Max Lucado Daily: Tailor-Made
Tailor-Made
Posted: 23 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Receive the kingdom God has prepared for you since the world was made.” Matthew 25:34
The problem with this world is that it doesn’t fit. Oh, it will do for now, but it isn’t tailor-made. We were made to live with God, but on earth we live by faith. We were made to live forever, but on this earth we live but for a moment. We were made to live holy lives, but this world is stained by sin.
This world wears like a borrowed shirt. Heaven will fit like one tailor-made.
Matthew 27:27-50 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Acts 17:16-31
Acts 17:16-31 (NIV)Ac 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' 29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
Still True Today
January 24, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
While Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. —Acts 17:16
The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, has an extensive collection of ancient Bible fragments dating back to the second century AD. One fragment on display is a piece of Acts 17:16.
The message that ancient fragment displays, however, is as contemporary as today’s newspaper. It reads, “While Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Paul was angered by the proliferation of idols in ancient Athens, and I am convinced he would be upset with us today.
Some idols that we see in today’s world are different than the ones in Paul’s day. Whether it’s wealth, fame, power, athletes, entertainers, or politicians, contemporary idols abound. As always, our spiritual enemy, Satan, seeks to lure us away from the Savior to the false worship of idols. Christians are not immune, and thus we must guard our hearts against self-righteous anger toward unbelievers who seem to worship everything but God.
We must also be drawn by Christ’s love to reach out to those who don’t know Him. Then, like the believers at Thessalonica, they may turn “to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne
And worship only Thee. —Cowper
An idol is anything that takes God’s rightful place.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 24th, 2011
God’s Overpowering Purpose
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .—Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . .” (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision”—not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “. . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . .” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Intimate Bonding - #6271
Monday, January 24, 2011
Now, you probably wouldn't expect the subject of intimacy to come up in a discussion of wallpaper, but it did. Of course, you've never been in a discussion with me, so maybe that's not a surprise to you. I have a friend who is a painter and a wallpaperer for a living, and he was helping in our office. He actually volunteered to help us out by scraping the old wallpaper off a wall that really needed some work. And before we were in our building, someone had put wallpaper on the sheet rock years ago. Well, when I walked in, he was very frustrated because what happened was, well apparently, when they had applied that wallpaper to the sheet rock they hadn't put any preparation layer on it. So, you can probably guess what happened. The wallpaper and the top layer of the sheet rock had sort of become one. And when he scraped off the wallpaper, yeah, you got it. The top layer of the sheet rock came with it. He was pretty frustrated, and he held them up to me and he said, "I can't separate them!" Then he said, "You know what we call this, Ron?" We being wallpaperers I guess. He said, "We call this an intimate bond." Well, those intimate bonds are hard to separate.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Intimate Bonding."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from the lips of Jesus in Mark 10 , beginning at verse 7. "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. And the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate." Sounds strangely like a conversation I had with the wallpaperer doesn't it? Separated...bonded in a way that you really cannot separate them.
Well, if you go over the 1 Corinthians 6:16 , you find out what powerful glue sexual involvement is between two people. Here's what it says, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said that two will become one flesh." Now, there's no more meaningless sex than with a prostitute. But even that creates a lasting intimate bond. Our society has devalued this wonderful bonding that God has given us, but it hasn't weakened its power. And maybe you're devaluing this great gift of sexual closeness and intimacy without even knowing it. Let me suggest some ways that happens.
One is sex without commitment. It could be that you've experimented with sex and played around with it without a lifetime commitment to a partner, and that leaves permanent scars. You're playing with something that will make that person always a part of you, and that's scary. And if you do it often enough, you will lose your bondability; like tape that gets stuck too often. You won't be able to stick to another person in that bonded way the Bible talks about.
Secondly, you can devalue it by using sex as a weapon. That's why in 1 Corinthians 7 , the Bible says, "Don't deprive each other in marriage of a sexual relationship." Don't use sex as a weapon. It's too special to abuse by using it to get your own way. It's not a weapon!
Thirdly, we can devalue this bonding by sex without meaning, where you are married but you really aren't one. You had an argument; you're in disagreement, but you're going through the motions. Get your oneness together again emotionally, so you can express it physically.
And finally, you can devaluate it with sex outside the boundaries. That could be an adulterous relationship or somehow you introduce another person into this intimate, unbreakable bond. And you create an emotional schizophrenia for everyone involved.
Look, have you played with God's bonding gift? Well, confess that to Him. Let Him cleanse you as 1 John 1:9 promises He will, that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Make it right. Reserve it for one relationship, and then use it unselfishly. I can still see that wallpaper and that sheet rock merged into one, when it's right, it is so beautiful. When bonding is wrong, it's so destructive.
The language of love that God calls sex - it truly is an intimate bond.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Exodus 20, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: He Meets Your Needs
Max Lucado Daily: He Meets Your Needs
He Meets Your Needs
Posted: 22 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries.” Matthew 6:34
God liberated his children from slavery and created a path through the sea. He gave them a cloud to follow in the day and fire to see at night. And he gave them food . . .
Each morning the manna came. Each evening the quail appeared. “Trust me. Trust me and I will give you what you need.” The people were told to take just enough for one day. Their needs would be met, one day at a time.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 14:26–15:2
Exodus 14:26-31 (NIV)Ex 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Exodus 15
The Song of Moses and Miriam
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 “The LORD is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
God Is At Work
January 23, 2011 — by Anne Cetas
He is my God, and I will praise Him. —Exodus 15:2
Jack and Trisha were driving to the hospital late one night for the birth of their second child when the unexpected happened. Trisha began to deliver the baby! Jack called 911 and Cherie White, an emergency dispatcher, was able to talk Jack through the delivery. But the baby wouldn’t breathe. So Cherie then instructed Jack how to give emergency breathing, which he had to do for 6 anxious minutes. Finally the newborn took a breath and cried. When asked later how they all got through the ordeal and remained calm, Cherie responded, “I’m glad God works midnights!”
I love to hear media reports in which God gets the glory He deserves for something good that has happened. In the Bible reading for today, it’s obvious that God should get the credit for parting the Red Sea to help His people escape from Pharaoh, even though Moses was the one who raised his rod (Ex. 14:26-27). All the Israelites and Moses gathered together and sang the Lord’s praises: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (15:11).
When something good happens, the Lord deserves the credit, for He is the source of all that is good. Give Him the glory. Aren’t you glad He works midnights?
What may seem like coincidence
As we live out our story
Is God at work behind the scenes—
So give Him all the glory. —Sper
Seeing God at work puts a song in our heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 23rd, 2011
Transformed by Beholding
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . .”
Max Lucado Daily: He Meets Your Needs
He Meets Your Needs
Posted: 22 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries.” Matthew 6:34
God liberated his children from slavery and created a path through the sea. He gave them a cloud to follow in the day and fire to see at night. And he gave them food . . .
