Max Lucado Daily: Power of the Holy Spirit
Power of the Holy Spirit
Posted: 26 Apr 2011 11:01 PM PDT
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” Acts 1:8, NKJV
Remember the followers’ fear at the crucifixion? They ran. Scared as cats in a dog pound . . .
But fast-forward forty days . . . Peter is preaching in the very precinct where Christ was arrested. Followers of Christ defy the enemies of Christ . . . As bold after the Resurrection as they were cowardly before it.
Explanation? A resurrected Christ and his Holy Spirit. The courage of these men and women was forged in the fire of the empty tomb.
Numbers 16
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
1 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent[h] 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers 7 and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. 11 It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves[i]? No, we will not come!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.” 18 So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
23 Then the LORD said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”
35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 The LORD said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the LORD directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the LORD’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[j
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 10:11-23
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,
but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.
14 The wise store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
16 The wages of the righteous is life,
but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,
without painful toil for it.
23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
Whispering Gallery
April 27, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. —Proverbs 10:19
London’s domed St. Paul’s Cathedral has an interesting architectural phenomenon called the “whispering gallery.” One Web site explains it this way: “The name comes from the fact that a person who whispers facing the wall on one side can be clearly heard on the other, since the sound is carried perfectly around the vast curve of the Dome.”
In other words, you and a friend could sit on opposite sides of architect Sir Christopher Wren’s great cathedral and carry on a conversation without having to speak above a whisper.
While that may be a fascinating feature of St. Paul’s Cathedral, it can also be a warning to us. What we say about others in secret can travel just as easily as whispers travel around that gallery. And not only can our gossip travel far and wide, but it often does great harm along the way.
Perhaps this is why the Bible frequently challenges us about the ways we use words. The wise King Solomon wrote, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Prov. 10:19).
Instead of using whispers and gossip that can cause hurt and pain while serving no good purpose, we would do better to restrain ourselves and practice silence.
Lord, help us bridle what we say
And tend our conversations,
Avoiding careless gossiping
That murders reputations. —Sper
Gossip ends at a wise person’s ears.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 27th, 2011
What Do You Want?
Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you.
If you have only come as far as asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on your own terms. You protest, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly God puts His finger on the reason-you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him.
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Ultimate Royal Spectacle - #6338
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
I get the feeling it's going to be the "Prince William and Kate Show" for the next few days. Forget Libya and cash-burning gas. Forget disasters, forget deficits. The handsome prince and the classy commoner are getting married!
I'm a little bummed because I couldn't find any of those "Sweet William Soaps" that they said are available. Or the "No More Waity, Katie Nail Polish" at our local Walmart. They didn't even have the "William and Kate Dress-Up Dolly Book." (I am not making up these products, I couldn't!) But around the world actually, there are millions of William and Kate saucers and stamps and oh, you can get jellies and coins and - well you name it. This Wedding seems like a dose of Prozac in this sea of horrendous headlines we've had lately.
Some officials are estimating that more than one-fourth of the world's population will be watching The Wedding! And to think, I was nervous at my wedding?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Ultimate Royal Spectacle."
You know the wedding of England's future king has just increased my anticipation. No, not for the royal spectacle that's going to happen at 11:00 A.M. on April 29. But for the Royal Spectacle that's going to happen on - well, I actually don't know when it's going to happen. Nobody does. But when it does, it will be seen by every person on the planet!
We're talking the return of the King. The King. Of all kings. See, Jesus promised He'd rise from the dead three days after He was crucified. And He did. He promised that one day then "they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30 ). And they will. Our word today from the word of God is in Revelation 1:7 . It says, "He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him."
Now, the world isn't done with Jesus Christ. Oh, the first time He came, only a handful knew He had come. The second time, the whole world will know. The first time, He came as servant and Savior. The second time He will come as King and Judge. The first time people had a choice. The second time the Bible says that, "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow" (Philippians 2:10 ), and I can't wait to see Him.
I'm gonna be in that awestruck bunch the Bible talks about this way: "on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:10 ). Look, I'm already in awe of Jesus! I can't even imagine what it will be like on the day that He comes to take back His world.
And this ultimate Royal Spectacle, well, it's gonna be the biggest news the world has ever known! Good news for those who have trusted the coming King as their personal Savior. But bad news for those who've never taken the gift of life that He bought with His blood on the cross when He died for their sins. The Bible describes what will happen with them in these stark words, they will be "shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:9 ).
I do not want that to happen to anyone I know. And that is why I have got to find a way to tell the people I know about my Jesus. No more excuses, no more waiting, there's just too much at stake. And the clock is ticking.
And honestly, that's why I'm urging you to ask yourself the question, "Have I ever given myself to this Jesus? Have I ever put my total trust in you Jesus, to be my Savior, from the sinning that I have done?"
If you're not sure you've done that, there's just really no good reason to wait any longer. Would you reach out to Him today in your heart, and say "Jesus, I'm yours beginning today." You say, "Well Ron, how do I do that?"
Well, I would love to help you with that and that actually is the reason I want to invite you to come to our website right away today. If you'd check it out at YoursForLife.net. You will find some information there, some scripture that will help you be sure you belong to the King.
He's coming back to His world. He's coming unannounced, He's coming uninvited. But today the King wants to come into any heart that will welcome Him and enthrone Him. See, today the question is, "What will I do with Jesus?"
Then, the question will be, "What will Jesus do with me?"
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Numbers 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: We Row
“He went into the hills to pray.” Mark 6:46
What does Jesus do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this. He prays for us . . .
So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what the disciples did. We row . . .
Much of life is spent rowing . . . Getting out of bed. Fixing lunches . . . More struggle than strut.
Numbers 15
Supplementary Offerings
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home 3 and you present to the LORD food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the LORD—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings— 4 then the person who brings an offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah[a] of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin[b] of olive oil. 5 With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
6 “‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah[c] of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin[d] of olive oil, 7 and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
8 “‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the LORD, 9 bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah[e] of the finest flour mixed with half a hin[f] of olive oil, 10 and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 11 Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12 Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.
13 “‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, they must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’”
17 The LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19 and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD. 20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the LORD from the first of your ground meal.
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the LORD gave Moses— 23 any of the LORD’s commands to you through him, from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come— 24 and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.[g] 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have presented to the LORD for their wrong a food offering and a sin offering. 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.
27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.
30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel. 31 Because they have despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’”
The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death
32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Tassels on Garments
37 The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 1:19-26
19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[a] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Hard To Imagine
April 26, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. —Philippians 1:23
Whenever my wife, Martie, and I get ready to go on vacation, we like to read about our destination, study the maps, and anticipate the joy of finally arriving at the place we’ve dreamed about for so long.
For those of us who know Jesus Christ, we have an incredible destination ahead of us—heaven. But I find it interesting that a lot of us don’t seem to be very excited about getting there. Why is that? Maybe it’s because we don’t understand heaven. We talk about streets of gold and gates of pearl, but what is it really like? What is there to look forward to?
I think the most profound description of heaven is found in Paul’s words to the Philippians. He said that to “depart and be with Christ” is “far better” (Phil. 1:23). It’s what I told my 8-year-old grandson when he asked what heaven is like. I started by asking him, “What is the most exciting thing in your life?” He told me about his computer game and other fun things he likes to do, and then I told him that heaven is far better. He thought for a minute, and then said, “Papa, that’s hard to imagine.”
What is it that you look forward to in life? What really excites you? Whatever it is, although it’s hard to imagine, heaven will be far better!
