Friday, June 1, 2012
Acts 10:24-48 bible reading and devotionals.
Click here to hear God speak to your heart.
Max Lucado: No Box Works
Boxes bring wonderful order to our life. They keep cereal from spilling and books from tumbling. When it comes to containing stuff, boxes are masterful. But when it comes to defining Christ, no box works.
Oh, his contemporaries tried. They designed an assortment of boxes. But he never fit any of them. They labeled him a revolutionary; then he paid his taxes. They labeled him a country carpenter, but he confounded the scholars. He defied easy definitions.
We still try. I once reduced Christ to a handful of doctrines. He was a recipe, and I had the ingredients. Mix them correctly, and the Jesus-of-my-making would appear.
Jesus blew the sides out of all misconceptions.
Acts 10:24-48
New International Version (NIV)
24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues[a] and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Colossians 3:1-12
Rules for Holy Living
1 You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God's right hand. 2 Think about things that are in heaven. Don't think about things that are on earth.
3 You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Christ is your life. When he appears again, you also will appear with him in heaven's glory.
5 So put to death anything that belongs to your earthly nature. Get rid of your sexual sins and unclean acts. Don't let your feelings get out of control. Remove from your life all evil longings. Stop always wanting more and more. You might as well be worshiping statues of gods. 6 God's anger is going to come because of those things. 7 That's the way you lived at one time in your life.
8 But now here are the kinds of things you must get rid of. You must put away anger, rage, hate and lies. Let no dirty words come out of your mouths. 9 Don't lie to each other.
You have gotten rid of your old way of life and its habits. 10 You have started living a new life. It is being made new so that what you know has the Creator's likeness.
11 Here there is no Greek or Jew. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not. There is no rude outsider, or even a Scythian. There is no slave or free person. But Christ is everything. And he is in everything.
12 You are God's chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don't be proud. Be gentle and patient.
Winning And Losing
June 1, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. —Colossians 3:2
The Masters Tournament is one of the most prestigious in professional golf. In 2009, Kenny Perry placed second after leading during the final round. Writing in The New York Times, Bill Pennington described Perry as “disappointed but not despondent” after the loss. “I’ll look back on it occasionally and wonder what I might have done differently, but I won’t dwell on it,” Perry said. “If this is the worst thing that happens in my life, I’ve got it pretty good. I won’t let it dog me. There are so many other things in life that matter more . . . . I’ll go home tonight with my family and we’ll have fun.”
The ability to look beyond our disappointments is essential for followers of Christ. Our focus determines how we face the victories and defeats in life. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1-2). This way of thinking looks to Christ, rather than our achievements, for significance and validation. We seek Him, not success.
When we strive for excellence and give our best effort, losing hurts, but it doesn’t have to harm us. The key is where we set our minds and hearts.
Lord, thank You that You are the one who measures
how we’ve done in life and determines
whether we’ve been successful. Help us to keep that
focus even in disappointments.
When Christ is the center of your focus, everything else comes into proper perspective.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 1, 2012
The Staggering Question
He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3
Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.
“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . .” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Long Wait for a New Heart - #6625
Friday, June 1, 2012
The folks at the hospital asked my father-in-law if he'd like to donate his organs. He smiled and said, "Depends on how soon you want them." Great answer.
Someone somewhere decided to donate their heart if something happened to them. Today, that heart is beating in the former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. Doctors of course, had done everything else science can do to save and extend his life since his first heart attack at the age of 37 - stents, bypasses, an implanted defibrillator. But now, at age 71, his life probably depended on the ultimate solution - not a heart repair but a totally new heart.
Right now, there are probably 3,000 Americans whose lives depend on getting a new heart. Their average wait for one to become available is somewhere between six months and a year. Dick Cheney had to wait 20 months for his.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about a "Long Wait for a New Heart."
Every day - somewhere in the world - people are getting a new heart. Made possible by a donor who died. And the miracle-working skill of a master heart surgeon. I know Him. He performed that miracle on me - and on many of the people I love.
The Surgeon is God Himself. The donor? Well, that's Jesus. It took His dying for me to have the spiritual heart transplant that changed everything.
In our word today from the Word of God, Ezekiel 36 beginning in verse 25, God made a promise to all of us who know all too well the darkness that lives in our heart. He said, "I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols (all those things that push God to the edge). I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh...you will be My people, and I will be your God."
Just this weekend, a lady told me how her heart toward her husband had turned hard over the years of a difficult marriage. But then her face just lit up as she told me how Jesus had given her a "heart transplant" with a new love for her man - and a new marriage. Only the Master Heart Surgeon can do that.
One of God's prophets provided a revealing "spiritual EKG" of the heart behind all of our actions: "The heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9 - NLT). Out of our spiritually diseased hearts come words that scar people for life...betrayal of the person we committed our life to...unthinking selfishness...cancerous anger and bitterness...and all kinds of darkness that poison our relationships, our reputation and our future.
Oh, we try a lot of things to get better - just like they did with Dick Cheney's heart. But all our resolutions and religion are temporary and unsuccessful fixes. Because we need Dr. Jesus. But He had to die to make possible the new heart that's our only hope of living right - and dying right. God tells us that "the blood of Jesus His Son purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). And that happens, not through being reformed, but by being transformed. From the inside out.