Each morning the manna came. Each evening the quail appeared. “Trust me. Trust me and I will give you what you need.” The people were told to take just enough for one day. Their needs would be met, one day at a time.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 14:26–15:2
Exodus 14:26-31 (NIV)Ex 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Exodus 15
The Song of Moses and Miriam
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 “The LORD is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
God Is At Work
January 23, 2011 — by Anne Cetas
He is my God, and I will praise Him. —Exodus 15:2
Jack and Trisha were driving to the hospital late one night for the birth of their second child when the unexpected happened. Trisha began to deliver the baby! Jack called 911 and Cherie White, an emergency dispatcher, was able to talk Jack through the delivery. But the baby wouldn’t breathe. So Cherie then instructed Jack how to give emergency breathing, which he had to do for 6 anxious minutes. Finally the newborn took a breath and cried. When asked later how they all got through the ordeal and remained calm, Cherie responded, “I’m glad God works midnights!”
I love to hear media reports in which God gets the glory He deserves for something good that has happened. In the Bible reading for today, it’s obvious that God should get the credit for parting the Red Sea to help His people escape from Pharaoh, even though Moses was the one who raised his rod (Ex. 14:26-27). All the Israelites and Moses gathered together and sang the Lord’s praises: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (15:11).
When something good happens, the Lord deserves the credit, for He is the source of all that is good. Give Him the glory. Aren’t you glad He works midnights?
What may seem like coincidence
As we live out our story
Is God at work behind the scenes—
So give Him all the glory. —Sper
Seeing God at work puts a song in our heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 23rd, 2011
Transformed by Beholding
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . .”
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Exodus 19, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: God Does Strange Things
God Does Strange Things
Posted: 21 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you.” Isaiah 26:3
Have you got God figured out? If so, then listen . . .
Hear the rocks meant for the adulterous woman drop to the ground . . .
Listen to the widow of Nain eating dinner with her son who is supposed to be dead . . .
God . . . doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears.
Exodus 19
At Mount Sinai
1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.
9 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
24 The LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 2:1-9
James 2:1-9 (NIV)Jas 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
The Outcast
January 22, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
If you show partiality, you commit sin. —James 2:9
His face was grimy, his hair long and dirty. Beer stained his clothing and perfumed the air around him. When he stepped into the church building, the Sunday worshipers ignored him. They were stunned when the man approached the pulpit, took off his wig, and began preaching. That’s when they realized he was their pastor.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to be friendly and shake hands with the people I know and those who pre-sent themselves well.
James issued a serious warning for people like me. He said, “If you show partiality, you commit sin” (2:9). Favoritism based on appearance or economic status has no place in God’s family. In fact, it means we have “become judges with evil thoughts” (v.4).
Fortunately, we can guard against preferential treatment by loving our neighbor as ourselves—no matter who our neighbor may be. Reaching out to the homeless man, the hungry woman, or the heartbroken teen means we “fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture” (v.8).
In a world that keeps the outcast at arm’s length, let’s show the love of Christ and embrace the one who needs our care the most.
Forgive me, Lord, for prejudice—
Remove its subtle lie;
Oh, fill my heart with Your great love
That sent Your Son to die. —D. De Haan
True Christian love helps those who can’t return the favor.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 22nd, 2011
Am I Looking To God?
Look to Me, and be saved . . . —Isaiah 45:22
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me . . . .”
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.
Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me . . . .” Salvation is yours the moment you look.
God Does Strange Things
Posted: 21 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you.” Isaiah 26:3
Have you got God figured out? If so, then listen . . .
Hear the rocks meant for the adulterous woman drop to the ground . . .
Listen to the widow of Nain eating dinner with her son who is supposed to be dead . . .
God . . . doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears.
Exodus 19
At Mount Sinai
1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.
9 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
24 The LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 2:1-9
James 2:1-9 (NIV)Jas 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
The Outcast
January 22, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
If you show partiality, you commit sin. —James 2:9
His face was grimy, his hair long and dirty. Beer stained his clothing and perfumed the air around him. When he stepped into the church building, the Sunday worshipers ignored him. They were stunned when the man approached the pulpit, took off his wig, and began preaching. That’s when they realized he was their pastor.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to be friendly and shake hands with the people I know and those who pre-sent themselves well.
James issued a serious warning for people like me. He said, “If you show partiality, you commit sin” (2:9). Favoritism based on appearance or economic status has no place in God’s family. In fact, it means we have “become judges with evil thoughts” (v.4).
Fortunately, we can guard against preferential treatment by loving our neighbor as ourselves—no matter who our neighbor may be. Reaching out to the homeless man, the hungry woman, or the heartbroken teen means we “fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture” (v.8).
In a world that keeps the outcast at arm’s length, let’s show the love of Christ and embrace the one who needs our care the most.
Forgive me, Lord, for prejudice—
Remove its subtle lie;
Oh, fill my heart with Your great love
That sent Your Son to die. —D. De Haan
True Christian love helps those who can’t return the favor.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 22nd, 2011
Am I Looking To God?
Look to Me, and be saved . . . —Isaiah 45:22
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me . . . .”
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation— it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God.
Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me . . . .” Salvation is yours the moment you look.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Matthew 27, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: God Leads Us
God Leads Us
Posted: 20 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.” Matthew 6:27
Anxiety is an expensive habit. Of course, it might be worth the cost if it worked. But it doesn’t. Our frets are futile.
Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.
God leads us. God will do the right thing at the right time. And what a difference that makes.
Matthew 27
Judas Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)Eph 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Nature Abhors A Vacuum
January 21, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Be filled with all the fullness of God. —Ephesians 3:19
According to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Aristotle based his conclusion on the observation that nature requires every space to be filled with something, even if that something is colorless, odorless air.
The same principle is at work in our spiritual lives. When the Holy Spirit begins to convict us of sin, the idea of starting a self-improvement plan immediately comes to mind. We put forth our best effort to defeat our worst habits. But every attempt to get rid of unclean thoughts, attitudes, and desires is destined to fail because getting rid of one creates a vacuum in our souls. As soon as we empty ourselves of one vice, others move in to take its place, and we end up just as bad or worse than when we started.
Thinking about vacuums helps us to understand the importance of what Paul was saying to the Ephesians when he prayed that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith and that they would “know the love of Christ . . . that [they] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19).
The only permanent solution to the problem of sin in our lives is to replace it with the love of Jesus, which fills the vacuum. The more we are filled with His love, the less room there is for any evil thing.
Father, thank You for Your Spirit
Fill us with His love and power;
Change us into Christ’s own image
Day by day and hour by hour. —Anon.