To be in His presence! A glorious thought
So awesome I cannot conceive;
I’ll bow down and worship the Lord on His throne
And add to the praise He’ll receive. —Sper
The more you look forward to heaven,
the less you’ll desire on earth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25th, 2011
The Supreme Climb
Take now your son . . . and offer him . . . as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you —Genesis 22:2
A person’s character determines how he interprets God’s will (see Psalm 18:25-26). Abraham interpreted God’s command to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this traditional belief behind through the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will break us from those traditional beliefs that misrepresent Him. There are many such beliefs which must be removed-for example, that God removes a child because his mother loves him too much. That is the devil’s lie and a travesty on the true nature of God! If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of Himself.
The great lesson to be learned from Abraham’s faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God, no matter what contrary belief of his might be violated by his obedience. Abraham was not devoted to his own convictions or else he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was actually the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did that you are willing to do anything, even “to go . . . both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Abraham did not make any such statement— he simply remained true to God, and God purified his faith.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
It's Not Yours to Break - #6337
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Word With You - Your Personal Power
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Now, I haven't seen my son angry very often, but I remember one time. And I think it's safe to say that he was "fit to be tied." See, he had this elaborate race car set that his grandparents had given him, and it was all set up in the basement. Then the cars raced with each other and they did these loops, and went around these curves. He loved that! I mean, he loved this thing. And there were dump trucks that could be loaded and unloaded with gravel, and he had all kinds of lights and sounds, and bells and whistles.
Well, one day we had some company over to our house and they had two sons. And they were getting a little bored just listening to adult conversation, so they went downstairs to play with my son's race car set. It was never the same; and I didn't think he would be. See, after they left, my son went down to the basement and he found that one of the race cars wouldn't work - which means there's not much of a race when you've only one car. The gravel loader didn't work any more. Basically, the set was generally wrecked! And he could never really use it quite the same after that. Well, he wasn't angry, of course. No, he was righteously indignant. He said, "Dad, if they want to break their own toys, that's okay. But they have no business breaking what belongs to me." I agree with that. Wouldn't you? Well then, why do we do it so often?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It's Not Yours to Break."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, and I'm going to be reading verses 19 and 20. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you; whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." In this passage before Paul writes these words, he's been discussing sex outside of God's fence of marriage. And basically what he's saying is, "What right do you have to use God's property for something He hates...for something that breaks His heart?" He says, "You're not your own; you've been bought and paid for."
I saw my son's distress over someone else misusing what he owned. And I know a little bit of how God must feel when He sees what you and I do with these bodies of ours. It's a startling realization when you look in the mirror and say, "That's not your body. It has been bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ."
Years ago I remember when we closed on our house. And from that moment, the former owner had no say about where the furniture went, or how the rooms would be used, or what color the walls would be. It was mine by right of purchase.
You are Jesus' property by right of purchase; a high price, an expensive price, an unthinkable price - His life on the cross for your body so that it could be restored to what it was made for - to glorify God. How are you taking care of God's blood-bought body? Have you been cheapening it by what you've been doing sexually? Has His body been over-eating and damaging itself that way, or overworking and not getting the rest that God asks us to get? How about the garbage you've been putting into His body; or the times, maybe, when you've turned it over to the control of a chemical or to alcohol? Hey, that's His body!
Augustine was tempted to plunge into his old life and he said, "Thou fool, doest thou not know that thou art carrying God around with thee?" This is His body. It's made by Him; paid for by Him. Care for it, like a temple where God himself lives, because it is. And it's just not yours to break.
“He went into the hills to pray.” Mark 6:46
What does Jesus do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this. He prays for us . . .
So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what the disciples did. We row . . .
Much of life is spent rowing . . . Getting out of bed. Fixing lunches . . . More struggle than strut.
Numbers 15
Supplementary Offerings
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home 3 and you present to the LORD food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the LORD—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings— 4 then the person who brings an offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah[a] of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin[b] of olive oil. 5 With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
6 “‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah[c] of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin[d] of olive oil, 7 and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
8 “‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the LORD, 9 bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah[e] of the finest flour mixed with half a hin[f] of olive oil, 10 and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 11 Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12 Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.
13 “‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, they must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’”
17 The LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19 and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD. 20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the LORD from the first of your ground meal.
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the LORD gave Moses— 23 any of the LORD’s commands to you through him, from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come— 24 and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.[g] 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have presented to the LORD for their wrong a food offering and a sin offering. 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.
27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.
30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel. 31 Because they have despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’”
The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death
32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Tassels on Garments
37 The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 1:19-26
19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[a] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Hard To Imagine
April 26, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. —Philippians 1:23
Whenever my wife, Martie, and I get ready to go on vacation, we like to read about our destination, study the maps, and anticipate the joy of finally arriving at the place we’ve dreamed about for so long.
For those of us who know Jesus Christ, we have an incredible destination ahead of us—heaven. But I find it interesting that a lot of us don’t seem to be very excited about getting there. Why is that? Maybe it’s because we don’t understand heaven. We talk about streets of gold and gates of pearl, but what is it really like? What is there to look forward to?
I think the most profound description of heaven is found in Paul’s words to the Philippians. He said that to “depart and be with Christ” is “far better” (Phil. 1:23). It’s what I told my 8-year-old grandson when he asked what heaven is like. I started by asking him, “What is the most exciting thing in your life?” He told me about his computer game and other fun things he likes to do, and then I told him that heaven is far better. He thought for a minute, and then said, “Papa, that’s hard to imagine.”
What is it that you look forward to in life? What really excites you? Whatever it is, although it’s hard to imagine, heaven will be far better!
To be in His presence! A glorious thought
So awesome I cannot conceive;
I’ll bow down and worship the Lord on His throne
And add to the praise He’ll receive. —Sper
The more you look forward to heaven,
the less you’ll desire on earth.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25th, 2011
The Supreme Climb
Take now your son . . . and offer him . . . as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you —Genesis 22:2
A person’s character determines how he interprets God’s will (see Psalm 18:25-26). Abraham interpreted God’s command to mean that he had to kill his son, and he could only leave this traditional belief behind through the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way. If we obey what God says according to our sincere belief, God will break us from those traditional beliefs that misrepresent Him. There are many such beliefs which must be removed-for example, that God removes a child because his mother loves him too much. That is the devil’s lie and a travesty on the true nature of God! If the devil can hinder us from taking the supreme climb and getting rid of our wrong traditional beliefs about God, he will do so. But if we will stay true to God, God will take us through an ordeal that will serve to bring us into a better knowledge of Himself.
The great lesson to be learned from Abraham’s faith in God is that he was prepared to do anything for God. He was there to obey God, no matter what contrary belief of his might be violated by his obedience. Abraham was not devoted to his own convictions or else he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was actually the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you directly through every barrier and right into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself. But you must always be willing to come to the point of giving up your own convictions and traditional beliefs. Don’t ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did that you are willing to do anything, even “to go . . . both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Abraham did not make any such statement— he simply remained true to God, and God purified his faith.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
It's Not Yours to Break - #6337
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Word With You - Your Personal Power
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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Now, I haven't seen my son angry very often, but I remember one time. And I think it's safe to say that he was "fit to be tied." See, he had this elaborate race car set that his grandparents had given him, and it was all set up in the basement. Then the cars raced with each other and they did these loops, and went around these curves. He loved that! I mean, he loved this thing. And there were dump trucks that could be loaded and unloaded with gravel, and he had all kinds of lights and sounds, and bells and whistles.
