Max Lucado Daily: Received—Not Earned
For God did not send His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that
the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:17
Can you imagine prospective parents saying, “We’d like to adopt Johnny, but first we want to know a few things. Will he be a good child? Healthy always? Oh, and can he fix his own meals? Do his own laundry?”
No agency would stand for such talk. They’d say, “Wait a minute. You don’t understand. You don’t adopt this child because of what he has; you adopt him because of what he needs. He needs a home.”
The same is true with God.
John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
He doesn’t adopt us because of what we have. He doesn’t give us His name because of our intelligence, or our wallet or good attitude.… Adoption is something we receive, not something we earn.
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d]
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hebrews 5:12–6:2
New International Version (NIV)
12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 6
1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Baby Food
November 15, 2011 — by C. P. Hia
Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. —Hebrews 5:14
Have you ever tasted baby food? I have. It’s terribly bland. But babies have no other choice without teeth. They certainly can’t eat a nice, juicy steak!
Sadly, some Christians are content with spiritual baby food. They are happy to go over and over the simple truths of the Scriptures and don’t move beyond the basics of the gospel (Heb. 6:1-2). By not sinking their teeth into deeper truths and more difficult Bible passages, they lack biblical understanding and convictions to make right choices (5:13). They may have been Christians for many years, but their spiritual abilities remain underdeveloped. They remain babies.
As children grow physically, they learn to eat solid food that gives them strength and vitality. In the same way, every believer needs to take on the responsibility to feed himself on solid spiritual food. To fail to do this is to remain spiritually weak and undernourished.
You can roughly tell the physical age of people by how they look. Their spiritual age is revealed by their ability to distinguish good from evil and by their personal character that’s shown day by day.
Is this spiritual discernment evident in your life? Or are you still on spiritual baby food?
To handle the Word of truth
Takes diligence and care,
So make the time to study it
And then that truth declare. —Hess
Apply yourself to the Scriptures and the Scriptures to yourself.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
"What Is That to You?"
Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Jumping Before You've Heard It All - #6482
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
When I was in high school, I was a part of Youth For Christ's very active Bible Quiz program. Now, it was a long time ago, but I still remember a lot that I learned in studying books of the Bible in this highly competitive atmosphere.
There was a lot of intense excitement when we would get together. Sometimes, believe it or not, thousands of people would be there for the competition as the championship quiz teams would be pitted against each other, seated on chairs that used, well what was then sophisticated equipment, and it registered who got off the chair first, and then they had the first opportunity to answer the question. If they jumped during the question, which I often did, that was the best way to make sure you got the opportunity, you had to finish the question correctly and then give the answer.
So here is the Quiz Master asking, jump as soon as you think you can finish this question. Many times we were so high-strung that we'd jump too soon...ridiculously soon. For example we'd be quizzing on the whole Gospel of John, and the Quiz Master would say, "Wh..." And suddenly you'd see three people on their feet, and he'd call, "Number one." Oh, you almost always lost that question, "Wh..." Who could figure that out? Of course, you always lose when you jump too soon.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Jumping Before You've Heard It All."
Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 18:13 - the great wisdom of Solomon. He says, "He who answers before listening..." Okay, sounds like that old Bible quiz doesn't it? "He who answers before listening, that is his folly; that is his shame." Well, the New Testament version of that might be James 1:19, which says this: "Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak." Now we have just slightly re-written that one. We're quick to speak and slow to listen. And notice the listening comes before the speaking.
Solomon tells us that we ought to be ashamed of ourselves. It's our folly! It's foolish! It's shameful if we speak before we listen. See, we hear the beginning of what someone is trying to tell us and we assume we know the rest. And like the old Bible quizzers, we jump with our reply. It happens in our marriage conversations. It happens between parents and children. We anticipate the rest and we don't understand each other as a result. Biblically wise people don't just listen to the sentence; they listen to the whole paragraph. They don't respond to the opening line. Oh, they may listen to the whole page. When you jump too soon, you usually end up misunderstanding. You react to the symptom, not the problem.
See, the person doesn't pay attention to what you're saying because you didn't pay attention to them. Conflict erupts, walls go up. If you played back the tape of you today, would we often hear you being quick to speak? If so, you might be inflicting hurt, frustration, misunderstanding and causing people to just shut down and not even want to tell you anymore.
How are you perceived by your mate, your children, your parents, your friends when it comes to listening? Maybe someone has basically stopped trying. But tell them you want another chance. It takes patience; it takes self-control to listen; not just to a person's words, but to their heart. It is, according to the Word of God, foolish not to listen before you speak.
Now, we're told that part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is patience and self-control. You know, that's what it takes to listen before you speak. So, "Dear Lord, give me patience. Give me self-control. Teach me, Lord, to listen."
Take it from an old Bible quizzer who sometimes couldn't wait, "When you jump too soon, you usually get it wrong."
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
2 Samuel 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Fire Burning
“The Lord hates what evil people do, but He loves those who do what is right.” Proverbs 15:9
Without forgiveness, bitterness is all that’s left.
Maybe it’s an old wound. A parent abused you. A mate betrayed you. And you’re angry.
Perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend who owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name.
And you’re hurt! There’s a fire burning in your heart. It’s the fire of anger. And you’re left with a decision.
Do I get over it or get even? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let hurt turn into hate?
Proverbs 15:9 says “The Lord hates what evil people do, but He loves those who do what is right.”
2 Samuel 5
David Becomes King Over Israel
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
8 On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.[b]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces[c] inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.
11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12 Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The LORD answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.[d] 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon[e] to Gezer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Lamentations 3:25-33
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.
31 For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
Grieving From A To Z
November 14, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion. —Lamentations 3:32
Jerusalem was engulfed in flames, and the prophet Jeremiah wept. His prediction of divine judgment had largely gone unheeded. Now his terrible prophecy had come to pass with horrifying vividness. The short book of Lamentations records the prophet’s grieving process over the destruction of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah organized the book around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, using a technique of alphabetic acrostics to aid the reader in memorizing the passages more easily. But using this technique also shows that he didn’t cut short his grieving process. He took deliberate and intentional time to reflect upon and even to write down his heartbreak. You might say he was learning to grieve from A to Z.
In the midst of his grief, the comfort of God surfaced. Reminders of God’s sovereignty and goodness gave the prophet hope as he faced the future: “The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lam. 3:31-32).
If you’ve recently experienced a painful loss, remember to take adequate time to grieve and to reflect upon God’s goodness. Then you will be able to experience His comfort and hope for the future.
To experience God’s comfort
While you’re suffering with grief,
Try to focus on God’s goodness,
And He’ll bring your heart relief. —Sper
God allows sorrows and tears today
to open our hearts to the joys of tomorrow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 14, 2011
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Funeral For a Ghost - #6481
Monday, November 14, 2011
We've always found our family in the comic strips. Yeah, frequently one of the kids would come to me with some cartoon in the newspaper and say, "Here we are, Dad!" And we were, sure enough. And it was often that comic strip--maybe you've seen it--Family Circus. The man behind it obviously has had children of his own. For example, whenever the parents find a mess, or something eaten or missing, they of course start asking the children who did it. Needless to say, no one ever takes responsibility. The parents always end up concluding that it was "The Ghost of 'Not Me.'" Does he live at your house--The Ghost of "Not Me"? Oh listen, I know a Father who has a hard time getting His kids to say, "It was my fault." Yeah, the kids are you and me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Funeral For a Ghost."
I want to have A Word With You today about this man who buried The Ghost of "Not Me." It was King David. Well, you remember the David in the middle of a glorious serving time in his life glorifying the Lord, commits this ugly sin with Bathsheba; the sin of adultery. Now he could have offered excuses. He could have said, "I was lonely that night. I couldn't help myself. I was vulnerable." He could have said, "Hey, she was tempting. She was willing. She could have said no." Or he could have said, "Well, you know, I was under a lot of stress from being king and all those battles I was in. Yeah, it's really hard being the King of Israel."
But listen to what he says in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 51:2-4, 7. It shows us how he handles his responsibility for what he did. "Wash away all my iniquity, Lord, and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Boy, he knows who's responsible. Verse 7 - he says, "Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow."
Now, contrast that, just for example, with the public statement that was issued after the disclosure of the adulterous activity of a prominent Christian leader. Here's what he said to the newspaper, "After seven years in an isolated incident, I was wickedly manipulated by treacherous former friends, and then colleagues who victimized me with the aid of a female confederate. They conspired to betray me into a sexual encounter at a time of great stress in my marital life." Excuse me, but did you notice the verbs, "I was manipulated," "victimized," "conspired against," "betrayed"? Hello! Sounds a little different than King David doesn't it? Not, "I'm a sinner." "I'm a victim."