We don’t need to put our house in order before Jesus comes in;
He puts it in order after we let Him in.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 21st, 2011
Recall What God Remembers
Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . .” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Game of the King - #6270
Friday, January 21, 2011
I think my brief visit to Israel has to be one of the richest memories of my life. I'm not selling Holy Land tours; I'm not going to have a Ron Hutchcraft Holy Land Tour that I'm promoting. I'm just remembering with you in my company, some especially golden moments. One of those was in this dark, damp, cobblestone basement of what is now a church on the Via Dolorosa. Two thousand years ago it wasn't; it was part of the palace of Pontius Pilate, the Governor. And I realized that I was standing on stones where Jesus was humiliated in front of a howling mob by some hardened Roman soldiers. And I can't forget the feelings of that. The guide showed us some markings that were scratched into the stones there; probably by some Roman soldiers. He said, "This was a board for a crude game that they called The Game of The King, and the soldiers loved to play it. In fact, they may have played it with Jesus on those very stones. And you know, that game is still being played today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Game of the King."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 27 . I'll begin in verse 27. It's a familiar and really heart-rending passage about the suffering that Jesus went through even before His crucifixion.
"Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him, stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. 'Hail, King of the Jews!' they said. They spit on Him, took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him and then they led Him away to crucify Him."
Now, they told us as we stood in that place that had been the place of trial in Pilot's palace that the game of the king was something that the Roman soldiers often played. And the winner in this game shot dice on this board that they scratched out on the stones. And that winner got to pick a prisoner, who they would get to "honor" as king for the week, and they would bring Him out and they would subject Him to all kinds of humiliation. That was there prize. In this case, it was the King of Kings, and He created those soldiers. All the proper symbols were there. There was a robe, a crown, a scepter. The words were right - The King of the Jews. But it was all mockery.
Oh, you probably say with me, "Man, that's ugly. That is perverted." Well, it is. But some of us may be playing an updated version of The Game of The King today. Could it be that you're saying all the right words about Jesus, "He's the King! He's the Lord!" You go to the right meetings; you carry all the right symbols: a Bible, Christian literature, church involvement. But it's all a mockery. Those soldiers had no intention of actually doing what Jesus said.
Look at your life; your romantic life. Your words may say, "Jesus is Lord," but who's really running it? How about your business? Who's running it - Him or you? Listen to the tapes of what you sound like at home. Who's the king of your family relationships, your money, your music, your mouth? Who's really running things? It's not the words that count.
If you're saying Christ is Lord, but you're really ignoring Him much of the time, you may be playing The Game of the King. The most dangerous version of The Game of the King is to say all the right words about Jesus, go to all the right meetings, have all the right symbols, and have everybody think you're a Christian, but you've never given your heart to Him - your attendance, your money, maybe even your belief, but you've never given you to Him.
You can't play games with the King of Kings. You can't play games at the cross. He died for you, and maybe this is your day. Maybe He's come to you today through our little visit to say, "Come to Me today and make it real for you." If you'd like to do that, you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Maybe visit our website. There's a lot of help there for you - YoursForLife.net.
Remember, those who play games with the King always lose.
God Leads Us
Posted: 20 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.” Matthew 6:27
Anxiety is an expensive habit. Of course, it might be worth the cost if it worked. But it doesn’t. Our frets are futile.
Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.
God leads us. God will do the right thing at the right time. And what a difference that makes.
Matthew 27
Judas Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)Eph 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Nature Abhors A Vacuum
January 21, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Be filled with all the fullness of God. —Ephesians 3:19
According to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Aristotle based his conclusion on the observation that nature requires every space to be filled with something, even if that something is colorless, odorless air.
The same principle is at work in our spiritual lives. When the Holy Spirit begins to convict us of sin, the idea of starting a self-improvement plan immediately comes to mind. We put forth our best effort to defeat our worst habits. But every attempt to get rid of unclean thoughts, attitudes, and desires is destined to fail because getting rid of one creates a vacuum in our souls. As soon as we empty ourselves of one vice, others move in to take its place, and we end up just as bad or worse than when we started.
Thinking about vacuums helps us to understand the importance of what Paul was saying to the Ephesians when he prayed that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith and that they would “know the love of Christ . . . that [they] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19).
The only permanent solution to the problem of sin in our lives is to replace it with the love of Jesus, which fills the vacuum. The more we are filled with His love, the less room there is for any evil thing.
Father, thank You for Your Spirit
Fill us with His love and power;
Change us into Christ’s own image
Day by day and hour by hour. —Anon.
We don’t need to put our house in order before Jesus comes in;
He puts it in order after we let Him in.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 21st, 2011
Recall What God Remembers
Thus says the Lord: ’I remember . . . the kindness of your youth . . .’ —Jeremiah 2:2
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Does everything in my life fill His heart with gladness, or do I constantly complain because things don’t seem to be going my way? A person who has forgotten what God treasures will not be filled with joy. It is wonderful to remember that Jesus Christ has needs which we can meet— “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). How much kindness have I shown Him in the past week? Has my life been a good reflection on His reputation?
God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . .” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him?
As I recall what God remembers about me, I may also begin to realize that He is not what He used to be to me. When this happens, I should allow the shame and humiliation it creates in my life, because it will bring godly sorrow, and “godly sorrow produces repentance . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Game of the King - #6270
Friday, January 21, 2011
I think my brief visit to Israel has to be one of the richest memories of my life. I'm not selling Holy Land tours; I'm not going to have a Ron Hutchcraft Holy Land Tour that I'm promoting. I'm just remembering with you in my company, some especially golden moments. One of those was in this dark, damp, cobblestone basement of what is now a church on the Via Dolorosa. Two thousand years ago it wasn't; it was part of the palace of Pontius Pilate, the Governor. And I realized that I was standing on stones where Jesus was humiliated in front of a howling mob by some hardened Roman soldiers. And I can't forget the feelings of that. The guide showed us some markings that were scratched into the stones there; probably by some Roman soldiers. He said, "This was a board for a crude game that they called The Game of The King, and the soldiers loved to play it. In fact, they may have played it with Jesus on those very stones. And you know, that game is still being played today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Game of the King."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 27 . I'll begin in verse 27. It's a familiar and really heart-rending passage about the suffering that Jesus went through even before His crucifixion.
"Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him, stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. 'Hail, King of the Jews!' they said. They spit on Him, took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him and then they led Him away to crucify Him."
Now, they told us as we stood in that place that had been the place of trial in Pilot's palace that the game of the king was something that the Roman soldiers often played. And the winner in this game shot dice on this board that they scratched out on the stones. And that winner got to pick a prisoner, who they would get to "honor" as king for the week, and they would bring Him out and they would subject Him to all kinds of humiliation. That was there prize. In this case, it was the King of Kings, and He created those soldiers. All the proper symbols were there. There was a robe, a crown, a scepter. The words were right - The King of the Jews. But it was all mockery.
Oh, you probably say with me, "Man, that's ugly. That is perverted." Well, it is. But some of us may be playing an updated version of The Game of The King today. Could it be that you're saying all the right words about Jesus, "He's the King! He's the Lord!" You go to the right meetings; you carry all the right symbols: a Bible, Christian literature, church involvement. But it's all a mockery. Those soldiers had no intention of actually doing what Jesus said.