Well, one day we had some company over to our house and they had two sons. And they were getting a little bored just listening to adult conversation, so they went downstairs to play with my son's race car set. It was never the same; and I didn't think he would be. See, after they left, my son went down to the basement and he found that one of the race cars wouldn't work - which means there's not much of a race when you've only one car. The gravel loader didn't work any more. Basically, the set was generally wrecked! And he could never really use it quite the same after that. Well, he wasn't angry, of course. No, he was righteously indignant. He said, "Dad, if they want to break their own toys, that's okay. But they have no business breaking what belongs to me." I agree with that. Wouldn't you? Well then, why do we do it so often?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It's Not Yours to Break."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, and I'm going to be reading verses 19 and 20. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you; whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." In this passage before Paul writes these words, he's been discussing sex outside of God's fence of marriage. And basically what he's saying is, "What right do you have to use God's property for something He hates...for something that breaks His heart?" He says, "You're not your own; you've been bought and paid for."
I saw my son's distress over someone else misusing what he owned. And I know a little bit of how God must feel when He sees what you and I do with these bodies of ours. It's a startling realization when you look in the mirror and say, "That's not your body. It has been bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ."
Years ago I remember when we closed on our house. And from that moment, the former owner had no say about where the furniture went, or how the rooms would be used, or what color the walls would be. It was mine by right of purchase.
You are Jesus' property by right of purchase; a high price, an expensive price, an unthinkable price - His life on the cross for your body so that it could be restored to what it was made for - to glorify God. How are you taking care of God's blood-bought body? Have you been cheapening it by what you've been doing sexually? Has His body been over-eating and damaging itself that way, or overworking and not getting the rest that God asks us to get? How about the garbage you've been putting into His body; or the times, maybe, when you've turned it over to the control of a chemical or to alcohol? Hey, that's His body!
Augustine was tempted to plunge into his old life and he said, "Thou fool, doest thou not know that thou art carrying God around with thee?" This is His body. It's made by Him; paid for by Him. Care for it, like a temple where God himself lives, because it is. And it's just not yours to break.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Mark 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: Uncommon Use
Uncommon Use
“He gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.
It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and smote the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart . . .
I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will.
Mark 14:27-53 (New International Version, ©2011)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’[a]
28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice[b] you yourself will disown me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[c] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Resurrection And Life
April 25, 2011 — by David H. Roper
I am the resurrection and the life. —John 11:25
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life”! It’s one thing to make such a bold assertion; it’s another to back it up—and back it up Jesus did by rising from the dead.
“If you believe that the Son of God died and rose again,” writes George MacDonald, “your whole future is full of the dawn of eternal morning, coming up beyond the hills of life, and full of such hope as the highest imagination for the poet has not a glimmer yet.”
The Son of God died and rose again, and His resurrection is the guarantee that God will bring us up and out of the ground: A thinking, feeling, remembering, recognizable person will live forever.
Living forever means living out the thought of eternity that God has placed in our hearts; meeting again one’s believing loved ones lost through separating death; living in a world without sorrow; seeing our Lord who loves us and gave everything to unite us to Him forever.
But I see another meaning. Since we have this life and the next, we don’t have to “have it all” now. We can live in broken and ruined bodies for a time; we can endure poverty and hardship for a while; we can face loneliness, heartache, and pain for a season. Why? There is a second birth—life in heaven forever.
Yes, Christ the Lord is risen,
Has come forth from the grave;
He breaks the chains of death for you
And now has power to save. —Woodruff
The resurrection is the foundation of our faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25th, 2011
Be ready in season and out of season —2 Timothy 4:2
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to “be ready” only “out of season.” The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” In other words, we should “be ready” whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Powerful Place on Earth - #6336
Monday, April 25, 2011
I told a friend that if I were to die today, I would have no complaints because I have lived what I think is like a whole lifetime a long time ago. And the Lord has been very, very good to me in terms of opportunities.
I was thinking about, for example, the opportunity I've had to visit some very powerful places over the years. Some of the leaders of a youth ministry I was involved with were given a really privileged tour some years back. We were able to go inside of Cheyenne Mountain where NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defense Command is located - literally the nuclear nerve center in the United States. What a place to visit! I thought, "Man, think of the power that goes with this place!"
And then I was able to go representing this same youth ministry to a briefing at the White House with the President of the United States. I thought, "Whoa! Think of the power in this building! I'm in the White House!" Well, I must tell you that I recently visited a place that makes NORAD and the White House look very unimpressive. And you can go there too...right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Powerful Place on Earth."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Genesis chapter 18; I'll be reading in verse 20 and to the end of the chapter. Before I do, though, let me give you some of the background to remind you of who Abraham is and how he tends to function with God's plans. Sometimes he exercises great faith, but it seems like so often Abraham is the man who's trying to help God do it. It's either God isn't doing it fast enough, or God isn't doing it the way Abraham thinks, and so for example, he goes and sleeps with his wife's servant Hagar at his wife's suggestion so that the son that has been promised will come through her, because he's been delayed in being sent. Now, God was going to send Isaac, but Abraham couldn't wait. He had to go and do it his own way.
Well, when we get to chapter 18 of Genesis, we find that there's a turning point in his life. God has confided to him that Sodom is going to be destroyed, and his nephew Lot and his family are there, and he loves them. So here's what he does. Instead of running to Sodom, which would normally be Abraham's way of handling things, "I'll take care of this, God." Here's what he does. "When the Lord said the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous, then the men turned away and went toward Sodom." Those are the angels who were on their way to destroy it. "But Abraham remained standing before the Lord." In verse 33, after he has pleaded for Lot's life, he says, "When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left." And Abraham, amazingly, returned home. He left it there even though he cares very deeply about this.
And then in chapter 19, verse 27: "Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord." Though Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and he could see the destruction, he knew that God had answered his prayer. You know where the most powerful place on earth is? It's the place where you stand before the Lord, between the Lord and someone you love, and you intercede for them. "Abraham stood before the Lord." It is the most powerful place on earth.
And in order to do that, you have to first see that situation through God's eyes. Abraham saw Sodom as God saw it. And when you see them God's way, you learn how to pray with new possibilities. Then you fight for those you love. That's what Abraham did in his prayer. He said, "Dear Lord, I'm contending for the lives of the people I care about." And then don't let go. He remained standing before the Lord. Depend on your prayers. He prayed for them and then he went home and went to bed.
Listen! With those you're concerned about, focus the great lasers of heaven on someone or something you care about. Then relax. Relax! Learn to be the man or woman who stands in the middle between God and the people you love. And you will experience this incredible peace that there is when you are standing in the most powerful place on earth.
Uncommon Use
“He gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.
It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and smote the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart . . .
I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will.
Mark 14:27-53 (New International Version, ©2011)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’[a]
28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice[b] you yourself will disown me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[c] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Resurrection And Life
April 25, 2011 — by David H. Roper
I am the resurrection and the life. —John 11:25
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life”! It’s one thing to make such a bold assertion; it’s another to back it up—and back it up Jesus did by rising from the dead.
“If you believe that the Son of God died and rose again,” writes George MacDonald, “your whole future is full of the dawn of eternal morning, coming up beyond the hills of life, and full of such hope as the highest imagination for the poet has not a glimmer yet.”
The Son of God died and rose again, and His resurrection is the guarantee that God will bring us up and out of the ground: A thinking, feeling, remembering, recognizable person will live forever.
Living forever means living out the thought of eternity that God has placed in our hearts; meeting again one’s believing loved ones lost through separating death; living in a world without sorrow; seeing our Lord who loves us and gave everything to unite us to Him forever.