Okay, now before you're too quick to condemn that leader and say, "Shame on him!", let's look in the mirror. Aren't we quick to rationalize our sin; to blame our upbringing, our parents, our husband, our wife, our friends, blame our school, blame our office, the atmosphere around us, the environment, this awful temptation? God says, "Who's to blame for what you're doing?" You say, "Not me!" There he is, The Ghost of "Not Me." That started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. "It's her fault!" "No, it's his fault!" "No, it's the serpent's fault!"
See, there's no healing, there's no forgiveness, there's no peace until you join David in saying, "I am without excuse, Lord. It's sin. I call it what You call it, and I accept full responsibility for it. I quit blaming anything or anyone around me. I'm dirty, Lord. I need to be clean by the blood of Christ."
You know, He is willing to do that for an entire lifetime of sinning, if you will make the Savior, who died for the sin of the world your Savior, who died for your personal sin. Say, "Jesus, I'm Yours!" I would love to help you do that. There's information that will help you get that forgiveness from Him today. Go to our website - it's YoursForLife.net.
Hey, maybe you've been dodging your responsibility for what you've done. Well, you're only compounding the damage of that sin. Confession contains the damage. That ghost of "not me" is keeping you from the peace you need so desperately. "It's me, Lord!" Let's have a funeral for that ghost.
“The Lord hates what evil people do, but He loves those who do what is right.” Proverbs 15:9
Without forgiveness, bitterness is all that’s left.
Maybe it’s an old wound. A parent abused you. A mate betrayed you. And you’re angry.
Perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend who owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name.
And you’re hurt! There’s a fire burning in your heart. It’s the fire of anger. And you’re left with a decision.
Do I get over it or get even? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let hurt turn into hate?
Proverbs 15:9 says “The Lord hates what evil people do, but He loves those who do what is right.”
2 Samuel 5
David Becomes King Over Israel
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
8 On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.[b]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces[c] inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.
11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12 Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The LORD answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.[d] 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon[e] to Gezer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Lamentations 3:25-33
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.
31 For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
Grieving From A To Z
November 14, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion. —Lamentations 3:32
Jerusalem was engulfed in flames, and the prophet Jeremiah wept. His prediction of divine judgment had largely gone unheeded. Now his terrible prophecy had come to pass with horrifying vividness. The short book of Lamentations records the prophet’s grieving process over the destruction of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah organized the book around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, using a technique of alphabetic acrostics to aid the reader in memorizing the passages more easily. But using this technique also shows that he didn’t cut short his grieving process. He took deliberate and intentional time to reflect upon and even to write down his heartbreak. You might say he was learning to grieve from A to Z.
In the midst of his grief, the comfort of God surfaced. Reminders of God’s sovereignty and goodness gave the prophet hope as he faced the future: “The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lam. 3:31-32).
If you’ve recently experienced a painful loss, remember to take adequate time to grieve and to reflect upon God’s goodness. Then you will be able to experience His comfort and hope for the future.
To experience God’s comfort
While you’re suffering with grief,
Try to focus on God’s goodness,
And He’ll bring your heart relief. —Sper
God allows sorrows and tears today
to open our hearts to the joys of tomorrow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 14, 2011
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Funeral For a Ghost - #6481
Monday, November 14, 2011
We've always found our family in the comic strips. Yeah, frequently one of the kids would come to me with some cartoon in the newspaper and say, "Here we are, Dad!" And we were, sure enough. And it was often that comic strip--maybe you've seen it--Family Circus. The man behind it obviously has had children of his own. For example, whenever the parents find a mess, or something eaten or missing, they of course start asking the children who did it. Needless to say, no one ever takes responsibility. The parents always end up concluding that it was "The Ghost of 'Not Me.'" Does he live at your house--The Ghost of "Not Me"? Oh listen, I know a Father who has a hard time getting His kids to say, "It was my fault." Yeah, the kids are you and me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Funeral For a Ghost."
I want to have A Word With You today about this man who buried The Ghost of "Not Me." It was King David. Well, you remember the David in the middle of a glorious serving time in his life glorifying the Lord, commits this ugly sin with Bathsheba; the sin of adultery. Now he could have offered excuses. He could have said, "I was lonely that night. I couldn't help myself. I was vulnerable." He could have said, "Hey, she was tempting. She was willing. She could have said no." Or he could have said, "Well, you know, I was under a lot of stress from being king and all those battles I was in. Yeah, it's really hard being the King of Israel."
But listen to what he says in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 51:2-4, 7. It shows us how he handles his responsibility for what he did. "Wash away all my iniquity, Lord, and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Boy, he knows who's responsible. Verse 7 - he says, "Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow."
Now, contrast that, just for example, with the public statement that was issued after the disclosure of the adulterous activity of a prominent Christian leader. Here's what he said to the newspaper, "After seven years in an isolated incident, I was wickedly manipulated by treacherous former friends, and then colleagues who victimized me with the aid of a female confederate. They conspired to betray me into a sexual encounter at a time of great stress in my marital life." Excuse me, but did you notice the verbs, "I was manipulated," "victimized," "conspired against," "betrayed"? Hello! Sounds a little different than King David doesn't it? Not, "I'm a sinner." "I'm a victim."
Okay, now before you're too quick to condemn that leader and say, "Shame on him!", let's look in the mirror. Aren't we quick to rationalize our sin; to blame our upbringing, our parents, our husband, our wife, our friends, blame our school, blame our office, the atmosphere around us, the environment, this awful temptation? God says, "Who's to blame for what you're doing?" You say, "Not me!" There he is, The Ghost of "Not Me." That started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. "It's her fault!" "No, it's his fault!" "No, it's the serpent's fault!"
See, there's no healing, there's no forgiveness, there's no peace until you join David in saying, "I am without excuse, Lord. It's sin. I call it what You call it, and I accept full responsibility for it. I quit blaming anything or anyone around me. I'm dirty, Lord. I need to be clean by the blood of Christ."
You know, He is willing to do that for an entire lifetime of sinning, if you will make the Savior, who died for the sin of the world your Savior, who died for your personal sin. Say, "Jesus, I'm Yours!" I would love to help you do that. There's information that will help you get that forgiveness from Him today. Go to our website - it's YoursForLife.net.
Hey, maybe you've been dodging your responsibility for what you've done. Well, you're only compounding the damage of that sin. Confession contains the damage. That ghost of "not me" is keeping you from the peace you need so desperately. "It's me, Lord!" Let's have a funeral for that ghost.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
2 Samuel 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Let Him Change Your Mind
Set your mind on the things above,
not on the things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2 NASB
God…changes the man by changing the mind. And how does it happen? By…considering the glory of Christ…
To behold him is to become like him. As Christ dominates your thoughts, he changes you from one degree of glory to another until—hang on!—you are ready to live with him.
Heaven is the land of sinless minds…Absolute trust. No fear or anger. Shame and second guessing are practices of a prior life. Heaven will be wonderful, not because the streets are gold, but because our thoughts will be pure.
So what are you waiting on?...Give him your best thoughts, and see if he doesn’t change your mind.
2 Samuel 4
Ish-Bosheth Murdered
1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 3:8-17
Suffering for Doing Good
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Be Who You Are
November 13, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. —1 Peter 3:14
While awaiting a routine medical procedure in a local hospital, I noticed a wall plaque showing Christ on a cross. Later, a nurse asked me several administrative questions, in-cluding, “Do you have any spiritual needs you’d like to discuss with a chaplain?” I said that I appreciated her asking that question, which I found unusual in today’s world. She replied with a smile that they are a faith-based hospital and “that’s part of our mission.” I was impressed that the people were not afraid to be who they are in an increasingly secular and pluralistic society.
Peter urged the first-century believers who had been scattered by persecution and were living in a hostile world to consider it a blessing to suffer for the sake of what is right. “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT).
Just as the woman at the hospital freely stated their faith, so we can express ours. And if we are criticized or treated unfairly because of our belief in Christ, we should respond with gentleness and respect. We should never be afraid to be who we are in Him.
Whenever people judge and say
They don’t like what we believe,
We need to show a Christlike grace—
Then our Lord they might receive. —Branon
It’s better to suffer for the cause of Christ
than for the cause of Christ to suffer.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Faith or Experience?
. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
Set your mind on the things above,
not on the things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2 NASB
God…changes the man by changing the mind. And how does it happen? By…considering the glory of Christ…
To behold him is to become like him. As Christ dominates your thoughts, he changes you from one degree of glory to another until—hang on!—you are ready to live with him.
Heaven is the land of sinless minds…Absolute trust. No fear or anger. Shame and second guessing are practices of a prior life. Heaven will be wonderful, not because the streets are gold, but because our thoughts will be pure.