Look at your life; your romantic life. Your words may say, "Jesus is Lord," but who's really running it? How about your business? Who's running it - Him or you? Listen to the tapes of what you sound like at home. Who's the king of your family relationships, your money, your music, your mouth? Who's really running things? It's not the words that count.
If you're saying Christ is Lord, but you're really ignoring Him much of the time, you may be playing The Game of the King. The most dangerous version of The Game of the King is to say all the right words about Jesus, go to all the right meetings, have all the right symbols, and have everybody think you're a Christian, but you've never given your heart to Him - your attendance, your money, maybe even your belief, but you've never given you to Him.
You can't play games with the King of Kings. You can't play games at the cross. He died for you, and maybe this is your day. Maybe He's come to you today through our little visit to say, "Come to Me today and make it real for you." If you'd like to do that, you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." Maybe visit our website. There's a lot of help there for you - YoursForLife.net.
Remember, those who play games with the King always lose.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Exodus 18, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: The Purpose In Our Pain
The Purpose In Our Pain
Posted: 19 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God.” Philippians 2:17
When we face struggles, we often wonder, Why? Years from now, though, we may realize that it was those struggles that taught us something we could not have otherwise learned—that there was a purpose in our pain. God’s purpose is greater than your pain, and he has a greater purpose than your problems.
Exodus 18
Jethro Visits Moses
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.
9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Deuteronomy 10:12-17
Deuteronomy 10:12-17 (NIV)Dt 12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
Fear And Love
January 20, 2011 — by Albert Lee
What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear [Him] . . . and to love Him. —Deuteronomy 10:12
Someone shared with me her observation about two bosses. One is loved but not feared by his subordinates. Because they love their boss but don’t respect his authority, they don’t follow his guidelines. The other boss is both feared and loved by those who serve under him, and their good behavior shows it.
The Lord desires that His people both fear and love Him too. Today’s Bible passage, Deuteronomy 10, says that keeping God’s guidelines involves both. In verse 12, we are told “to fear the Lord your God” and “to love Him.”
To “fear” the Lord God is to give Him the highest respect. For the believer, it is not a matter of feeling intimidated by Him or His character. But out of respect for His person and authority, we walk in all His ways and keep His commandments. Out of “love,” we serve Him with all our heart and with all our soul—rather than merely out of duty (v.12).
Love flows out of our deep gratitude for His love for us, rather than out of our likes and dislikes. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our fear and love for God enable us to walk willingly in obedience to God’s law.
Lord, You are holy and Your thoughts are much higher
than mine. I bow before You. Thank You for salvation in Jesus.
I love You and want to obey You with all of
my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Amen.
If we fear and love God, we will obey Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 20th, 2011
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Leading of a Lifetime - #6269
Thursday, January 20, 2011
If you're paying attention, a child will often tip you off very early as to what to expect from them later on in life. I've got movies of our daughter, and she was about five or six, seven years old, singing for us using a spoon - a big wooden spoon - as a microphone and standing on something in the living room as a stage. Well, over the years, God used her wonderfully in singing, and musically, and speaking. It was really no great shock; we saw the first hints of that when she was little. When our son was five, he was tying our house together with string very imaginatively. I'd walk in...I'd open the back door, and it would open the drawer of my dresser in the bedroom. He had everything tied together. At the age of 13 he was the technician of the house, who loved to figure out how things work; how to take them apart; how to put them together, I hope - how to solve problems. You know what? Grew up to be a great planner and a very creative technician in ministry. There's a pattern...a connective line from the past into the future in the life of every child; my child and God's child. In fact, that's true of you too.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leading of a Lifetime."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 37 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Verse 23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way." Don't you get the feeling as you hear about how God is leading in these passages that His leading in our lives is a consistent, long-term pattern - not usually a sudden departure. God usually leads in a straight line. Hey doesn't just go "boing" off in some tangent. It's a straight line from what He's been doing in your past, on into the present, and consistently into your future.
Now, maybe you're at one of those crossroads right now. It's decision time; you've got a major choice to make. Well, one guideline in determining what God wants for the future is to see where He's been leading you and how He's been leading you in the past. For example, here it talks about Him giving you the desires of your heart. Could you trust your desires in this decision? Well, if you've kept the first part of the verse you can. "Delight yourself in the Lord."
Have you been, over the last months and years, having daily time with the Lord, where you're just enjoying Him?
Then it says, "Commit your way to the Lord." I wonder if you've said to Him over and over again about this area of your life, "Lord, anything goes. Whatever You say is okay." You're not giving Him a contract to sign; you're giving Him a blank piece of paper.
Well, with those understandings when you're trying to decide, look at those desires you've felt for a long time, especially the ones you've felt when you've been close to Him. Not just things you've felt for days. And if they line up with God's Word and with good counsel, and with the facts, those desires are probably God-planted.
Now, keep a spiritual diary of what He says to you through the Bible. I've been doing that for years. I'm so glad I've got that. Don't decide a major decision on one verse, but look at the things God has been saying to you over and over. Look for the pattern. God's will for tomorrow will pull together all He's been doing in your life up until now: the experiences, the fulfilling achievements, the talents, the desires, the themes that He's unfolded to you in His Word.
So before you look ahead, look back at God's pattern in your life. His will is the natural next step of following Him daily up until now. He's leading you in a straight line. So, don't just grab the impulse of a moment. Look for the leading of a lifetime.
The Purpose In Our Pain
Posted: 19 Jan 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God.” Philippians 2:17
When we face struggles, we often wonder, Why? Years from now, though, we may realize that it was those struggles that taught us something we could not have otherwise learned—that there was a purpose in our pain. God’s purpose is greater than your pain, and he has a greater purpose than your problems.
Exodus 18
Jethro Visits Moses
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.
9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Deuteronomy 10:12-17
Deuteronomy 10:12-17 (NIV)Dt 12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
Fear And Love
January 20, 2011 — by Albert Lee
What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear [Him] . . . and to love Him. —Deuteronomy 10:12
Someone shared with me her observation about two bosses. One is loved but not feared by his subordinates. Because they love their boss but don’t respect his authority, they don’t follow his guidelines. The other boss is both feared and loved by those who serve under him, and their good behavior shows it.
The Lord desires that His people both fear and love Him too. Today’s Bible passage, Deuteronomy 10, says that keeping God’s guidelines involves both. In verse 12, we are told “to fear the Lord your God” and “to love Him.”
To “fear” the Lord God is to give Him the highest respect. For the believer, it is not a matter of feeling intimidated by Him or His character. But out of respect for His person and authority, we walk in all His ways and keep His commandments. Out of “love,” we serve Him with all our heart and with all our soul—rather than merely out of duty (v.12).
Love flows out of our deep gratitude for His love for us, rather than out of our likes and dislikes. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our fear and love for God enable us to walk willingly in obedience to God’s law.
Lord, You are holy and Your thoughts are much higher
than mine. I bow before You. Thank You for salvation in Jesus.
