today from the Word of God.
After David's many ups and downs, his years of being a leader for the Lord, he sums up what he has learned about the one thing that impresses God. He recorded it for us in Psalm 18:20-24. "The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me."
David goes on to explain what "righteousness" and "cleanness" involve, "For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning away from my God. All His laws are before me; I have not turned away from His decrees ... I have kept myself from sin." And just in case we missed it the first time, he says again: "The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight."
Well, there it is. God blesses and rewards us for something that human authorities may care little about: whether or not we are keeping away from sin and whether or not we are keeping God's ways. God isn't impressed by how hard you're working, how skillful you are, the results you're getting, the number of people who think you're the best, how much experience you have, the numbers you've got to show. No, it's your cleanness that God's looking for.
God gives His best to those who are passionate about being pure; who are aggressively cleaning out their remaining dirty closets, not content with just status quo holiness. The Lord rewards you because you always do what you do by the book - His Book, the Bible - from how you handle the money, to how you handle your problems, to how you handle people. He's looking for stubborn integrity. He's looking for a zero tolerance for sin and compromise in your life; a desire to be, as one great preacher said, "as holy a person as a redeemed sinner can be."
We can't earn our relationship with God. Heaven is based on us trusting completely in the work that Jesus did on the cross. But God's rewards in heaven, but also here on earth, are based on how we live. And He's got His eye on you. He has some wonderful life-bonuses He wants to give you. But He's a holy God. He can only reward holiness.
Make that the goal you strive for, to be totally His man or His woman. Because if God is impressed with you, you are unlocking heaven's blessing gate, which is bolted on our side, not His. He's looking for someone after His own holy heart. Or, in God's own words, "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
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