So what are you waiting on?...Give him your best thoughts, and see if he doesn’t change your mind.
2 Samuel 4
Ish-Bosheth Murdered
1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 3:8-17
Suffering for Doing Good
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Be Who You Are
November 13, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. —1 Peter 3:14
While awaiting a routine medical procedure in a local hospital, I noticed a wall plaque showing Christ on a cross. Later, a nurse asked me several administrative questions, in-cluding, “Do you have any spiritual needs you’d like to discuss with a chaplain?” I said that I appreciated her asking that question, which I found unusual in today’s world. She replied with a smile that they are a faith-based hospital and “that’s part of our mission.” I was impressed that the people were not afraid to be who they are in an increasingly secular and pluralistic society.
Peter urged the first-century believers who had been scattered by persecution and were living in a hostile world to consider it a blessing to suffer for the sake of what is right. “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT).
Just as the woman at the hospital freely stated their faith, so we can express ours. And if we are criticized or treated unfairly because of our belief in Christ, we should respond with gentleness and respect. We should never be afraid to be who we are in Him.
Whenever people judge and say
They don’t like what we believe,
We need to show a Christlike grace—
Then our Lord they might receive. —Branon
It’s better to suffer for the cause of Christ
than for the cause of Christ to suffer.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Faith or Experience?
. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
2 Samuel 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Honest with God
If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. Proverbs 28:13
Our [high school] baseball coach had a firm rule against chewing tobacco. We had a couple of players who were known to sneak a chew, and he wanted to call it to our attention.
He got our attention, all right. Before long we’d all tried it. A sure test of manhood was to take a chew when the pouch was passed down the bench. I had barely made the team; I sure wasn’t going to fail the test of manhood.
One day I’d just popped a plug in my mouth when one of the players warned, “Here comes the coach!” Not wanting to get caught, I did what came naturally, I swallowed. Gulp.
I added new meaning to the Scripture, “I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.…” I paid the price for hiding my disobedience.
My body was not made to ingest tobacco. Your soul was not made to invest sin.
May I ask a frank question? Are you keeping any secrets from God? … Take a pointer from a nauseated third baseman. You’ll feel better if you get it out.
2 Samuel 3
1 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron:
His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;
the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;
the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.
These were born to David in Hebron.
Abner Goes Over to David
6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath 10 and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”
13 “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15 So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.
17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”
19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
Joab Murders Abner
22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.
24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”
26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.
28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy[a] or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”
30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.
33 The king sang this lament for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34 Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”
And all the people wept over him again.
35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 15:22-27
The Waters of Marah and Elim
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[a]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
The Road To Blessing
November 12, 2011 — by Dave Branon
So [Moses] cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. —Exodus 15:25
Robyn and Steve have a counseling ministry that provides very little income. Recently, a family crisis forced them to embark on a 5,000-mile round trip in their well-used minivan.
After attending to the crisis, they started back to Michigan. While about 2,000 miles from home, their van began to sputter and stall. A mechanic looked at it and told them, “It’s done. You need a new engine.”
Unable to afford one, they had no choice but to coax the van home. Three days, a case of oil, and a lot of prayers later, they miraculously limped into their driveway. Then they heard of a “car missionary” who assisted people in ministry. Amazed that the van had made it, he offered to replace the engine free of charge. If Steve had gotten the van fixed en route, it would have cost him thousands of dollars he didn’t have.
In Exodus 15, the Israelites were led by God into the desert. Three days into their trip, they ran out of water and had no way to get it. But God knew about the problem. In fact, a solution awaited them in Marah (v.25) and Elim (v.27). God not only fixed their water problem but also provided a place to rest.
Even when our situation looks difficult, we can trust that God is leading. He already knows what we’ll need when we get there.
I know not by what methods rare
The Lord provides for me;
I only know that all my needs
He meets so graciously. —Adams
Facing an impossibility gives us the opportunity to trust God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. Proverbs 28:13
Our [high school] baseball coach had a firm rule against chewing tobacco. We had a couple of players who were known to sneak a chew, and he wanted to call it to our attention.
He got our attention, all right. Before long we’d all tried it. A sure test of manhood was to take a chew when the pouch was passed down the bench. I had barely made the team; I sure wasn’t going to fail the test of manhood.
One day I’d just popped a plug in my mouth when one of the players warned, “Here comes the coach!” Not wanting to get caught, I did what came naturally, I swallowed. Gulp.
I added new meaning to the Scripture, “I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.…” I paid the price for hiding my disobedience.
My body was not made to ingest tobacco. Your soul was not made to invest sin.
May I ask a frank question? Are you keeping any secrets from God? … Take a pointer from a nauseated third baseman. You’ll feel better if you get it out.
2 Samuel 3
1 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron:
His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;
the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;
the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.
These were born to David in Hebron.
Abner Goes Over to David
6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath 10 and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”
13 “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
15 So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.
17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”
19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
Joab Murders Abner
22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.
24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”
26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.
28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy[a] or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”
30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.
33 The king sang this lament for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34 Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”
And all the people wept over him again.
35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 15:22-27
The Waters of Marah and Elim
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[a]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
The Road To Blessing
November 12, 2011 — by Dave Branon
So [Moses] cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. —Exodus 15:25
Robyn and Steve have a counseling ministry that provides very little income. Recently, a family crisis forced them to embark on a 5,000-mile round trip in their well-used minivan.
After attending to the crisis, they started back to Michigan. While about 2,000 miles from home, their van began to sputter and stall. A mechanic looked at it and told them, “It’s done. You need a new engine.”
Unable to afford one, they had no choice but to coax the van home. Three days, a case of oil, and a lot of prayers later, they miraculously limped into their driveway. Then they heard of a “car missionary” who assisted people in ministry. Amazed that the van had made it, he offered to replace the engine free of charge. If Steve had gotten the van fixed en route, it would have cost him thousands of dollars he didn’t have.
In Exodus 15, the Israelites were led by God into the desert. Three days into their trip, they ran out of water and had no way to get it. But God knew about the problem. In fact, a solution awaited them in Marah (v.25) and Elim (v.27). God not only fixed their water problem but also provided a place to rest.
Even when our situation looks difficult, we can trust that God is leading. He already knows what we’ll need when we get there.
I know not by what methods rare
The Lord provides for me;
I only know that all my needs
He meets so graciously. —Adams
Facing an impossibility gives us the opportunity to trust God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Luke 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Taking No Chances
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
Isa. 43:2–3 NASB
With God—chance is eliminated.
God knows what is best. No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, his presence, and his permission.
Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.”
What encouragement! You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate. Chance is eliminated. You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune. Would God truly abandon you to the whims of drug-crazed thieves, greedy corporate raiders, or evil leaders? Perish the thought!
You live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of your life, and delights in doing you good.
Remember this. Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.
Luke 24:36-53
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 8:31-39
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
True Security
November 11, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37
During the Cold War—a period of unrest between major world powers in the last half of the 20th century—Americans lived under the threat of nuclear war. I recall that during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, we seemed to be a heartbeat away from annihilation. It was heady stuff for a sixth-grader.
One of my strangest memories of those turbulent times was the school safety drill. An alarm would sound, and we would hide under our desks—for protection from atomic bombs. Looking back, I’m certain it wouldn’t have helped us in the event of a nuclear holocaust. It may have even given us a false sense of security.
While we may not face the same level of nuclear threat today, there are still many dangers that scare us—and some of them are spiritual. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our battles are “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” These are mighty foes indeed, but God has given us His protective love (Rom. 8:35,38-39) and the spiritual resources of His armor (Eph. 6:13-17).
The result? While we face powerful enemies, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). In our heavenly Father, we have true security.
Though danger lurks on every side,
In Christ our Lord we will abide;
Our God is strong, our hope is sure—
In Him alone we are secure! —Fitzhugh
Safety is not found in the absence of danger,
but in the presence of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Supreme Climb
He said, ’Take now your son . . .’ —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Facing the Flame - #6480
Friday, November 11, 2011
Because we have so many Native American friends in the Southwest, I was carefully watching a ravenous wildfire in eastern Arizona. You know, when you are told to evacuate, honestly you never know if you'll have a home to come back to.
And that was the situation for some First Nations (that's the Native people of Canada)...some First Nations young people who attended a Native youth conference that I spoke for in western Canada. Their homes had been in the path of these fast-spreading fires in what's called the Slave Lake area of Alberta. Because no one had been allowed back in to that fire zone yet, some of the young people who attended didn't even know if they'd have a home to go to.