I love You and want to obey You with all of
my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Amen.
If we fear and love God, we will obey Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 20th, 2011
Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, ’Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Leading of a Lifetime - #6269
Thursday, January 20, 2011
If you're paying attention, a child will often tip you off very early as to what to expect from them later on in life. I've got movies of our daughter, and she was about five or six, seven years old, singing for us using a spoon - a big wooden spoon - as a microphone and standing on something in the living room as a stage. Well, over the years, God used her wonderfully in singing, and musically, and speaking. It was really no great shock; we saw the first hints of that when she was little. When our son was five, he was tying our house together with string very imaginatively. I'd walk in...I'd open the back door, and it would open the drawer of my dresser in the bedroom. He had everything tied together. At the age of 13 he was the technician of the house, who loved to figure out how things work; how to take them apart; how to put them together, I hope - how to solve problems. You know what? Grew up to be a great planner and a very creative technician in ministry. There's a pattern...a connective line from the past into the future in the life of every child; my child and God's child. In fact, that's true of you too.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leading of a Lifetime."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 37 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Verse 23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way." Don't you get the feeling as you hear about how God is leading in these passages that His leading in our lives is a consistent, long-term pattern - not usually a sudden departure. God usually leads in a straight line. Hey doesn't just go "boing" off in some tangent. It's a straight line from what He's been doing in your past, on into the present, and consistently into your future.
Now, maybe you're at one of those crossroads right now. It's decision time; you've got a major choice to make. Well, one guideline in determining what God wants for the future is to see where He's been leading you and how He's been leading you in the past. For example, here it talks about Him giving you the desires of your heart. Could you trust your desires in this decision? Well, if you've kept the first part of the verse you can. "Delight yourself in the Lord."
Have you been, over the last months and years, having daily time with the Lord, where you're just enjoying Him?
Then it says, "Commit your way to the Lord." I wonder if you've said to Him over and over again about this area of your life, "Lord, anything goes. Whatever You say is okay." You're not giving Him a contract to sign; you're giving Him a blank piece of paper.
Well, with those understandings when you're trying to decide, look at those desires you've felt for a long time, especially the ones you've felt when you've been close to Him. Not just things you've felt for days. And if they line up with God's Word and with good counsel, and with the facts, those desires are probably God-planted.
Now, keep a spiritual diary of what He says to you through the Bible. I've been doing that for years. I'm so glad I've got that. Don't decide a major decision on one verse, but look at the things God has been saying to you over and over. Look for the pattern. God's will for tomorrow will pull together all He's been doing in your life up until now: the experiences, the fulfilling achievements, the talents, the desires, the themes that He's unfolded to you in His Word.
So before you look ahead, look back at God's pattern in your life. His will is the natural next step of following Him daily up until now. He's leading you in a straight line. So, don't just grab the impulse of a moment. Look for the leading of a lifetime.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Exodus 17, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: God Loves What Is Right
“Love . . . does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” I Corinthians 13:6 NASB
Isn’t it good to know that even when we don’t love with a perfect love, God does? He always nourishes what is right. He always applauds what is right. He has never done wrong, led one person to do wrong, or rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For he is love, and love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.”
Exodus 17
Water From the Rock
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
The Amalekites Defeated
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NIV)1Co 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
When Someone Falls
January 19, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. —1 Corinthians 10:12
It has become so commonplace to hear of the misconduct of a respected public figure that even though we may be deeply disappointed, we are hardly surprised. But how should we respond to the news of a moral failure, whether by a prominent person or a friend? We might begin by looking at ourselves. A century ago, Oswald Chambers told his students at the Bible Training College in London, “Always remain alert to the fact that where one man has gone back is exactly where anyone may go back . . . . Unguarded strength is double weakness.”
Chambers’ words echo Paul’s warning to be aware of our own vulnerability when we see the sins of others. After reviewing the disobedience of the Israelites in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-5), Paul urged his readers to learn from those sins so they wouldn’t repeat them (vv.6-11). He focused not on past failings but on present pride when he wrote, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (v.12).
The head shaken in reproach is a common response to public sin. More helpful is the head that nods, “Yes, I am capable of that,” then bows in prayer for the one who has fallen and the one who thinks he stands.
Blessed Savior, make me humble,
Take away my sinful pride;
In myself I’m sure to stumble,
Help me stay close by Your side. —D. De Haan
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. —Proverbs 16:18
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 19th, 2011
Vision and Darkness
When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12
Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Poison in the Blood Stream - #6268
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I imagine it's been a little while since you've asked somebody, "How's your liver today?" I never thought about it until my wife got sick. She had hepatitis, and for many months I learned how vital the liver is; never thought about it before. It's the filtration plant of your body. We've got all kinds of toxic materials pumping into us every day in medicines that we take, and foods that we eat, and our liver keeps those poisons from getting into our blood stream. Now, liver disease like hepatitis or cirrhosis can cripple you or even kill you if the poison can't be filtered. See, it's deadly if the poisons don't get filtered and they get into your blood stream. And there is one toxin that is on the loose, and it has a long history of being a killer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Poison in the Blood Stream."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Matthew 27 . I'll begin reading from verse 18. And you are going to see the identification of perhaps one of life's most deadly toxins. We're in the middle of one of history's most ironic and most tragic episodes. Israel's Messiah has come in the person of Jesus Christ, and yet ironically it is the religious leaders who are clamoring to have Him executed. They bring Him to Pilate, because they don't have the authority to put Him to death. And there was a sobering footnote here as He is on trial before Pilate. It's sort of a spiritual EKG that looks inside the human heart; what makes people so mean, so critical, so destructive. And it identifies that awful poison in the human blood stream.
Here's what it says in a little footnote to the trial of Jesus. "For Pilate knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." In the words of the King James, "Out of envy they had delivered Jesus up to him." Oh, they offered a lot of smoke screens; they gave other reasons. A lot of it was spiritual talk. There were religious reasons, and they sounded very, very spiritual about it. But the real issue - bottom line - was envy. Jesus was delivered up because of it, and people are still being delivered up because of envy.
The dictionary says that envy is "a feeling of discontent or jealousy, usually with ill will at seeing another's superiority, advantages or success." You see, envy is a denial of God's faithful provision for His children. It's saying, "You know what? He's got one I don't. How come? How come I don't have any? It's not fair." And it often causes us to crucify people with religious words of course.
But envy is a poison in the blood stream. It always starts with comparing. You can't envy unless you first compare homes, children, or beauty, or opportunities, or clothes, or positions with what somebody else has. Isn't it interesting that one of the Ten Commandments of God is "You shall not covet." And you know what? You'll never covet if you don't compare. It always starts with comparing.
Think of someone you've been critical of lately - maybe negative toward them. When they come around you, you start getting some dark feelings. I wonder if you'd be honest enough to examine your motives today. Could it be envy at the root? You've seen what you perceive to be maybe their superiority, or their advantages, or their success. Ask yourself this, "If envy is in my life, Lord, who is the object of it? Envy gets all dressed up, starts to deliver someone up for destruction. It is an ugly poison in the blood stream. Pray for that person that you might be envying.