But I see another meaning. Since we have this life and the next, we don’t have to “have it all” now. We can live in broken and ruined bodies for a time; we can endure poverty and hardship for a while; we can face loneliness, heartache, and pain for a season. Why? There is a second birth—life in heaven forever.
Yes, Christ the Lord is risen,
Has come forth from the grave;
He breaks the chains of death for you
And now has power to save. —Woodruff
The resurrection is the foundation of our faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 25th, 2011
Be ready in season and out of season —2 Timothy 4:2
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to “be ready” only “out of season.” The season does not refer to time; it refers to us. This verse says, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” In other words, we should “be ready” whether we feel like it or not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you tend to say, “Now that I’ve experienced this moment, I will always be like this for God.” No, you will not, and God will make sure of that. Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments He has given you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Most Powerful Place on Earth - #6336
Monday, April 25, 2011
I told a friend that if I were to die today, I would have no complaints because I have lived what I think is like a whole lifetime a long time ago. And the Lord has been very, very good to me in terms of opportunities.
I was thinking about, for example, the opportunity I've had to visit some very powerful places over the years. Some of the leaders of a youth ministry I was involved with were given a really privileged tour some years back. We were able to go inside of Cheyenne Mountain where NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defense Command is located - literally the nuclear nerve center in the United States. What a place to visit! I thought, "Man, think of the power that goes with this place!"
And then I was able to go representing this same youth ministry to a briefing at the White House with the President of the United States. I thought, "Whoa! Think of the power in this building! I'm in the White House!" Well, I must tell you that I recently visited a place that makes NORAD and the White House look very unimpressive. And you can go there too...right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Most Powerful Place on Earth."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Genesis chapter 18; I'll be reading in verse 20 and to the end of the chapter. Before I do, though, let me give you some of the background to remind you of who Abraham is and how he tends to function with God's plans. Sometimes he exercises great faith, but it seems like so often Abraham is the man who's trying to help God do it. It's either God isn't doing it fast enough, or God isn't doing it the way Abraham thinks, and so for example, he goes and sleeps with his wife's servant Hagar at his wife's suggestion so that the son that has been promised will come through her, because he's been delayed in being sent. Now, God was going to send Isaac, but Abraham couldn't wait. He had to go and do it his own way.
Well, when we get to chapter 18 of Genesis, we find that there's a turning point in his life. God has confided to him that Sodom is going to be destroyed, and his nephew Lot and his family are there, and he loves them. So here's what he does. Instead of running to Sodom, which would normally be Abraham's way of handling things, "I'll take care of this, God." Here's what he does. "When the Lord said the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous, then the men turned away and went toward Sodom." Those are the angels who were on their way to destroy it. "But Abraham remained standing before the Lord." In verse 33, after he has pleaded for Lot's life, he says, "When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left." And Abraham, amazingly, returned home. He left it there even though he cares very deeply about this.
And then in chapter 19, verse 27: "Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord." Though Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and he could see the destruction, he knew that God had answered his prayer. You know where the most powerful place on earth is? It's the place where you stand before the Lord, between the Lord and someone you love, and you intercede for them. "Abraham stood before the Lord." It is the most powerful place on earth.
And in order to do that, you have to first see that situation through God's eyes. Abraham saw Sodom as God saw it. And when you see them God's way, you learn how to pray with new possibilities. Then you fight for those you love. That's what Abraham did in his prayer. He said, "Dear Lord, I'm contending for the lives of the people I care about." And then don't let go. He remained standing before the Lord. Depend on your prayers. He prayed for them and then he went home and went to bed.
Listen! With those you're concerned about, focus the great lasers of heaven on someone or something you care about. Then relax. Relax! Learn to be the man or woman who stands in the middle between God and the people you love. And you will experience this incredible peace that there is when you are standing in the most powerful place on earth.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Numbers 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
It’s Still True
“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard.” Hebrews 2:1, NIV
Stability in the storm comes not from seeking a new message but from understanding an old one. The most reliable anchor points are not recent discoveries, but are time-tested truths that have held their ground against the winds of change. Truths like:
My life is not futile. My failures are not fatal. My death is not final.
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
13 Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[c]”
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised. Surely we have sinned!”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 24:1-12
Jesus Has Risen
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Too Good To Be True?
April 24, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Their words seemed to [the disciples] like idle tales, and they did not believe them. —Luke 24:11
In the 1980s, John Knoll and his brother Thomas began experimenting with a computer program to manipulate images. Software companies thought they were crazy, because photographers didn’t use computers at that time. Initially the brothers called their program Display, then Imaginator, and finally they settled on Photoshop®. Today Photoshop® is used by amateurs at home and professionals in business around the world. A San Jose Mercury News article noted its place in popular language. When something looks too good to be true, people say, “It must have been Photoshopped.”
On the first Easter morning, the women who took spices to anoint the body of Jesus found the tomb empty and heard angels say, “He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:6). When the women told this to the disciples, “Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (v.11). Nonsense! Mind-boggling! Too good to be true!
If someone manipulated the evidence, then millions of people around the world gather today to celebrate a myth. But if Jesus conquered death, then all He said about forgiveness, power to change, and eternal life is real.
Because Christ has risen and lives today, this news is too good not to be true!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign. —Lowry
The resurrection is a fact of history
that demands a response of faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 24th, 2011
The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you . . . —Luke 10:20
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go “outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). In Luke 10:20 , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view— we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God’s grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God’s testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.
Unless the worker lives a life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an “if,” never with the forceful or dogmatic statement— “You must.” Discipleship carries with it an option.
“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard.” Hebrews 2:1, NIV
Stability in the storm comes not from seeking a new message but from understanding an old one. The most reliable anchor points are not recent discoveries, but are time-tested truths that have held their ground against the winds of change. Truths like:
My life is not futile. My failures are not fatal. My death is not final.
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
13 Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[c]”
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the LORD promised. Surely we have sinned!”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 24:1-12
Jesus Has Risen
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Too Good To Be True?
April 24, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Their words seemed to [the disciples] like idle tales, and they did not believe them. —Luke 24:11
In the 1980s, John Knoll and his brother Thomas began experimenting with a computer program to manipulate images. Software companies thought they were crazy, because photographers didn’t use computers at that time. Initially the brothers called their program Display, then Imaginator, and finally they settled on Photoshop®. Today Photoshop® is used by amateurs at home and professionals in business around the world. A San Jose Mercury News article noted its place in popular language. When something looks too good to be true, people say, “It must have been Photoshopped.”
On the first Easter morning, the women who took spices to anoint the body of Jesus found the tomb empty and heard angels say, “He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:6). When the women told this to the disciples, “Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (v.11). Nonsense! Mind-boggling! Too good to be true!
If someone manipulated the evidence, then millions of people around the world gather today to celebrate a myth. But if Jesus conquered death, then all He said about forgiveness, power to change, and eternal life is real.
Because Christ has risen and lives today, this news is too good not to be true!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign. —Lowry
The resurrection is a fact of history
that demands a response of faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 24th, 2011
The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success
Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you . . . —Luke 10:20
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go “outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). In Luke 10:20 , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view— we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God’s grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God’s testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.
Unless the worker lives a life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an “if,” never with the forceful or dogmatic statement— “You must.” Discipleship carries with it an option.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Numbers 13, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: His Public Offer
“All of us became part of Christ when we were baptized.” Romans 6:3
We owe God a perfect life. Perfect obedience to every command. Not just the command of baptism, but the commands of humility, honesty, integrity. We can’t deliver. Might as well charge us for the property of Manhattan. But Christ can and he did. His plunge into the Jordan is a picture of his plunge into our sin. His baptism announces, “Let me pay.”