Well, out of the Slave Lake disaster came a front page story that was actually more about hope than tragedy. A lady who watched as the fires moved closer and closer to her home knew that an evacuation order was coming pretty soon. And that led to a soul-searching question, "What will I take with me when I go?" She made a choice that displayed some amazing priorities. She decided she would pack her vehicle with people, not possessions.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Facing the Flames."
So when this woman who was trying to decide what she would take with her fled town hours later, she did just that. She took a number of people who did not have vehicles of their own--including women with children--and she left her stuff behind.
Well later she spoke at a special church service for the victims, and she spoke with pretty deep emotion. She said, "You know, I actually had joy in my heart...that there were people able to come with us, because people are what matter."
Yes, they are. But in the push and shove of our fast-moving lives, it's easy to forget that isn't it? So many demands, so many deadlines, so much stuff. But nothing matters as much as the people in our lives: stopping for them, listening to them, letting Jesus love them through us. They're the only thing in our life that is made in the personal image of God Himself and the only thing that will last forever and ever. So that lady's question is one we all need to asking. I know I do. "What will I take with me when I go?" Or, more accurately, "Who will I take with me?"
Now, in our word today from the Word of God, Paul, God's ambassador, knew the answer. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, Paul writes to those that he had introduced to Jesus, and he says this: "What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."
That's what we'll have ultimately to show for the years God gave us on this earth, the one time we get to go around, is the people who will be in heaven because we cared. And they'll be there because Jesus died for them. But they'll be there because somebody like you or me told them that He died for them.
Could it be that we've gotten so busy and even so involved in accumulating blessing at our church, at our conferences, and our Bible studies that we have walked right by the people who are facing the flames? You know, we're all called to rescue them.
Jude 23 puts it this way, "Snatch others from the fire and save them." Because, you see, everything else is eventually going to burn.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
Isa. 43:2–3 NASB
With God—chance is eliminated.
God knows what is best. No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, his presence, and his permission.
Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.”
What encouragement! You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate. Chance is eliminated. You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune. Would God truly abandon you to the whims of drug-crazed thieves, greedy corporate raiders, or evil leaders? Perish the thought!
You live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of your life, and delights in doing you good.
Remember this. Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.
Luke 24:36-53
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 8:31-39
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
True Security
November 11, 2011 — by Bill Crowder
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37
During the Cold War—a period of unrest between major world powers in the last half of the 20th century—Americans lived under the threat of nuclear war. I recall that during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, we seemed to be a heartbeat away from annihilation. It was heady stuff for a sixth-grader.
One of my strangest memories of those turbulent times was the school safety drill. An alarm would sound, and we would hide under our desks—for protection from atomic bombs. Looking back, I’m certain it wouldn’t have helped us in the event of a nuclear holocaust. It may have even given us a false sense of security.
While we may not face the same level of nuclear threat today, there are still many dangers that scare us—and some of them are spiritual. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our battles are “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” These are mighty foes indeed, but God has given us His protective love (Rom. 8:35,38-39) and the spiritual resources of His armor (Eph. 6:13-17).
The result? While we face powerful enemies, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). In our heavenly Father, we have true security.
Though danger lurks on every side,
In Christ our Lord we will abide;
Our God is strong, our hope is sure—
In Him alone we are secure! —Fitzhugh
Safety is not found in the absence of danger,
but in the presence of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Supreme Climb
He said, ’Take now your son . . .’ —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Facing the Flame - #6480
Friday, November 11, 2011
Because we have so many Native American friends in the Southwest, I was carefully watching a ravenous wildfire in eastern Arizona. You know, when you are told to evacuate, honestly you never know if you'll have a home to come back to.
And that was the situation for some First Nations (that's the Native people of Canada)...some First Nations young people who attended a Native youth conference that I spoke for in western Canada. Their homes had been in the path of these fast-spreading fires in what's called the Slave Lake area of Alberta. Because no one had been allowed back in to that fire zone yet, some of the young people who attended didn't even know if they'd have a home to go to.
Well, out of the Slave Lake disaster came a front page story that was actually more about hope than tragedy. A lady who watched as the fires moved closer and closer to her home knew that an evacuation order was coming pretty soon. And that led to a soul-searching question, "What will I take with me when I go?" She made a choice that displayed some amazing priorities. She decided she would pack her vehicle with people, not possessions.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Facing the Flames."
So when this woman who was trying to decide what she would take with her fled town hours later, she did just that. She took a number of people who did not have vehicles of their own--including women with children--and she left her stuff behind.
Well later she spoke at a special church service for the victims, and she spoke with pretty deep emotion. She said, "You know, I actually had joy in my heart...that there were people able to come with us, because people are what matter."
Yes, they are. But in the push and shove of our fast-moving lives, it's easy to forget that isn't it? So many demands, so many deadlines, so much stuff. But nothing matters as much as the people in our lives: stopping for them, listening to them, letting Jesus love them through us. They're the only thing in our life that is made in the personal image of God Himself and the only thing that will last forever and ever. So that lady's question is one we all need to asking. I know I do. "What will I take with me when I go?" Or, more accurately, "Who will I take with me?"
Now, in our word today from the Word of God, Paul, God's ambassador, knew the answer. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, Paul writes to those that he had introduced to Jesus, and he says this: "What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."
That's what we'll have ultimately to show for the years God gave us on this earth, the one time we get to go around, is the people who will be in heaven because we cared. And they'll be there because Jesus died for them. But they'll be there because somebody like you or me told them that He died for them.
Could it be that we've gotten so busy and even so involved in accumulating blessing at our church, at our conferences, and our Bible studies that we have walked right by the people who are facing the flames? You know, we're all called to rescue them.
Jude 23 puts it this way, "Snatch others from the fire and save them." Because, you see, everything else is eventually going to burn.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
2 Samuel 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Pray!
Anyone who is having troubles
should pray. Anyone who is happy
should sing praises.
James 5:13
When a believing person prays—great things happen.
If you want to deepen your prayer life—pray. Don’t prepare to pray. Just pray. Don’t read about prayer. Just pray. Don’t attend a lecture on prayer or engage in discussion about prayer. Just pray.
James 5:13 says anyone who’s having troubles should pray. Anyone who’s happy should sing praises.
Posture, tone, and place are personal matters. Do what works for you. Just don’t overthink it. In other words, don’t be so concerned about wrapping the gift that you never give it. Better to pray awkwardly than not at all.
And if you feel you should only pray when you’re inspired, that’s okay. Just see to it that you are inspired every day.
2 Samuel 2
David Anointed King Over Judah
1 In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The LORD said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the LORD answered.
2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.
When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6 May the LORD now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7 Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul
8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”
“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.[c]
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20 Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It is,” he answered.
21 Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
22 Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”
23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”
27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”
28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours[d] and came to Mahanaim.
30 Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. 31 But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 3:22-36
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
It’s All About Him
November 10, 2011 — by Anne Cetas
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
When Sheri got engaged, her single friend Amy celebrated with her. She planned a bridal shower, helped pick out her wedding dress, walked down the aisle just before her, and stood by her side during the ceremony. When Sheri and her husband had children, Amy gave baby showers and rejoiced in her friend’s blessings.
Sheri told Amy later, “You’ve comforted me during hard times, but the way I especially know you love me is that you rejoice with me in my good times. You haven’t let any jealousy hold you back from celebrating with me.”
When John’s disciples heard that a new rabbi named Jesus was gaining followers, they thought John might be jealous (John 3:26). They came to him and said, “He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” But John celebrated Jesus’ ministry. He said, “I have been sent before Him. . . . The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled” (vv.28-29).
An attitude of humility should also characterize us. Rather than desiring attention for ourselves, everything we do should bring glory to our Savior. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v.30).
Not I but Christ be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I but Christ be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I but Christ in every look and action;
Not I but Christ in every thought and word. —Whiddington
If we want an increase of Christ, there must be a decrease of self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fellowship in the Gospel
. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . . —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Who Stole the Cross? - #6479
Thursday, November #10, 2011
Somebody stole the cross! Go figure.
Well, I mean that was a news story that got my attention a while back. The missing cross was a six-foot-tall metal structure that was embedded in rock and concrete, and it was perched high up on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert. Veterans actually placed it there to honor those who've died fighting for their country. And wow! It's been there for 75 years--no problem; suddenly--problem. People who didn't want it there argued against it all the way to the Supreme Court. And for the time being, the Justices said that it could stay. But then somebody just went up there and stole the cross. It's crazy.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Who Stole the Cross."
As soon as I heard the story, something much more troubling hit me. The cross has gone missing a lot of places these days; places that matter a lot more to God than some mountainside in the desert. I've listened to lots of sermons and Christian radio programs, and sometimes I've heard little or nothing about Jesus' cross. I've heard lots of Christian talk about how to have a great marriage, or how to raise your kids, how to manage your money, how to have a good self-image, but somehow they never got to the cross.