Call envy by name, and trust your Shepherd to give you what's right for you. Filter out that poison of envy. It's a killer!
“Love . . . does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” I Corinthians 13:6 NASB
Isn’t it good to know that even when we don’t love with a perfect love, God does? He always nourishes what is right. He always applauds what is right. He has never done wrong, led one person to do wrong, or rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For he is love, and love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.”
Exodus 17
Water From the Rock
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
The Amalekites Defeated
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NIV)1Co 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
When Someone Falls
January 19, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. —1 Corinthians 10:12
It has become so commonplace to hear of the misconduct of a respected public figure that even though we may be deeply disappointed, we are hardly surprised. But how should we respond to the news of a moral failure, whether by a prominent person or a friend? We might begin by looking at ourselves. A century ago, Oswald Chambers told his students at the Bible Training College in London, “Always remain alert to the fact that where one man has gone back is exactly where anyone may go back . . . . Unguarded strength is double weakness.”
Chambers’ words echo Paul’s warning to be aware of our own vulnerability when we see the sins of others. After reviewing the disobedience of the Israelites in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-5), Paul urged his readers to learn from those sins so they wouldn’t repeat them (vv.6-11). He focused not on past failings but on present pride when he wrote, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (v.12).
The head shaken in reproach is a common response to public sin. More helpful is the head that nods, “Yes, I am capable of that,” then bows in prayer for the one who has fallen and the one who thinks he stands.
Blessed Savior, make me humble,
Take away my sinful pride;
In myself I’m sure to stumble,
Help me stay close by Your side. —D. De Haan
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. —Proverbs 16:18
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 19th, 2011
Vision and Darkness
When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him —Genesis 15:12
Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in “the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a “darkness” that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen. The story of Abram and Hagar in Genesis 16 is an excellent example of listening to so-called good advice during a time of darkness, rather than waiting for God to send the light. When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11).
Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God . . .”— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Poison in the Blood Stream - #6268
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I imagine it's been a little while since you've asked somebody, "How's your liver today?" I never thought about it until my wife got sick. She had hepatitis, and for many months I learned how vital the liver is; never thought about it before. It's the filtration plant of your body. We've got all kinds of toxic materials pumping into us every day in medicines that we take, and foods that we eat, and our liver keeps those poisons from getting into our blood stream. Now, liver disease like hepatitis or cirrhosis can cripple you or even kill you if the poison can't be filtered. See, it's deadly if the poisons don't get filtered and they get into your blood stream. And there is one toxin that is on the loose, and it has a long history of being a killer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Poison in the Blood Stream."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is going to come from Matthew 27 . I'll begin reading from verse 18. And you are going to see the identification of perhaps one of life's most deadly toxins. We're in the middle of one of history's most ironic and most tragic episodes. Israel's Messiah has come in the person of Jesus Christ, and yet ironically it is the religious leaders who are clamoring to have Him executed. They bring Him to Pilate, because they don't have the authority to put Him to death. And there was a sobering footnote here as He is on trial before Pilate. It's sort of a spiritual EKG that looks inside the human heart; what makes people so mean, so critical, so destructive. And it identifies that awful poison in the human blood stream.
Here's what it says in a little footnote to the trial of Jesus. "For Pilate knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." In the words of the King James, "Out of envy they had delivered Jesus up to him." Oh, they offered a lot of smoke screens; they gave other reasons. A lot of it was spiritual talk. There were religious reasons, and they sounded very, very spiritual about it. But the real issue - bottom line - was envy. Jesus was delivered up because of it, and people are still being delivered up because of envy.
The dictionary says that envy is "a feeling of discontent or jealousy, usually with ill will at seeing another's superiority, advantages or success." You see, envy is a denial of God's faithful provision for His children. It's saying, "You know what? He's got one I don't. How come? How come I don't have any? It's not fair." And it often causes us to crucify people with religious words of course.
But envy is a poison in the blood stream. It always starts with comparing. You can't envy unless you first compare homes, children, or beauty, or opportunities, or clothes, or positions with what somebody else has. Isn't it interesting that one of the Ten Commandments of God is "You shall not covet." And you know what? You'll never covet if you don't compare. It always starts with comparing.
Think of someone you've been critical of lately - maybe negative toward them. When they come around you, you start getting some dark feelings. I wonder if you'd be honest enough to examine your motives today. Could it be envy at the root? You've seen what you perceive to be maybe their superiority, or their advantages, or their success. Ask yourself this, "If envy is in my life, Lord, who is the object of it? Envy gets all dressed up, starts to deliver someone up for destruction. It is an ugly poison in the blood stream. Pray for that person that you might be envying.
Call envy by name, and trust your Shepherd to give you what's right for you. Filter out that poison of envy. It's a killer!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Exodus 16, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: The One Who Leads
The One Who Leads
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2, NKJV
Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs in this verse. He makes me… He leads me…
Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd.
Exodus 16
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)Jer 31 "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
An Open Book
January 18, 2011 — by David H. Roper
You are an epistle of Christ. —2 Corinthians 3:3
Because I’m a writer, occasionally a friend will say to me, “I want to write a book someday.”
“That’s a worthy goal,” I reply, “and I hope you do write a book. But it’s better to be one than to write one.”
I’m thinking of the apostle Paul’s words: “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
In his book The Practice of Piety, Lewis Bayly, chaplain to England’s King James I, said that “one who hopes to effect any good by his writings” will find that he will “instruct very few. . . . The most powerful means, therefore, of promoting what is good is by example. . . . One man in a thousand can write a book to instruct his neighbors. . . . But every man can be a pattern of living excellence to those around him.”
The work that Christ is doing in believers can result in an influence far greater than any book they might write. Through God’s Word, written “on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33), the Lord is displaying His love and goodness for all to see.
As a Christian, you may never write a book, but by living for God you will be one! You will be an open book, an “epistle of Christ” for all to read.
Oh, we would write our record plain
And come in time to see
Our unsaved neighbors won to Christ
While reading you and me. —Anon.
If someone were to read your life like a book,
would they find Jesus in its pages?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 18th, 2011
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Capturing Days - #6267
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone, but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday. I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life. Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello, prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year, next month, next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better look at the days we still have; the days that you have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Capturing Days."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other words. Don't be foolish.
And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse 4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers, "Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren. There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.
We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we prayed about something real and personal together. Have we explored the Bible together? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?
See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.
I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the timing to mark your children for Christ that day.
Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of your days.
The One Who Leads
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2, NKJV
Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs in this verse. He makes me… He leads me…
Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd.
Exodus 16
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)Jer 31 "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
An Open Book
January 18, 2011 — by David H. Roper
You are an epistle of Christ. —2 Corinthians 3:3
Because I’m a writer, occasionally a friend will say to me, “I want to write a book someday.”