Your baptism responds, “You bet I will.” He publicly offers. We publicly accept.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
3 So at the LORD’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[b] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Malachi 4:4-6; Matthew 1:1-2
Malachi 4:4-6
Listen to this passage
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Matthew 1
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
A Family In Trouble
April 23, 2011 — by Mart De Haan
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. —Luke 1:16
Many of America’s 30 million white-tailed deer find themselves endangered not by guns, but by the cars of our expanding suburbs. I was reminded of their plight when a mature doe dashed through traffic just ahead of me. As I watched, I wondered what had driven her to take such a chance, and why she then stopped on the other side and looked back over her shoulder. As I drove by her, I turned to follow her gaze and saw two small fawns looking helplessly at their mother across the busy street. Instead of following, they turned and walked back into the woods.
This family is not alone. We too can find ourselves in circumstances of separation and danger we did not anticipate. Reading Malachi and Matthew reminds us that we are troubled children of troubled parents who desperately need the help of our Father in heaven. Sometimes we need His help to see and avoid repeating the sins of our fathers (Neh. 9:2-3). Sometimes we need His help to turn back to the example and care of loving parents (Luke 15:18).
Only from our heavenly Father can we find the perfect forgiveness, example, and inner grace we need. He knows we are all fallen children of fallen parents, and even now He offers us the help of His Spirit and the rescue of His Son.
Each day we learn from yesterday
Of God’s great love and care;
And every burden we must face
He’ll surely help us bear. —D. De Haan
It’s never too soon to turn back to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22nd, 2011
Do You Worship The Work?
We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true–once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing–to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . .” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
“All of us became part of Christ when we were baptized.” Romans 6:3
We owe God a perfect life. Perfect obedience to every command. Not just the command of baptism, but the commands of humility, honesty, integrity. We can’t deliver. Might as well charge us for the property of Manhattan. But Christ can and he did. His plunge into the Jordan is a picture of his plunge into our sin. His baptism announces, “Let me pay.”
Your baptism responds, “You bet I will.” He publicly offers. We publicly accept.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
3 So at the LORD’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[b] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Malachi 4:4-6; Matthew 1:1-2
Malachi 4:4-6
Listen to this passage
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Matthew 1
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
A Family In Trouble
April 23, 2011 — by Mart De Haan
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. —Luke 1:16
Many of America’s 30 million white-tailed deer find themselves endangered not by guns, but by the cars of our expanding suburbs. I was reminded of their plight when a mature doe dashed through traffic just ahead of me. As I watched, I wondered what had driven her to take such a chance, and why she then stopped on the other side and looked back over her shoulder. As I drove by her, I turned to follow her gaze and saw two small fawns looking helplessly at their mother across the busy street. Instead of following, they turned and walked back into the woods.
This family is not alone. We too can find ourselves in circumstances of separation and danger we did not anticipate. Reading Malachi and Matthew reminds us that we are troubled children of troubled parents who desperately need the help of our Father in heaven. Sometimes we need His help to see and avoid repeating the sins of our fathers (Neh. 9:2-3). Sometimes we need His help to turn back to the example and care of loving parents (Luke 15:18).
Only from our heavenly Father can we find the perfect forgiveness, example, and inner grace we need. He knows we are all fallen children of fallen parents, and even now He offers us the help of His Spirit and the rescue of His Son.
Each day we learn from yesterday
Of God’s great love and care;
And every burden we must face
He’ll surely help us bear. —D. De Haan
It’s never too soon to turn back to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22nd, 2011
Do You Worship The Work?
We are God’s fellow workers . . . —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true–once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing–to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . .” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Friday, April 22, 2011
Numbers 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep . . . and my sheep know me.” John 10:14-15
You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm.
You have everything you need.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, “Please, God, heal her!”
14 The LORD replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hebrews 2:10-18
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[a] 12 He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”[b]
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”[c]
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”[d]
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[e] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Sin Hurts
April 22, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many. —Isaiah 53:12
Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin. Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably. At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down—someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.
Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed. Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused your family, your church, your neighborhood. Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, state, nation, and the world. Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation.
Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night He was called to bear it? (Matt. 26:36-44). The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him. No other suffering can compare.
Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.
Is God aloof from human pain
That ravages our mortal frame?
Oh, no, Christ felt our agony
When sin and death He overcame! —D. De Haan
Christ’s empty tomb guarantees our victory over sin and death.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22nd , 2011
The Light That Never Fails
We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “. . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— “. . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Exodus 34:29).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hesitating on the Tightrope - #6335
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wallenda. That's a name that is synonymous with tightrope artistry, high wire drama. The Great Wallendas! The patriarch of the Wallenda clan was Karl Wallenda, and at the age of 73 he was still doing tightrope work. He went to South America several years ago and strung a tight rope between two 20-story buildings. For him that was not an unusual feat, but tragically that day Karl Wallenda fell to his death.
Some months later, some of his family were asked, "Why do you think after all these years he fell?" And someone said, "You know, two weeks before his fall, we heard him talk about falling for the first time ever. He had never mentioned falling before." He never had, and he probably never would have fallen if he had not become un-nerved by the fear of falling. Now, maybe you're doing quite a balancing act right now yourself, and you're hesitating because you're afraid you might not make it safely the rest of the way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Hesitating on the Tightrope."
You know, the word tightrope may be for you today a good word. You say, "Ron, that pretty well describes were I'm at. I'm balancing things financially right now, barely. I guess I'm on a financial tightrope." Or maybe you've got such a volume of responsibilities you feel like you're a high wire artist. Maybe you're working at the very limit of your strength, your ability, your wisdom.
Well, so was Abraham. And he had been given, as you remember, a son that he'd been promised for years. He was told that this great nation would come through this son, Isaac. And then God in a test of his faith that grew into a new level of relationship with the Lord, asked him to sacrifice his own son; to take him to the top of the mountain and give up what was most precious to him. Didn't seem to make much sense, and yet we find Abraham and Isaac marching right up the mountain as Abraham obeys God instinctively.
And it says here that early the next morning after he talked with God, without hesitation, he got up and sat on his donkey and started up. Now in verse 4 it says, "On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servant, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.' Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son, Isaac. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to Abraham, 'Father?' 'Yes, my son' Abraham replied. 'The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on together."
That "God will provide" - that's the name of God we know today as Jehovah Jireh. There was a moment of hesitation here on the road of obedience. Maybe there is on yours. But it was Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide - that settled it. OK, so you're looking at the circumstances right now - the checkbook balance; the reactions you're getting or might get. Your own roller coaster feelings, and you're saying, "Shall I keep going?" Well, Abraham said, "Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. He always has."
Jacob said later, "The God who has fed me every day of my life will support me." Look, God has never missed a day in your life, right? Sometimes all we have to help us go the rest of the way is the assurance that God will provide, and He will.
Maybe you can't see the ram that God has ready. But God will provide. What you need to finish your faith walk will be there when you need it. You have His word on it. So keep walking, and don't even think about falling.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep . . . and my sheep know me.” John 10:14-15
You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm.
You have everything you need.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, “Please, God, heal her!”
14 The LORD replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hebrews 2:10-18
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[a] 12 He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”[b]
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”[c]
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”[d]
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[e] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Sin Hurts
April 22, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many. —Isaiah 53:12
Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin. Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably. At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down—someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.
Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed. Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused your family, your church, your neighborhood. Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, state, nation, and the world. Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation.
Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night He was called to bear it? (Matt. 26:36-44). The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him. No other suffering can compare.
Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.
Is God aloof from human pain
That ravages our mortal frame?