I've heard some great Bible teaching that was deep and powerful, but the cross was on the margins or not even on the page. We'll talk a lot about important things like justice for the oppressed, compassion for the poor, and help for families, and God cares about all of them. But we never get to God's game-changer for a sin-broken planet, and that's the cross of Christ.
Sadly, I think of lost people I've known for a long time and talked to about a lot of things, but somehow I've never told them about the cross where Jesus died for them. I suspect I'm not alone. Too often, Christians talk a lot about their church or their faith, but not much about their Savior. Oh, yeah, somebody stole the cross...from our conversations, from our ministries, maybe even from the center of our hearts.
Oh, I know who took it. The one Jesus called "...the thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10). The devil hates the cross because as the Bible says, "having disarmed the powers and authorities, (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).
You know, Satan's death warrant is signed in the blood of Jesus. He knows the power of that cross. The oft-quoted Charles Spurgeon called the cross God's "magnificent magnet." And in our word for today from the Word of God in John 12:32, Jesus said this about His cross: "When I am lifted up...I will draw all men to Myself." No wonder Satan says, "Hey, go ahead. Talk about everything you want. Just don't mention that cross." Talk about your church. Talk about your faith. Talk about your family values. Don't mention the cross! The enemy of our souls knows its power and does whatever it takes to erase the cross from our view.
Now, veterans are outraged that the cross was stolen from that hill. We should be outraged! We've allowed Jesus' cross to be stolen from the center of our hearts, and our ministries, and our conversations. "The message of the cross," 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "is...the power of God." I need to be as passionate about elevating that cross as the world and the devil are about eliminating it.
I have the unspeakable privilege of taking a lost friend by the hand and walking with them up a hill the Bible calls Skull Hill, and standing there at the foot of an old rugged cross, and sharing with them the greatest love in the universe. "What He did here, my friend, was for you." Without that cross, there is no hope...no heaven.
Anyone who is having troubles
should pray. Anyone who is happy
should sing praises.
James 5:13
When a believing person prays—great things happen.
If you want to deepen your prayer life—pray. Don’t prepare to pray. Just pray. Don’t read about prayer. Just pray. Don’t attend a lecture on prayer or engage in discussion about prayer. Just pray.
James 5:13 says anyone who’s having troubles should pray. Anyone who’s happy should sing praises.
Posture, tone, and place are personal matters. Do what works for you. Just don’t overthink it. In other words, don’t be so concerned about wrapping the gift that you never give it. Better to pray awkwardly than not at all.
And if you feel you should only pray when you’re inspired, that’s okay. Just see to it that you are inspired every day.
2 Samuel 2
David Anointed King Over Judah
1 In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The LORD said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the LORD answered.
2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.
When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. 6 May the LORD now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. 7 Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul
8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”
“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.[c]
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20 Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“It is,” he answered.
21 Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
22 Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”
23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
26 Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”
27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”
28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours[d] and came to Mahanaim.
30 Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. 31 But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. 32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 3:22-36
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
It’s All About Him
November 10, 2011 — by Anne Cetas
He must increase, but I must decrease. —John 3:30
When Sheri got engaged, her single friend Amy celebrated with her. She planned a bridal shower, helped pick out her wedding dress, walked down the aisle just before her, and stood by her side during the ceremony. When Sheri and her husband had children, Amy gave baby showers and rejoiced in her friend’s blessings.
Sheri told Amy later, “You’ve comforted me during hard times, but the way I especially know you love me is that you rejoice with me in my good times. You haven’t let any jealousy hold you back from celebrating with me.”
When John’s disciples heard that a new rabbi named Jesus was gaining followers, they thought John might be jealous (John 3:26). They came to him and said, “He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” But John celebrated Jesus’ ministry. He said, “I have been sent before Him. . . . The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled” (vv.28-29).
An attitude of humility should also characterize us. Rather than desiring attention for ourselves, everything we do should bring glory to our Savior. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v.30).
Not I but Christ be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I but Christ be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I but Christ in every look and action;
Not I but Christ in every thought and word. —Whiddington
If we want an increase of Christ, there must be a decrease of self.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fellowship in the Gospel
. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . . —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Who Stole the Cross? - #6479
Thursday, November #10, 2011
Somebody stole the cross! Go figure.
Well, I mean that was a news story that got my attention a while back. The missing cross was a six-foot-tall metal structure that was embedded in rock and concrete, and it was perched high up on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert. Veterans actually placed it there to honor those who've died fighting for their country. And wow! It's been there for 75 years--no problem; suddenly--problem. People who didn't want it there argued against it all the way to the Supreme Court. And for the time being, the Justices said that it could stay. But then somebody just went up there and stole the cross. It's crazy.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Who Stole the Cross."
As soon as I heard the story, something much more troubling hit me. The cross has gone missing a lot of places these days; places that matter a lot more to God than some mountainside in the desert. I've listened to lots of sermons and Christian radio programs, and sometimes I've heard little or nothing about Jesus' cross. I've heard lots of Christian talk about how to have a great marriage, or how to raise your kids, how to manage your money, how to have a good self-image, but somehow they never got to the cross.
I've heard some great Bible teaching that was deep and powerful, but the cross was on the margins or not even on the page. We'll talk a lot about important things like justice for the oppressed, compassion for the poor, and help for families, and God cares about all of them. But we never get to God's game-changer for a sin-broken planet, and that's the cross of Christ.
Sadly, I think of lost people I've known for a long time and talked to about a lot of things, but somehow I've never told them about the cross where Jesus died for them. I suspect I'm not alone. Too often, Christians talk a lot about their church or their faith, but not much about their Savior. Oh, yeah, somebody stole the cross...from our conversations, from our ministries, maybe even from the center of our hearts.
Oh, I know who took it. The one Jesus called "...the thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10). The devil hates the cross because as the Bible says, "having disarmed the powers and authorities, (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).
You know, Satan's death warrant is signed in the blood of Jesus. He knows the power of that cross. The oft-quoted Charles Spurgeon called the cross God's "magnificent magnet." And in our word for today from the Word of God in John 12:32, Jesus said this about His cross: "When I am lifted up...I will draw all men to Myself." No wonder Satan says, "Hey, go ahead. Talk about everything you want. Just don't mention that cross." Talk about your church. Talk about your faith. Talk about your family values. Don't mention the cross! The enemy of our souls knows its power and does whatever it takes to erase the cross from our view.
Now, veterans are outraged that the cross was stolen from that hill. We should be outraged! We've allowed Jesus' cross to be stolen from the center of our hearts, and our ministries, and our conversations. "The message of the cross," 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "is...the power of God." I need to be as passionate about elevating that cross as the world and the devil are about eliminating it.
I have the unspeakable privilege of taking a lost friend by the hand and walking with them up a hill the Bible calls Skull Hill, and standing there at the foot of an old rugged cross, and sharing with them the greatest love in the universe. "What He did here, my friend, was for you." Without that cross, there is no hope...no heaven.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
2 Samuel 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Contentment
I have learned to be satisfied
with the things I have and with
everything that happens.
Philippians 4:11
What if God’s only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is, “My grace is enough.” Would you be content?
From heaven’s perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?
Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we moan about what we don’t have?
2 Samuel 1
David Hears of Saul’s Death
1 After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
17 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
19 “A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty have fallen!
20 “Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21 “Mountains of Gilboa,
may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b]
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
22 “From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 2:22-38
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[b]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Waiting . . .
November 9, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Blessed are all those who wait for Him. —Isaiah 30:18
Autumn is hunting season here in Michigan. For a few weeks every year, licensed hunters are allowed to go out into the woods and hunt for various species of wildlife. Some hunters build elaborate tree stands high above the ground where they sit quietly for hours waiting for a deer to wander within rifle range.
When I think of hunters who are so patient when it comes to waiting for deer, I think of how impatient we can be when we have to wait for God. We often equate “wait” with “waste.” If we’re waiting for something (or someone), we think we are doing nothing, which, in an accomplishment-crazed culture, seems like a waste of time.
But waiting serves many purposes. In particular, it proves our faith. Those whose faith is weak are often the first to give up waiting, while those with the strongest faith are willing to wait indefinitely.
When we read the Christmas story in Luke 2, we learn of two people who proved their faith by their willingness to wait. Simeon and Anna waited long, but their time wasn’t wasted; it put them in a place where they could witness the coming of Messiah (vv.22-38).
Not receiving an immediate answer to prayer is no reason to give up faith.
Not ours to know the reason why
Unanswered is our prayer,
But ours to wait for God’s own time
To lift the cross we bear. —Anon.