“That’s a worthy goal,” I reply, “and I hope you do write a book. But it’s better to be one than to write one.”
I’m thinking of the apostle Paul’s words: “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
In his book The Practice of Piety, Lewis Bayly, chaplain to England’s King James I, said that “one who hopes to effect any good by his writings” will find that he will “instruct very few. . . . The most powerful means, therefore, of promoting what is good is by example. . . . One man in a thousand can write a book to instruct his neighbors. . . . But every man can be a pattern of living excellence to those around him.”
The work that Christ is doing in believers can result in an influence far greater than any book they might write. Through God’s Word, written “on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33), the Lord is displaying His love and goodness for all to see.
As a Christian, you may never write a book, but by living for God you will be one! You will be an open book, an “epistle of Christ” for all to read.
Oh, we would write our record plain
And come in time to see
Our unsaved neighbors won to Christ
While reading you and me. —Anon.
If someone were to read your life like a book,
would they find Jesus in its pages?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 18th, 2011
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Capturing Days - #6267
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone, but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday. I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life. Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello, prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year, next month, next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better look at the days we still have; the days that you have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Capturing Days."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other words. Don't be foolish.
And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse 4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers, "Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren. There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.
We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we prayed about something real and personal together. Have we explored the Bible together? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?
See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.
I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the timing to mark your children for Christ that day.
Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of your days.
Exodus 16, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: The One Who Leads
The One Who Leads
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2, NKJV
Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs in this verse. He makes me… He leads me…
Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd.
Exodus 16
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)Jer 31 "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
An Open Book
January 18, 2011 — by David H. Roper
You are an epistle of Christ. —2 Corinthians 3:3
Because I’m a writer, occasionally a friend will say to me, “I want to write a book someday.”
“That’s a worthy goal,” I reply, “and I hope you do write a book. But it’s better to be one than to write one.”
I’m thinking of the apostle Paul’s words: “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
In his book The Practice of Piety, Lewis Bayly, chaplain to England’s King James I, said that “one who hopes to effect any good by his writings” will find that he will “instruct very few. . . . The most powerful means, therefore, of promoting what is good is by example. . . . One man in a thousand can write a book to instruct his neighbors. . . . But every man can be a pattern of living excellence to those around him.”
The work that Christ is doing in believers can result in an influence far greater than any book they might write. Through God’s Word, written “on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33), the Lord is displaying His love and goodness for all to see.
As a Christian, you may never write a book, but by living for God you will be one! You will be an open book, an “epistle of Christ” for all to read.
Oh, we would write our record plain
And come in time to see
Our unsaved neighbors won to Christ
While reading you and me. —Anon.
If someone were to read your life like a book,
would they find Jesus in its pages?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 18th, 2011
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Capturing Days - #6267
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone, but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday. I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life. Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello, prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year, next month, next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better look at the days we still have; the days that you have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Capturing Days."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other words. Don't be foolish.
And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse 4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers, "Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren. There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.
We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we prayed about something real and personal together. Have we explored the Bible together? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?
See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.
I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the timing to mark your children for Christ that day.
Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of your days.
The One Who Leads
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2, NKJV
Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs in this verse. He makes me… He leads me…
Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd.
Exodus 16
Manna and Quail
1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)Jer 31 "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
An Open Book
January 18, 2011 — by David H. Roper
You are an epistle of Christ. —2 Corinthians 3:3
Because I’m a writer, occasionally a friend will say to me, “I want to write a book someday.”
“That’s a worthy goal,” I reply, “and I hope you do write a book. But it’s better to be one than to write one.”
I’m thinking of the apostle Paul’s words: “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
In his book The Practice of Piety, Lewis Bayly, chaplain to England’s King James I, said that “one who hopes to effect any good by his writings” will find that he will “instruct very few. . . . The most powerful means, therefore, of promoting what is good is by example. . . . One man in a thousand can write a book to instruct his neighbors. . . . But every man can be a pattern of living excellence to those around him.”
The work that Christ is doing in believers can result in an influence far greater than any book they might write. Through God’s Word, written “on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33), the Lord is displaying His love and goodness for all to see.
As a Christian, you may never write a book, but by living for God you will be one! You will be an open book, an “epistle of Christ” for all to read.
Oh, we would write our record plain
And come in time to see
Our unsaved neighbors won to Christ
While reading you and me. —Anon.
If someone were to read your life like a book,
would they find Jesus in its pages?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 18th, 2011
"It Is the Lord!"
Thomas answered and said to Him, ’My Lord and my God!’ —John 20:28
Jesus said to her, ’Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.
Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Capturing Days - #6267
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone, but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday. I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life. Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello, prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year, next month, next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better look at the days we still have; the days that you have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Capturing Days."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5 . I'm going to begin reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other words. Don't be foolish.
And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse 4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers, "Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren. There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.
We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we prayed about something real and personal together. Have we explored the Bible together? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?
See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.
I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the timing to mark your children for Christ that day.
Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of your days.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Matthew 26, Bible reading and Daily Devotions
Max Lucado Daily: He Did It All For You
He Did It All For You
“The heavens tell the glory of God.” Psalm 19:1
If you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same.
The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean would still have its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evening and spray light on the desert in the mornings. If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.
Because he did all for you.
Matthew 26:36-75 (New International Version, ©2010)
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Peter Disowns Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 119:105-112
Psalms 119:105-112 (NIV)Ps 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. 107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word. 108 Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. 109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. 110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. 111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
Driving In The Dark
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105
January 17, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
I’ve always thought that I could get through just about anything if the Lord would tell me what the outcome would be. I believe that “all things work together for good” in the end (Rom. 8:28), but I’d do a lot better in dark times if I knew exactly what the “good” would look like.
But God usually doesn’t show us where He is taking us. He just asks us to trust Him. It’s like driving a car at night. Our headlights never shine all the way to our destination; they illuminate only about 160 feet ahead. But that doesn’t deter us from moving forward. We trust our headlights. All we really need is enough light to keep moving forward.
God’s Word is like headlights in dark times. It is full of promises we need to keep us from driving our lives into the ditch of bitterness and despair. His Word promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). His Word assures us that He knows the plans He has for us, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give us “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). And He tells us that our trials are there to make us better, not bitter (James 1:2-4).
So the next time you feel as if you’re driving in the dark, remember to trust your headlights—God’s Word will light your way.
The Word of God provides the light
We need to see the way;
It shows us what we need to know
So we won’t go astray. —Sper
You won’t stumble in the dark
if you walk in the light of God’s Word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 17th, 2011
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Are Not Forgotten - #6266
Monday, January 17, 2011
If you follow baseball, you know what a designated hitter is. When you really need a hit, you put in this guy who's got a really good batting average. Now, we didn't have a designated hitter in our town, but they sort of made me the designated prayer in our town. I'm not sure how I got that assignment, but when they were having some kind of a community function and they needed a prayer, they'd call me.