Oh, no, Christ felt our agony
When sin and death He overcame! —D. De Haan
Christ’s empty tomb guarantees our victory over sin and death.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 22nd , 2011
The Light That Never Fails
We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “. . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware— “. . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him” (Exodus 34:29).
We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant’s life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hesitating on the Tightrope - #6335
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wallenda. That's a name that is synonymous with tightrope artistry, high wire drama. The Great Wallendas! The patriarch of the Wallenda clan was Karl Wallenda, and at the age of 73 he was still doing tightrope work. He went to South America several years ago and strung a tight rope between two 20-story buildings. For him that was not an unusual feat, but tragically that day Karl Wallenda fell to his death.
Some months later, some of his family were asked, "Why do you think after all these years he fell?" And someone said, "You know, two weeks before his fall, we heard him talk about falling for the first time ever. He had never mentioned falling before." He never had, and he probably never would have fallen if he had not become un-nerved by the fear of falling. Now, maybe you're doing quite a balancing act right now yourself, and you're hesitating because you're afraid you might not make it safely the rest of the way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Hesitating on the Tightrope."
You know, the word tightrope may be for you today a good word. You say, "Ron, that pretty well describes were I'm at. I'm balancing things financially right now, barely. I guess I'm on a financial tightrope." Or maybe you've got such a volume of responsibilities you feel like you're a high wire artist. Maybe you're working at the very limit of your strength, your ability, your wisdom.
Well, so was Abraham. And he had been given, as you remember, a son that he'd been promised for years. He was told that this great nation would come through this son, Isaac. And then God in a test of his faith that grew into a new level of relationship with the Lord, asked him to sacrifice his own son; to take him to the top of the mountain and give up what was most precious to him. Didn't seem to make much sense, and yet we find Abraham and Isaac marching right up the mountain as Abraham obeys God instinctively.
And it says here that early the next morning after he talked with God, without hesitation, he got up and sat on his donkey and started up. Now in verse 4 it says, "On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servant, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.' Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son, Isaac. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to Abraham, 'Father?' 'Yes, my son' Abraham replied. 'The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on together."
That "God will provide" - that's the name of God we know today as Jehovah Jireh. There was a moment of hesitation here on the road of obedience. Maybe there is on yours. But it was Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide - that settled it. OK, so you're looking at the circumstances right now - the checkbook balance; the reactions you're getting or might get. Your own roller coaster feelings, and you're saying, "Shall I keep going?" Well, Abraham said, "Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. He always has."
Jacob said later, "The God who has fed me every day of my life will support me." Look, God has never missed a day in your life, right? Sometimes all we have to help us go the rest of the way is the assurance that God will provide, and He will.
Maybe you can't see the ram that God has ready. But God will provide. What you need to finish your faith walk will be there when you need it. You have His word on it. So keep walking, and don't even think about falling.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Mark 14, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: Back From The Dead
Back From The Dead
“Thomas said, ‘I will not believe it until I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were.’” John 20:25
Jesus gave Thomas exactly what he requested. He extended his hands one more time. And was Thomas ever surprised. He did a double take, fell flat on his face, and cried, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
Jesus must have smiled. He knew he had a winner in Thomas . . . Legend has him hopping a freighter to India where they had to kill him to get him to quit talking about his friend who came back from the dead.
Mark 14
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-23
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Moving Past Sinful Failure
April 21, 2011 — by Randy Kilgore
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. —Isaiah 43:25
How should we handle moments of faith-failure, when we’ve damaged the kingdom of God in the eyes of our friends and family or dishonored God in our actions?
We can learn from King David after his humiliation in the Bathsheba scandal. Though the terrible consequences of that sin could not be avoided, he found his way back to a relationship with God that made it possible for him to continue to serve Him. We too can find our way back.
David’s pattern in 2 Samuel 12 serves us well: We need to declare our error candidly (v.13) and seek God’s forgiveness. Then we can ask God that others be spared the consequences of our actions (v.16). Finally, we need to recognize that sometimes the consequences simply cannot be avoided and must be endured. While we always mourn those consequences, we can’t allow them to so consume us that we cease to be servants of God (vv.20-23).
Satan not only delights in the moment of our failure but also in the spiritual inactivity that sometimes snares us in our remorse. When we’ve blown our witness, we are and should be humbled. But we should not multiply the damage by retreating into silence and obscurity as ambassadors of Christ. We can move past failure.
Action Suggestion
If after you’ve confessed your sin to God, you still suffer
with guilty feelings, memorize Proverbs 24:16 and
1 John 1:9 and ask God to help you believe His Word.
God forgives our sins completely
to restore us to His presence and service.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 21th, 2011
Don’t Hurt the Lord
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? —John 14:9
Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how “un-simple” we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-”Lord, show us the Father . . .” (John 14:8). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, “Can’t you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found.” We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.
“Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (14:1, 27). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Servant Has the Key - #6334
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Going to Amsterdam for Billy Graham's great conference on evangelism has to be one of the most awesome experiences of my life. Billy Graham brought together about 10,000 evangelists from 174 countries. I mean, these huge meetings were unforgettable! And yet, I would have to say that one of the most special moments involved a crowd of a total of two people. It was me and the bus driver.
Yeah. See, I had been asked to be a bus captain for one of the 120 buses that went out loaded with evangelists. We were being sent out to many different sites in Holland to share Christ with people that day. So we weren't just talking about it, we were doing it. Now, our bus driver and I got into an argument over lunches. Yeah. See, we were supposed to have these box lunches that we were going to eat on the bus before we got to the site. That was the only time we'd have to eat. He said, "There's no way you're going to put those on my bus. I know who'll have to clean up the mess." I said, "Look, how about this? If I promise to clean up the mess, can we eat them on the bus? We really need the time." He said, "I know who will clean it up. It will be me no matter what you say." I said to him, "Look, will you just give me a chance? You inspect the bus after I'm done."
Well, he gave me the chance, and I took the garbage bags and went around and tried to make the bus as clean as I could. And that cleanup led to a two-hour conversation that changed the bus driver's life and taught me again what it takes to get a person interested in Jesus.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Servant Has the Key."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke chapter 22, verses 26-27. I'll share that with you in just a minute. Let me tell you about Richard, my bus driver. See, we had worked on that garbage...rather I had, because he took my word for it that I was going to clean it up. And as I hauled the last garbage off, he said, "You know, you kept your word. I can't believe you would clean up all the corners of the bus." I really didn't think it was any big deal, but he did. Right after that, he began to talk about disappointing relationships in his life and the loneliness he had experienced. And the amazing thing is, not too long after that I got a letter from him. And in that letter he gave me the greatest news he could.
See, when we got on the bus, he told me he didn't believe in God. He thought it was kind of ironic that he was taking all these Christian evangelists around. He was very closed at the start. But you know what opened him up? The door was opened by somebody cleaning up the garbage. I got a letter that said, "Ron, I have given my life to Christ." Richard, in his broken English writing from Holland, told me that he will be in heaven with us some day. Wow!
Well, here's what Jesus said in Luke 22 . He talked about this in one simple sentence. He said, "I am among you as one who serves." Jesus captured our hearts by coming here...not with a spotlight or a microphone, but with a towel and a basin. He came as a servant and we were overwhelmed.
Maybe you know someone who's closed to the Gospel. You're looking for a way to open them up, a new witnessing technique, or a book you can give them, or just the right meeting to take them to. Why don't you try being what Jesus was? Find a way to be a servant to them. You say, "Well, Ron, I want my family to know Christ." Then why not win the right to be heard by doing the dirty work around the house; by pitching in, by sharing the burden of the work there? At school, become the one who listens to your friend, who helps, who runs errands, who refuses to talk badly about people. At work be the one who cares about their load, not just your load.