Waiting for God is never a waste of time.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . . —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Win, I Win - #6478
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Joey's story really touched me. Joey ran in the handicapped Olympics that were held in conjunction with the Olympics in Seoul, Korea some years ago. Of course it was at a separate location, and in his particular track event there were only two people competing. Well, Joey got off to a good start, but of course because of his handicaps, his arms and legs were flailing and he wasn't very graceful. The announcer was heard to say at the beginning of the race, "I'm glad I'm not like Joey."
Well, as Joey took the lead, his coach kept yelling over the sounds of a crowd who were basically dispersing for the day, "Come on, Joey, you're a winner! You can do it!" And as Joey continued to increase his lead, he would chant and say, "Come on, Joey, that's it! You're a winner! You're a winner!" Well, Joey was doing better and better, and his coach's cheers were getting louder and louder.
And then suddenly Joey stopped in his tracks. What happened after that melted that announcer's heart, and actually mine too when I heard about it. Maybe you'll be like me. Maybe you'll want to be like Joey.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Win, I Win."
Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 9. We'll get to that after you hear what Joey did when he stopped in his tracks during the race. Much to the consternation of his coach, he turned to his opponent; the only other guy in the race and yelled, "Come on! You're a winner too! You're a winner too!" His coach ran out to the track and yelled, "No! You don't want him to be a winner! You're the winner!"
Well, no matter what the coach said, Joey waited for that other boy to catch up. And then they crossed the finish line together with their arms raised in victory. The announcer who had said at the beginning of the race, "Sure glad I'm not like Joey" at the end was heard to say, "I sure wish I was more like Joey" and so do I.
See, in a competitive, I've got to make it world; the real heroes are the people who make other people winners. Acts 9 tells us about Barnabas, who we are told was the one who when the disciples didn't know what to do with Saul of Tarsus--this former Christian Persecutor--it says, "Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." And then we're told in Acts 11:25, "Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul." Then in chapter 13, God says, "Separate for me Barnabas and Saul for the work." And then by the end of that chapter it says, "Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue." Did you notice, Barnabas was in the front seat when we started here, and suddenly he's taken a back seat?
See, Barnabas? Well, he was like Joey. He didn't have to come out on top; he didn't care it they remembered his name. He just wanted others to win. Wow! Are you like that? Your Master was. He gave up His life for ours so we can win eternal life. Your friends need someone who's willing to put aside their own interests and to say, "You're a winner! You can make it!"
You see, your children need that kind of encouragement from you. They need to know not just what needs improving. We're really good as parents at talking about that. They need to know what they are doing right. "You can do it! You're a winner, my daughter! You're a winner, my son!" And the people at work starved for encouragement, the people at your church; again there could be a lot of shame, there could be a lot of guilt, there could be a lot of condemnation. A lot of people don't feel very important. A lot of people feel on the edges--excluded. Will you be the one who pushes other people to the front? You won't lose if you stop promoting you and start promoting others. You'll both win.
So, be like your Master. Enable someone else to be a winner. Look at the people close to you and quit trying to beat them, or use them, or to control them. Look at them and say, "Hey, if you win, I win."
I have learned to be satisfied
with the things I have and with
everything that happens.
Philippians 4:11
What if God’s only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is, “My grace is enough.” Would you be content?
From heaven’s perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?
Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we moan about what we don’t have?
2 Samuel 1
David Hears of Saul’s Death
1 After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
17 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
19 “A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty have fallen!
20 “Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21 “Mountains of Gilboa,
may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b]
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
22 “From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 2:22-38
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[b]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Waiting . . .
November 9, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Blessed are all those who wait for Him. —Isaiah 30:18
Autumn is hunting season here in Michigan. For a few weeks every year, licensed hunters are allowed to go out into the woods and hunt for various species of wildlife. Some hunters build elaborate tree stands high above the ground where they sit quietly for hours waiting for a deer to wander within rifle range.
When I think of hunters who are so patient when it comes to waiting for deer, I think of how impatient we can be when we have to wait for God. We often equate “wait” with “waste.” If we’re waiting for something (or someone), we think we are doing nothing, which, in an accomplishment-crazed culture, seems like a waste of time.
But waiting serves many purposes. In particular, it proves our faith. Those whose faith is weak are often the first to give up waiting, while those with the strongest faith are willing to wait indefinitely.
When we read the Christmas story in Luke 2, we learn of two people who proved their faith by their willingness to wait. Simeon and Anna waited long, but their time wasn’t wasted; it put them in a place where they could witness the coming of Messiah (vv.22-38).
Not receiving an immediate answer to prayer is no reason to give up faith.
Not ours to know the reason why
Unanswered is our prayer,
But ours to wait for God’s own time
To lift the cross we bear. —Anon.
Waiting for God is never a waste of time.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . . —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Win, I Win - #6478
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Joey's story really touched me. Joey ran in the handicapped Olympics that were held in conjunction with the Olympics in Seoul, Korea some years ago. Of course it was at a separate location, and in his particular track event there were only two people competing. Well, Joey got off to a good start, but of course because of his handicaps, his arms and legs were flailing and he wasn't very graceful. The announcer was heard to say at the beginning of the race, "I'm glad I'm not like Joey."
Well, as Joey took the lead, his coach kept yelling over the sounds of a crowd who were basically dispersing for the day, "Come on, Joey, you're a winner! You can do it!" And as Joey continued to increase his lead, he would chant and say, "Come on, Joey, that's it! You're a winner! You're a winner!" Well, Joey was doing better and better, and his coach's cheers were getting louder and louder.
And then suddenly Joey stopped in his tracks. What happened after that melted that announcer's heart, and actually mine too when I heard about it. Maybe you'll be like me. Maybe you'll want to be like Joey.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Win, I Win."
Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 9. We'll get to that after you hear what Joey did when he stopped in his tracks during the race. Much to the consternation of his coach, he turned to his opponent; the only other guy in the race and yelled, "Come on! You're a winner too! You're a winner too!" His coach ran out to the track and yelled, "No! You don't want him to be a winner! You're the winner!"
Well, no matter what the coach said, Joey waited for that other boy to catch up. And then they crossed the finish line together with their arms raised in victory. The announcer who had said at the beginning of the race, "Sure glad I'm not like Joey" at the end was heard to say, "I sure wish I was more like Joey" and so do I.
See, in a competitive, I've got to make it world; the real heroes are the people who make other people winners. Acts 9 tells us about Barnabas, who we are told was the one who when the disciples didn't know what to do with Saul of Tarsus--this former Christian Persecutor--it says, "Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." And then we're told in Acts 11:25, "Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul." Then in chapter 13, God says, "Separate for me Barnabas and Saul for the work." And then by the end of that chapter it says, "Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue." Did you notice, Barnabas was in the front seat when we started here, and suddenly he's taken a back seat?
See, Barnabas? Well, he was like Joey. He didn't have to come out on top; he didn't care it they remembered his name. He just wanted others to win. Wow! Are you like that? Your Master was. He gave up His life for ours so we can win eternal life. Your friends need someone who's willing to put aside their own interests and to say, "You're a winner! You can make it!"
You see, your children need that kind of encouragement from you. They need to know not just what needs improving. We're really good as parents at talking about that. They need to know what they are doing right. "You can do it! You're a winner, my daughter! You're a winner, my son!" And the people at work starved for encouragement, the people at your church; again there could be a lot of shame, there could be a lot of guilt, there could be a lot of condemnation. A lot of people don't feel very important. A lot of people feel on the edges--excluded. Will you be the one who pushes other people to the front? You won't lose if you stop promoting you and start promoting others. You'll both win.
So, be like your Master. Enable someone else to be a winner. Look at the people close to you and quit trying to beat them, or use them, or to control them. Look at them and say, "Hey, if you win, I win."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Luke 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Crown of Life
God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and there will be no more
death, sadness, crying, or pain.
Revelation 21:4
Why all the effort to stay fit? To stay alive? We pop pills, pump pecks, pass on the pie, and pursue the polyunsaturates.…
Why? Because we are worried about staying alive. In heaven that won’t be a worry.
In fact, you won’t be worrying at all. You won’t worry about your kids getting hurt. In heaven there will be no pain. You won’t worry about getting old. We’ll all be ceaselessly strong.
Scripture describes heaven as a place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying or pain.
We are not made of steel, we are made of dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death.
The next life, however, is different. Jesus urges us to “be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Luke 24
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.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 14:13-19
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
What A Great Neighborhood
November 8, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17
Where you live has a way of making certain demands on how you live. In my neighborhood, the garbage collector comes on Tuesday mornings, so it’s my responsibility to get our garbage can out to the curb the night before. Letting the trash pile up on the curb for days before doesn’t make for happy neighbors. And we have lots of children playing outside, so signs are posted everywhere reminding drivers to slow down. That means I drive slowly and watch for little ones who, without looking, chase wayward balls into the street.