Well, I had an interesting assignment out of many of those that came up when I was asked to remember America's MIAs and POWs. There was a ceremony for them. Now, in case you've forgotten the initials, MIA means missing in action, and you know, we still think about a number of unaccounted for servicemen left over from past wars. And there have been intelligence reports that some of them may still be alive. So this ceremony was to commemorate them. When I got there, there were some veterans there in their fatigue pants and their black T-shirts, wearing their berets from Vietnam. And there were speeches, a gun salute, a flag raising. And I was impressed by the flag raising, because underneath the American flag they raised a banner, maybe you've seen it. It's a black banner. It has these words on it: You are not forgotten. You know, there are a lot of MIAs who are not from a war that America's military fought. In fact, you might even be one of them.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Are Not Forgotten."
MIA - mission in action. You know, God has MIAs from His family. Maybe it's someone who's been around the Bible, been around Jesus at some point in their life. Yet somewhere they wandered away. Maybe that person is you. Maybe you can remember even as a child being exposed to Jesus and being exposed to the Bible, and somehow you've ended up listening today to a Christian radio station. It's mostly memories, but the memories are there. Now, you're not really against Jesus, but you're not close to Him like you used to be. And you're away from God's people right now; you're away from God's Word, kind of doing your own thing; experimenting. Maybe you've been avoiding the people and the places that would remind you of that Christ that you were once close to. Maybe on the roles of your parents, or your Christian friends, or your church, you're mission in action.
Would you listen to a word for today from the Word of God? Psalm 139 - "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I arise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens you're there. If I make my bed in the depths you're there. If I arise on the winds of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me. Even the darkness will not be dark to You. The night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to You." You know, God's been following your life through every twist, every turn, every detour. And today He's brought us together to raise a banner that says, "You are not forgotten." He loves you. He knows you. He wants you back.
Maybe you're on the other end of the MIA drama. Someone you love is spiritually missing in action. I want you to know that God is lovingly pursuing them today, and your prayer will be answered.
Don't wait until everything comes crashing down to get back to the Lord. The Christ who died for you is calling you home. You've been on enough roads to know that all the other brightly lit paths are dead end streets, aren't they? Why be a prisoner in enemy territory one day longer? Listen, maybe we can help you find your way back to Him. I'd invite you just to check out our website today. A lot of people have gone there at a time like this. It's YoursForLife.net.
Your Savior has not forgotten you, even though maybe you have tried to forget Him. Open up your life. Let His peace replace all that hurt and all that restlessness. You are not forgotten. You can come home today.
He Did It All For You
“The heavens tell the glory of God.” Psalm 19:1
If you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same.
The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean would still have its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evening and spray light on the desert in the mornings. If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.
Because he did all for you.
Matthew 26:36-75 (New International Version, ©2010)
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Peter Disowns Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 119:105-112
Psalms 119:105-112 (NIV)Ps 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. 107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word. 108 Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. 109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. 110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. 111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
Driving In The Dark
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105
January 17, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
I’ve always thought that I could get through just about anything if the Lord would tell me what the outcome would be. I believe that “all things work together for good” in the end (Rom. 8:28), but I’d do a lot better in dark times if I knew exactly what the “good” would look like.
But God usually doesn’t show us where He is taking us. He just asks us to trust Him. It’s like driving a car at night. Our headlights never shine all the way to our destination; they illuminate only about 160 feet ahead. But that doesn’t deter us from moving forward. We trust our headlights. All we really need is enough light to keep moving forward.
God’s Word is like headlights in dark times. It is full of promises we need to keep us from driving our lives into the ditch of bitterness and despair. His Word promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). His Word assures us that He knows the plans He has for us, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give us “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). And He tells us that our trials are there to make us better, not bitter (James 1:2-4).
So the next time you feel as if you’re driving in the dark, remember to trust your headlights—God’s Word will light your way.
The Word of God provides the light
We need to see the way;
It shows us what we need to know
So we won’t go astray. —Sper
You won’t stumble in the dark
if you walk in the light of God’s Word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 17th, 2011
The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . .”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Are Not Forgotten - #6266
Monday, January 17, 2011
If you follow baseball, you know what a designated hitter is. When you really need a hit, you put in this guy who's got a really good batting average. Now, we didn't have a designated hitter in our town, but they sort of made me the designated prayer in our town. I'm not sure how I got that assignment, but when they were having some kind of a community function and they needed a prayer, they'd call me.
Well, I had an interesting assignment out of many of those that came up when I was asked to remember America's MIAs and POWs. There was a ceremony for them. Now, in case you've forgotten the initials, MIA means missing in action, and you know, we still think about a number of unaccounted for servicemen left over from past wars. And there have been intelligence reports that some of them may still be alive. So this ceremony was to commemorate them. When I got there, there were some veterans there in their fatigue pants and their black T-shirts, wearing their berets from Vietnam. And there were speeches, a gun salute, a flag raising. And I was impressed by the flag raising, because underneath the American flag they raised a banner, maybe you've seen it. It's a black banner. It has these words on it: You are not forgotten. You know, there are a lot of MIAs who are not from a war that America's military fought. In fact, you might even be one of them.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Are Not Forgotten."
MIA - mission in action. You know, God has MIAs from His family. Maybe it's someone who's been around the Bible, been around Jesus at some point in their life. Yet somewhere they wandered away. Maybe that person is you. Maybe you can remember even as a child being exposed to Jesus and being exposed to the Bible, and somehow you've ended up listening today to a Christian radio station. It's mostly memories, but the memories are there. Now, you're not really against Jesus, but you're not close to Him like you used to be. And you're away from God's people right now; you're away from God's Word, kind of doing your own thing; experimenting. Maybe you've been avoiding the people and the places that would remind you of that Christ that you were once close to. Maybe on the roles of your parents, or your Christian friends, or your church, you're mission in action.
Would you listen to a word for today from the Word of God? Psalm 139 - "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I arise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens you're there. If I make my bed in the depths you're there. If I arise on the winds of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me. Even the darkness will not be dark to You. The night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to You." You know, God's been following your life through every twist, every turn, every detour. And today He's brought us together to raise a banner that says, "You are not forgotten." He loves you. He knows you. He wants you back.
Maybe you're on the other end of the MIA drama. Someone you love is spiritually missing in action. I want you to know that God is lovingly pursuing them today, and your prayer will be answered.
Don't wait until everything comes crashing down to get back to the Lord. The Christ who died for you is calling you home. You've been on enough roads to know that all the other brightly lit paths are dead end streets, aren't they? Why be a prisoner in enemy territory one day longer? Listen, maybe we can help you find your way back to Him. I'd invite you just to check out our website today. A lot of people have gone there at a time like this. It's YoursForLife.net.
Your Savior has not forgotten you, even though maybe you have tried to forget Him. Open up your life. Let His peace replace all that hurt and all that restlessness. You are not forgotten. You can come home today.
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