See, in a self-serving world, a servant is really noticed. They're a non-threatening person, and a person can relax then around you. And then you can share your Jesus with them. How do you open up a hard heart? Well, the servant has the key.
Back From The Dead
“Thomas said, ‘I will not believe it until I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were.’” John 20:25
Jesus gave Thomas exactly what he requested. He extended his hands one more time. And was Thomas ever surprised. He did a double take, fell flat on his face, and cried, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
Jesus must have smiled. He knew he had a winner in Thomas . . . Legend has him hopping a freighter to India where they had to kill him to get him to quit talking about his friend who came back from the dead.
Mark 14
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-23
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Moving Past Sinful Failure
April 21, 2011 — by Randy Kilgore
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. —Isaiah 43:25
How should we handle moments of faith-failure, when we’ve damaged the kingdom of God in the eyes of our friends and family or dishonored God in our actions?
We can learn from King David after his humiliation in the Bathsheba scandal. Though the terrible consequences of that sin could not be avoided, he found his way back to a relationship with God that made it possible for him to continue to serve Him. We too can find our way back.
David’s pattern in 2 Samuel 12 serves us well: We need to declare our error candidly (v.13) and seek God’s forgiveness. Then we can ask God that others be spared the consequences of our actions (v.16). Finally, we need to recognize that sometimes the consequences simply cannot be avoided and must be endured. While we always mourn those consequences, we can’t allow them to so consume us that we cease to be servants of God (vv.20-23).
Satan not only delights in the moment of our failure but also in the spiritual inactivity that sometimes snares us in our remorse. When we’ve blown our witness, we are and should be humbled. But we should not multiply the damage by retreating into silence and obscurity as ambassadors of Christ. We can move past failure.
Action Suggestion
If after you’ve confessed your sin to God, you still suffer
with guilty feelings, memorize Proverbs 24:16 and
1 John 1:9 and ask God to help you believe His Word.
God forgives our sins completely
to restore us to His presence and service.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 21th, 2011
Don’t Hurt the Lord
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? —John 14:9
Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how “un-simple” we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-”Lord, show us the Father . . .” (John 14:8). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, “Can’t you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found.” We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.
“Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (14:1, 27). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Servant Has the Key - #6334
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Going to Amsterdam for Billy Graham's great conference on evangelism has to be one of the most awesome experiences of my life. Billy Graham brought together about 10,000 evangelists from 174 countries. I mean, these huge meetings were unforgettable! And yet, I would have to say that one of the most special moments involved a crowd of a total of two people. It was me and the bus driver.
Yeah. See, I had been asked to be a bus captain for one of the 120 buses that went out loaded with evangelists. We were being sent out to many different sites in Holland to share Christ with people that day. So we weren't just talking about it, we were doing it. Now, our bus driver and I got into an argument over lunches. Yeah. See, we were supposed to have these box lunches that we were going to eat on the bus before we got to the site. That was the only time we'd have to eat. He said, "There's no way you're going to put those on my bus. I know who'll have to clean up the mess." I said, "Look, how about this? If I promise to clean up the mess, can we eat them on the bus? We really need the time." He said, "I know who will clean it up. It will be me no matter what you say." I said to him, "Look, will you just give me a chance? You inspect the bus after I'm done."
Well, he gave me the chance, and I took the garbage bags and went around and tried to make the bus as clean as I could. And that cleanup led to a two-hour conversation that changed the bus driver's life and taught me again what it takes to get a person interested in Jesus.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Servant Has the Key."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke chapter 22, verses 26-27. I'll share that with you in just a minute. Let me tell you about Richard, my bus driver. See, we had worked on that garbage...rather I had, because he took my word for it that I was going to clean it up. And as I hauled the last garbage off, he said, "You know, you kept your word. I can't believe you would clean up all the corners of the bus." I really didn't think it was any big deal, but he did. Right after that, he began to talk about disappointing relationships in his life and the loneliness he had experienced. And the amazing thing is, not too long after that I got a letter from him. And in that letter he gave me the greatest news he could.
See, when we got on the bus, he told me he didn't believe in God. He thought it was kind of ironic that he was taking all these Christian evangelists around. He was very closed at the start. But you know what opened him up? The door was opened by somebody cleaning up the garbage. I got a letter that said, "Ron, I have given my life to Christ." Richard, in his broken English writing from Holland, told me that he will be in heaven with us some day. Wow!
Well, here's what Jesus said in Luke 22 . He talked about this in one simple sentence. He said, "I am among you as one who serves." Jesus captured our hearts by coming here...not with a spotlight or a microphone, but with a towel and a basin. He came as a servant and we were overwhelmed.
Maybe you know someone who's closed to the Gospel. You're looking for a way to open them up, a new witnessing technique, or a book you can give them, or just the right meeting to take them to. Why don't you try being what Jesus was? Find a way to be a servant to them. You say, "Well, Ron, I want my family to know Christ." Then why not win the right to be heard by doing the dirty work around the house; by pitching in, by sharing the burden of the work there? At school, become the one who listens to your friend, who helps, who runs errands, who refuses to talk badly about people. At work be the one who cares about their load, not just your load.
See, in a self-serving world, a servant is really noticed. They're a non-threatening person, and a person can relax then around you. And then you can share your Jesus with them. How do you open up a hard heart? Well, the servant has the key.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Numbers 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: Wonderful Comfort
“What a wonderful God we have . . . who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3, TLB
Encourage those who are struggling. Don’t know what to say? Then open your Bible . . .
To the grief stricken: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 NIV)
To the guilt-ridden: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NIV).
Numbers 11
Fire From the LORD
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah,[a] because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Quail From the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
16 The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”
23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 5:17-21
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Knowing God’s Will
April 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon
. . . that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. —Romans 12:2
A young man facing the future and unsure of what the next year would bring, concluded, “Nobody knows what God’s will is.” Is he right? Does a lack of certainty about the future translate into not knowing God’s will?
The concept of knowing God’s will is often limited to discerning what specific situation we will be in at some future time. Although seeking God’s specific leading is part of it, another aspect that is just as vital is to follow the clearly defined elements of God’s will each and every day.
For instance, it is God’s will for us to be good citizens as a challenge to those opposed to Christ (1 Peter 2:15), to give God thanks no matter what (1 Thess. 5:18), to be sanctified sexually, avoiding immorality (1 Thess. 4:3), to live under the Holy Spirit’s control (Eph. 5:18), to sing to Him (v.19), and to submit to other believers (v.21).
As we submit to God in these and other areas, we are more likely to live in what Romans 12:2 calls God’s “good and acceptable and perfect will.” Living with God’s smile of approval leads to His guidance for the future.
As we seek to know God’s will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.
Knowing God’s will for the future
Comes when we follow today
What He’s revealed in the Scriptures
As His commands to obey. —Sper
Love and obey the Lord every day, and He will unfold your future.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 20th, 2011
Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . —2 Corinthians 1:20
Jesus’ parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, “You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me.” When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, “I can’t.” Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.
The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, “Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me.” Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”? (Matthew 6:33). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied— “I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable.” A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, “I haven’t had a decent chance,” and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.
Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Can't Make it Go Away - #6333
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Why is it so hard to get us guys to go to the doctor? Or especially to the dentist? Oh, wait! "Wait, I think I want to make an appointment to see my dentist. How soon can I go see him again?" Now, if you're a dentist listening, this is my problem; it is not your problem. You're doing a very valuable service, and I've paid a price for putting off those appointments. But it's amazing how we tend to avoid appointments that may be unpleasant. We'll put them off as long as we can. And in most cases you can do what I do. You can put it off, you can cancel, even meetings you don't want to have. That is in most cases.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't Make it Go Away."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27. It's about an appointment. "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..." When you hear that word destiny, you know that it's a sure thing. And the Bible is saying here that we have, that you have an appointment with God. Now, we do everything we can to try to run from that reality. "No, I don't want to think about an appointment with God."
For example, there's one idea that's out there these days. It's actually a re-packaging of an old idea. We hear a lot about reincarnation. And there are some very big celebrities that have written about it, and there are TV specials about it. Well that's not new. This business of when you die you quickly get reborn into another life and keep going around on earth; nothing new about that. It's just another way to escape the day of reckoning through an endless cycle of starting over and over again; never any judgment there.
But the Bible flies right in the face of that and says, "We die once, and after that the judgment." God is the only one who knows what's on the other side. Everybody else is guessing, and if we're smart, we'll take what God says. And so, you and I will have to account for a life that was lived outside of His plans - a life He gave us. In fact, in Romans chapter 3, we know in advance what the verdict will be because verses 19 and 20 tell us this, "No one will be declared righteous by observing the law at all. Every mouth will be silenced and the whole world accountable to God." Wow!
See, if you're hoping to pay off sin with some good things you do, and you think that will work at your appointment with God, it's not going to work. The payment has already been made. The only question God will ask you is not, "What did you do with church?" But, "What did you do with My Son who died for you?"
When a prairie fire would come the way of some of the Indians in the early west, they would burn the area around their village to protect their village. You say, "Well, that's strange." No. See, they believed that the fire cannot go where the fire has already been. The fire of God's judgment was already poured out on His Son. You trust His Son, and you are ready for your appointment with God. Don't try to deny it; don't try to postpone it; don't try to cancel it. You can't run from it. You and I will stand before God at His appointed time, and all that will matter is what we did with Jesus. Be ready. Someone today - this very day - will keep their appointment. And of course no one thinks it will be them.
That's why the Bible says, "Prepare to meet your God." We prepare for everything else in life, and we are so totally not ready to meet God. The only way to be ready is to know that every sin you've ever done has been forgiven. And the only way to have every sin forgiven is to give your life to the One who gave His life to forgive them. It took pain and eternal death penalty so you could have every sin wiped from your record in heaven.
It could happen for you today. God could take His eraser and erase it all if you would give yourself to His Son and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." You say, "I need to know how to do that." Go to our website. I think I can help you there. It's YoursForLife.net.
I hope you're ready for your appointment, because you know you've settled your relationship with your Savior. You've got to be ready for it because you can't make it go away.
“What a wonderful God we have . . . who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3, TLB
Encourage those who are struggling. Don’t know what to say? Then open your Bible . . .
To the grief stricken: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 NIV)
To the guilt-ridden: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NIV).
Numbers 11
Fire From the LORD
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah,[a] because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Quail From the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
16 The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”
23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 5:17-21
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Knowing God’s Will
April 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon
. . . that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. —Romans 12:2
A young man facing the future and unsure of what the next year would bring, concluded, “Nobody knows what God’s will is.” Is he right? Does a lack of certainty about the future translate into not knowing God’s will?
The concept of knowing God’s will is often limited to discerning what specific situation we will be in at some future time. Although seeking God’s specific leading is part of it, another aspect that is just as vital is to follow the clearly defined elements of God’s will each and every day.
For instance, it is God’s will for us to be good citizens as a challenge to those opposed to Christ (1 Peter 2:15), to give God thanks no matter what (1 Thess. 5:18), to be sanctified sexually, avoiding immorality (1 Thess. 4:3), to live under the Holy Spirit’s control (Eph. 5:18), to sing to Him (v.19), and to submit to other believers (v.21).
As we submit to God in these and other areas, we are more likely to live in what Romans 12:2 calls God’s “good and acceptable and perfect will.” Living with God’s smile of approval leads to His guidance for the future.
As we seek to know God’s will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.
Knowing God’s will for the future
Comes when we follow today
What He’s revealed in the Scriptures
As His commands to obey. —Sper
Love and obey the Lord every day, and He will unfold your future.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 20th, 2011
Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . —2 Corinthians 1:20
Jesus’ parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, “You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me.” When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, “I can’t.” Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.
The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, “Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me.” Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”? (Matthew 6:33). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied— “I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable.” A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, “I haven’t had a decent chance,” and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.
Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Can't Make it Go Away - #6333
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Why is it so hard to get us guys to go to the doctor? Or especially to the dentist? Oh, wait! "Wait, I think I want to make an appointment to see my dentist. How soon can I go see him again?" Now, if you're a dentist listening, this is my problem; it is not your problem. You're doing a very valuable service, and I've paid a price for putting off those appointments. But it's amazing how we tend to avoid appointments that may be unpleasant. We'll put them off as long as we can. And in most cases you can do what I do. You can put it off, you can cancel, even meetings you don't want to have. That is in most cases.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't Make it Go Away."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27. It's about an appointment. "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..." When you hear that word destiny, you know that it's a sure thing. And the Bible is saying here that we have, that you have an appointment with God. Now, we do everything we can to try to run from that reality. "No, I don't want to think about an appointment with God."
For example, there's one idea that's out there these days. It's actually a re-packaging of an old idea. We hear a lot about reincarnation. And there are some very big celebrities that have written about it, and there are TV specials about it. Well that's not new. This business of when you die you quickly get reborn into another life and keep going around on earth; nothing new about that. It's just another way to escape the day of reckoning through an endless cycle of starting over and over again; never any judgment there.
But the Bible flies right in the face of that and says, "We die once, and after that the judgment." God is the only one who knows what's on the other side. Everybody else is guessing, and if we're smart, we'll take what God says. And so, you and I will have to account for a life that was lived outside of His plans - a life He gave us. In fact, in Romans chapter 3, we know in advance what the verdict will be because verses 19 and 20 tell us this, "No one will be declared righteous by observing the law at all. Every mouth will be silenced and the whole world accountable to God." Wow!
See, if you're hoping to pay off sin with some good things you do, and you think that will work at your appointment with God, it's not going to work. The payment has already been made. The only question God will ask you is not, "What did you do with church?" But, "What did you do with My Son who died for you?"
When a prairie fire would come the way of some of the Indians in the early west, they would burn the area around their village to protect their village. You say, "Well, that's strange." No. See, they believed that the fire cannot go where the fire has already been. The fire of God's judgment was already poured out on His Son. You trust His Son, and you are ready for your appointment with God. Don't try to deny it; don't try to postpone it; don't try to cancel it. You can't run from it. You and I will stand before God at His appointed time, and all that will matter is what we did with Jesus. Be ready. Someone today - this very day - will keep their appointment. And of course no one thinks it will be them.
That's why the Bible says, "Prepare to meet your God." We prepare for everything else in life, and we are so totally not ready to meet God. The only way to be ready is to know that every sin you've ever done has been forgiven. And the only way to have every sin forgiven is to give your life to the One who gave His life to forgive them. It took pain and eternal death penalty so you could have every sin wiped from your record in heaven.
It could happen for you today. God could take His eraser and erase it all if you would give yourself to His Son and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." You say, "I need to know how to do that." Go to our website. I think I can help you there. It's YoursForLife.net.
I hope you're ready for your appointment, because you know you've settled your relationship with your Savior. You've got to be ready for it because you can't make it go away.
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