It’s important to remember that God has placed us into the “kingdom of the Son” (Col. 1:13). Living in His neighborhood means there are life-transforming behavior patterns that should clearly reflect our spiritual location. This is why Paul reminds us that God’s kingdom is not about arguing and bickering over earthly stuff but about “righteousness and peace and joy” (Rom. 14:17). Living by God’s right standards, living to be a peacemaker, and living to be a source of joy in our relationships are what kingdom life is all about. And, when we live like this, our lives please God and bless others (v.18).
Sounds like the kind of neighborhood anyone would love to live in!
The world gets a glimpse of God
When those who claim to be
The followers of Jesus Christ
Are living righteously. —Sper
If you’re part of the kingdom of God,
it will make a difference in how you live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The First Church of "Yeah But" - #6477
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
You hear a lot about plea bargaining in court cases these days, but plea bargaining...that's not a new idea. Every child learns the art of negotiating his way out of his disobedience. You might call it the art of "yeah, but." For example, "You don't have your homework" says the teacher. "Oh, yeah, but the dog ate it." Or, "My grandma died." For the sixth time? See, that art is first developed at home. "You didn't call" says Dad. "Yeah, but there was no phone." "Yeah, but my watch blew up. I didn't know what time it was." See, Children are experts at knowing what they should do and then finding ways to excuse not doing it. Well, Father isn't impressed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The First Church of 'Yeah, But.'"
King Saul, the first king of Israel, has been given a major assignment by the Lord who made him king. His job is spiritual cancer surgery. The cancer is called the Amalekites. They are a nation that bitterly opposed everything God has wanted. They are a pagan nation, and the instructions of Saul are that he is to go in as God's instrument and basically destroy what he finds there to eliminate this spiritual cancer that has poisoned so much for so long.
Okay, instructions from our word for today from the Word of God - 1 Samuel 15:9-15 - are that he is to totally destroy what he finds. But it says, "Saul and the army spared the king and the best of the sheep and the cattle, and fat calves and the lambs--everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely. But everything that was despised and weak, that they totally destroyed." Well, Samuel, God's representative, comes to him, and when he does Saul says to Samuel, "'The Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord's instructions.' Samuel said, 'What is this bleating of sheep in my ears?' Saul answered, 'The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and the cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God. But we totally destroyed the rest.'"
See, Saul belonged to the First Church of "Yeah, But." God said to destroy everything. "Yeah, but they made me do it! We'll do everything that we can that's religious with it; we'll do spiritual things with it. I did some of what God said." God doesn't buy it. He doesn't accept rationalizations, excuses, and negotiation. Later in the chapter he says, "To obey is better than sacrifice. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you've rejected the Lord's Word, He's rejected you as being king."
See, God wants obedience, not activity. He calls "yeah, but" obedience rebellion and arrogance. God's Word on an issue is final word; no negotiating. Oh, the excuse might sound convincing to you, but God is not impressed. For example, "Do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever." "Oh, yeah, but he's a nice guy and I'll reach him for the Lord someday." God has spoken. He says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." "Yeah, but we need security." God has spoken. "Love your enemies." "Yeah, but they're..." God has spoken. "Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure." "Yeah, but we're in love." God has spoken.
The point is that God's Word on any subject is the final word. You'll know that eventually, after your "yeah, but" leads to heartache, disappointment, and shame. Face the truth now. Don't deceive yourself by twisting God's Word to fit what you want. Change your situation to fit God's Word. You don't pull the island of God's Word to the boat of your ideas. You pull the boat to the island.
Everyone in the First Church of "Yeah, But" is wrong.
God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and there will be no more
death, sadness, crying, or pain.
Revelation 21:4
Why all the effort to stay fit? To stay alive? We pop pills, pump pecks, pass on the pie, and pursue the polyunsaturates.…
Why? Because we are worried about staying alive. In heaven that won’t be a worry.
In fact, you won’t be worrying at all. You won’t worry about your kids getting hurt. In heaven there will be no pain. You won’t worry about getting old. We’ll all be ceaselessly strong.
Scripture describes heaven as a place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying or pain.
We are not made of steel, we are made of dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death.
The next life, however, is different. Jesus urges us to “be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Luke 24
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.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 14:13-19
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
What A Great Neighborhood
November 8, 2011 — by Joe Stowell
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17
Where you live has a way of making certain demands on how you live. In my neighborhood, the garbage collector comes on Tuesday mornings, so it’s my responsibility to get our garbage can out to the curb the night before. Letting the trash pile up on the curb for days before doesn’t make for happy neighbors. And we have lots of children playing outside, so signs are posted everywhere reminding drivers to slow down. That means I drive slowly and watch for little ones who, without looking, chase wayward balls into the street.
It’s important to remember that God has placed us into the “kingdom of the Son” (Col. 1:13). Living in His neighborhood means there are life-transforming behavior patterns that should clearly reflect our spiritual location. This is why Paul reminds us that God’s kingdom is not about arguing and bickering over earthly stuff but about “righteousness and peace and joy” (Rom. 14:17). Living by God’s right standards, living to be a peacemaker, and living to be a source of joy in our relationships are what kingdom life is all about. And, when we live like this, our lives please God and bless others (v.18).
Sounds like the kind of neighborhood anyone would love to live in!
The world gets a glimpse of God
When those who claim to be
The followers of Jesus Christ
Are living righteously. —Sper
If you’re part of the kingdom of God,
it will make a difference in how you live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The First Church of "Yeah But" - #6477
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
You hear a lot about plea bargaining in court cases these days, but plea bargaining...that's not a new idea. Every child learns the art of negotiating his way out of his disobedience. You might call it the art of "yeah, but." For example, "You don't have your homework" says the teacher. "Oh, yeah, but the dog ate it." Or, "My grandma died." For the sixth time? See, that art is first developed at home. "You didn't call" says Dad. "Yeah, but there was no phone." "Yeah, but my watch blew up. I didn't know what time it was." See, Children are experts at knowing what they should do and then finding ways to excuse not doing it. Well, Father isn't impressed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The First Church of 'Yeah, But.'"
King Saul, the first king of Israel, has been given a major assignment by the Lord who made him king. His job is spiritual cancer surgery. The cancer is called the Amalekites. They are a nation that bitterly opposed everything God has wanted. They are a pagan nation, and the instructions of Saul are that he is to go in as God's instrument and basically destroy what he finds there to eliminate this spiritual cancer that has poisoned so much for so long.
Okay, instructions from our word for today from the Word of God - 1 Samuel 15:9-15 - are that he is to totally destroy what he finds. But it says, "Saul and the army spared the king and the best of the sheep and the cattle, and fat calves and the lambs--everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely. But everything that was despised and weak, that they totally destroyed." Well, Samuel, God's representative, comes to him, and when he does Saul says to Samuel, "'The Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord's instructions.' Samuel said, 'What is this bleating of sheep in my ears?' Saul answered, 'The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and the cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God. But we totally destroyed the rest.'"
See, Saul belonged to the First Church of "Yeah, But." God said to destroy everything. "Yeah, but they made me do it! We'll do everything that we can that's religious with it; we'll do spiritual things with it. I did some of what God said." God doesn't buy it. He doesn't accept rationalizations, excuses, and negotiation. Later in the chapter he says, "To obey is better than sacrifice. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you've rejected the Lord's Word, He's rejected you as being king."
See, God wants obedience, not activity. He calls "yeah, but" obedience rebellion and arrogance. God's Word on an issue is final word; no negotiating. Oh, the excuse might sound convincing to you, but God is not impressed. For example, "Do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever." "Oh, yeah, but he's a nice guy and I'll reach him for the Lord someday." God has spoken. He says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." "Yeah, but we need security." God has spoken. "Love your enemies." "Yeah, but they're..." God has spoken. "Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure." "Yeah, but we're in love." God has spoken.
The point is that God's Word on any subject is the final word. You'll know that eventually, after your "yeah, but" leads to heartache, disappointment, and shame. Face the truth now. Don't deceive yourself by twisting God's Word to fit what you want. Change your situation to fit God's Word. You don't pull the island of God's Word to the boat of your ideas. You pull the boat to the island.
Everyone in the First Church of "Yeah, But" is wrong.
Monday, November 7, 2011
1 Samuel 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Family Expectations
I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18
Many of us have a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our friends will be members of our family. Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how Jesus defined his family: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants” (Mark 3:35).
When Jesus’ brother didn’t share his convictions, he didn’t try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual e way our family responds to us. When it comes to the behavior of others toward us, family could give him what his physical family didn’t.
We can’t control how our family responds to us. Our hands are tied. We have to move beyond that expectation that if we do good, people will treat us right. The fact is they may and they may not.
Let God give you what your family doesn’t.
And don’t lose heart. God still changes families.
1 Samuel 31
Saul Takes His Life
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 3:8-17
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Plowing Straight Lines
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:14
It’s my first day on the tractor! A crisp morning breeze brushes across the field. Crickets and country silence yield to the roar of the engine. Dropping the plow into the soil, I head out across the field. I look down at the gauges and gearshift, squeeze the cold steel of the steering wheel, and admire the power at my disposal. Finally, I look back to view the results. Instead of the ramrod straight line I was expecting, I see what looks like a slithering snake, with more bends and curves than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
We know better. “Plow with your eye on the fence post,” we’ve been told. By staying focused on a point across the field, a person plowing is assured of a straight line. On the return I comply, with telling results: The line is straight. The row was messed up only when I didn’t have a focus point.
Paul had similar wisdom when he wrote of having his focus on Jesus Christ and the impact it had on him. Not only did he ignore distractions (Phil. 3:8,13), he set the focus (vv.8,14), noted the result (vv.9-11), and observed the pattern it sets for others (vv.16-17).
Like Paul, if we focus on Christ, we will plow a straight path and accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.
Lord, help us keep our eyes on You
And focused on the task
Of bringing glory to Your name
By doing what You ask. —Sper
When you keep your eyes on Christ,
everything will come into focus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 07, 2011
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
It Doesn't Take Long to Freeze - #6476
Monday, November 7, 2011
When I spoke at a winter conference in Canada, the word cold took on a whole new meaning to me. It was 40 degrees below--that's Fahrenheit, not wind chill temperature! We added the wind chill in just to make it a little more exciting. It was the coldest, sustained temperature I have ever been in.
Now, I'll tell you, I hate to wear hats. I hate to wear hoods. Oh, but I learned fast. I was talking to a teenager in the dinner line, and he told me that two days before, he had been out for one minute in that weather, he'd come in, tried to warm up his ear and literally broke the cartilage in his ear. It had quick-frozen; freeze dried in one minute. Right after that, I had about a three-minute walk ahead of me. Guess what? Even though I had come in with my parka hood off, after hearing that, I could love a parka hood. Oh, I wore it; you bet I did. I didn't realize that you could do permanent damage like in no time!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It Doesn't Take Long to Freeze."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes right out of the life of King David. It's in 2 Samuel 11:1-4. "In the spring at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful." Now, we know that David sent for her and it says in verse 4, "David sent messengers to get her. She came to him," and then these tragic game-changing words, "and he slept with her."
These are probably some of the sorriest verses in the Bible. Here's David, the man who is described as the man after God's own heart. And up to this point there is one glorious victory after another. And then, suddenly he freezes spiritually, and it didn't take long to freeze--one night. Later David repented; he was forgiven, but the glory of his life would never be the same again. From this moment on his life will be marred by death, and guilt, and a prodigal son, a litany of heartaches, tragedy after tragedy in his family, and it did not take long--one spiritual day off.
Now, if it could happen to David it could happen to me and it could happen to you. Oh, it may or may not be a sexual sin that could capture you, although that's a pretty powerful one. It could be an act of bitterness or revenge, maybe just one dishonest deal that's so tempting right now, a momentary relaxing of your convictions--just once, a harmless flirtation. But a lifetime of honor can be lost in a night time. What took years to build can be torn down in moments. It happened to David; it could happen to you.
The moral is simple: you can't afford one day off spiritually. Begin each day...begin every day in the personal presence of your Savior, Jesus, who is mighty to save and mighty to save you from the sin of that day. A busy day, a boring day, a day you're away from home, a down day, a vacation day, a special day. No matter what the day, begin it in the presence of Jesus whether you feel like it or not. If you don't feel like it, you probably need to even more. Keep your confessed sin up-to-date as of that morning. Anticipate the temptations that you may face that day. Consecrate your weaknesses to Him and then turn on your spiritual radar so it's working that entire day.
Be sure you don't leave without your spiritual armor on, or your spiritual hood up if you prefer, because believe me, it doesn't take long to freeze.
I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18
Many of us have a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our friends will be members of our family. Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how Jesus defined his family: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants” (Mark 3:35).
When Jesus’ brother didn’t share his convictions, he didn’t try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual e way our family responds to us. When it comes to the behavior of others toward us, family could give him what his physical family didn’t.
We can’t control how our family responds to us. Our hands are tied. We have to move beyond that expectation that if we do good, people will treat us right. The fact is they may and they may not.
Let God give you what your family doesn’t.
And don’t lose heart. God still changes families.
1 Samuel 31
Saul Takes His Life
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 3:8-17
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Plowing Straight Lines
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:14
It’s my first day on the tractor! A crisp morning breeze brushes across the field. Crickets and country silence yield to the roar of the engine. Dropping the plow into the soil, I head out across the field. I look down at the gauges and gearshift, squeeze the cold steel of the steering wheel, and admire the power at my disposal. Finally, I look back to view the results. Instead of the ramrod straight line I was expecting, I see what looks like a slithering snake, with more bends and curves than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
We know better. “Plow with your eye on the fence post,” we’ve been told. By staying focused on a point across the field, a person plowing is assured of a straight line. On the return I comply, with telling results: The line is straight. The row was messed up only when I didn’t have a focus point.
Paul had similar wisdom when he wrote of having his focus on Jesus Christ and the impact it had on him. Not only did he ignore distractions (Phil. 3:8,13), he set the focus (vv.8,14), noted the result (vv.9-11), and observed the pattern it sets for others (vv.16-17).
Like Paul, if we focus on Christ, we will plow a straight path and accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.
Lord, help us keep our eyes on You
And focused on the task
Of bringing glory to Your name
By doing what You ask. —Sper
When you keep your eyes on Christ,
everything will come into focus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 07, 2011
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
It Doesn't Take Long to Freeze - #6476
Monday, November 7, 2011
When I spoke at a winter conference in Canada, the word cold took on a whole new meaning to me. It was 40 degrees below--that's Fahrenheit, not wind chill temperature! We added the wind chill in just to make it a little more exciting. It was the coldest, sustained temperature I have ever been in.
Now, I'll tell you, I hate to wear hats. I hate to wear hoods. Oh, but I learned fast. I was talking to a teenager in the dinner line, and he told me that two days before, he had been out for one minute in that weather, he'd come in, tried to warm up his ear and literally broke the cartilage in his ear. It had quick-frozen; freeze dried in one minute. Right after that, I had about a three-minute walk ahead of me. Guess what? Even though I had come in with my parka hood off, after hearing that, I could love a parka hood. Oh, I wore it; you bet I did. I didn't realize that you could do permanent damage like in no time!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "It Doesn't Take Long to Freeze."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes right out of the life of King David. It's in 2 Samuel 11:1-4. "In the spring at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful." Now, we know that David sent for her and it says in verse 4, "David sent messengers to get her. She came to him," and then these tragic game-changing words, "and he slept with her."
These are probably some of the sorriest verses in the Bible. Here's David, the man who is described as the man after God's own heart. And up to this point there is one glorious victory after another. And then, suddenly he freezes spiritually, and it didn't take long to freeze--one night. Later David repented; he was forgiven, but the glory of his life would never be the same again. From this moment on his life will be marred by death, and guilt, and a prodigal son, a litany of heartaches, tragedy after tragedy in his family, and it did not take long--one spiritual day off.
Now, if it could happen to David it could happen to me and it could happen to you. Oh, it may or may not be a sexual sin that could capture you, although that's a pretty powerful one. It could be an act of bitterness or revenge, maybe just one dishonest deal that's so tempting right now, a momentary relaxing of your convictions--just once, a harmless flirtation. But a lifetime of honor can be lost in a night time. What took years to build can be torn down in moments. It happened to David; it could happen to you.
The moral is simple: you can't afford one day off spiritually. Begin each day...begin every day in the personal presence of your Savior, Jesus, who is mighty to save and mighty to save you from the sin of that day. A busy day, a boring day, a day you're away from home, a down day, a vacation day, a special day. No matter what the day, begin it in the presence of Jesus whether you feel like it or not. If you don't feel like it, you probably need to even more. Keep your confessed sin up-to-date as of that morning. Anticipate the temptations that you may face that day. Consecrate your weaknesses to Him and then turn on your spiritual radar so it's working that entire day.
Be sure you don't leave without your spiritual armor on, or your spiritual hood up if you prefer, because believe me, it doesn't take long to freeze.
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