That's the miracle that takes place when you recognize that Jesus - the Man who died for your sin and then birthed eternal life by walking out of His grave - is your only hope. And you tell Him that. When you put yourself in the hands of Dr. Jesus, He, in essence, implants a new spiritual heart. With a love you never had before. A power to be the kind of person you've always wanted to be - and those you love need you to be. An ability to forgive, to break bondages, to heal broken relationships.
When you have Jesus in you, He produces a new life you could never do on your own. And because He removes the guilt and penalty of every sin you've ever committed, He changes your destiny from hell to heaven.
Jesus' new heart miracle can save a marriage, a family, a future, a soul. He did the dying so we would never have to. And there's no wait for your new heart. He's been waiting for you to call.
If you want to experience for yourself what a personal relationship with Jesus can do, tell Him you want to begin that today, and would you go check out how to get started with Him at our website, YoursForLife.net. And let the new heart miracle begin for you, today.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Ecclesiastes 12 bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear God's teachings.
Max Lucado Daily: God So Loved Us
“If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11, NKJV
Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.
Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.
Ecclesiastes 12
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[c]
“Everything is meaningless! ”
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails —given by one shepherd.[d] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 5:12-21
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people.
13 Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not judged when there is no law. 14 Death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. Death ruled even over those who did not sin as Adam did. He broke God's command. But he also became a pattern of the One who was going to come.
15 God's gift is different from Adam's sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But it was even more sure that God's grace would also come through one man. That man is Jesus Christ. God's gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world.
16 The result of God's gift is different from the result of Adam's sin. God judged one sin. That brought guilt. But after many sins, God's gift made people right with him.
17 One man sinned, and death ruled because of his sin. But we are even more sure of what will happen because of what the one man, Jesus Christ, has done. Those who receive the rich supply of God's grace will rule with Christ in his kingdom. They have received God's gift and have been made right with him.
18 One man's sin brought guilt to all people. So also one right act made all people right with God. And all who are right with God will live. 19 Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey. But one man did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God.
20 The law was given so that sin would increase. But where sin increased, God's grace increased even more. 21 Sin ruled because of death. So also grace rules in the lives of those who are right with God. The grace of God brings eternal life because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.
Faulty Thinking
May 31, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor, and a hiker—were flying in a small plane when the engines died. The pilot said, “There are only three parachutes. Since this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.” He put it on and jumped out. The professor said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me, so I’m taking a parachute,” and he jumped out.
Then the pastor told the hiker, “I don’t want to be selfish, so you take the last parachute.” The hiker replied, “There are still two left, so we can each have one. The professor jumped out with my backpack instead of the parachute!” Though the professor thought he would land safely, his assurance was based on faulty thinking.
Some people have an assurance of salvation based on faulty thinking. They believe that church attendance, baptism, or just being good will gain them approval from God. But our thinking is faulty if it isn’t based on what God says in His Word. God says that “all have sinned” and that we are His enemies. But through the death and resurrection of His Son, we can be made right with God (Rom. 3:23; 5:8-10). By faith in what Christ has done, we can have peace with God (5:1) and the assurance of eternal life in heaven.
Do you believe it? Your eternity is at stake. Don’t trust faulty thinking but put your faith in Christ.
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus—
Trusting only Thee;
Trusting Thee for full salvation,
Great and free. —Havergal
If we could earn our salvation, Christ would not have died to provide it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 31, 2012
Put God First
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . .for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25
Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.
Put God’s Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).
A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need— our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God’s “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God’s “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.
Put God’s Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5).
God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Leave the Choice To the Owner - #6624
Thursday, May 31, 2012
It's the issue that may decide who's the senator or congressman in many states. It may decide who the governor is in some states. The battle lines are drawn around the issue of abortion.
Oh, it's not taxes, or defense spending, or civil rights, or homelessness. The most emotional issue oftentimes in our country revolves around that new life that some woman carries inside of her right now. Oh, there's been demonstrating, banners, chants, and slogans. But underneath it all there are actually two logics that war with each other. Pro-life says that a human life is there from conception and no one has the right to destroy that life. And then the pro-choice people say that the person whose body it is should decide what is done with that body. Well, actually, in a sense they're both right.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leave the Choice To the Owner."
Our word for today from the Word of God: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. "Flee from sexual immorality..." God here says, "...all other sins that man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you; whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."
Well, this passage settles once and for all the issue of whose body you're walking around in. That's not your body; "you are not your own" the Bible says. You have been made by God, so you are His by creation. You've been paid for by God with the purchase price of His own Son on the cross, so you've been purchased by Him.
Now, the pro-choice advocates use this logic: the person whose body it is should decide what is done with it. Well, I do agree with that! Because, see, if that happened, we wouldn't have many abortions to decide about, because God says sexual love is reserved for the fence of marriage; it is reserved for married people committed to each other for a lifetime. And if God is the owner, and we let the owner of the body decide what we do with that body, well then there won't be any babies conceived outside of marriage. There will be very few unwanted babies.
Psalm 139 and other passages in the Bible make it very clear that from the very beginning God initiates a new life at conception, and He reserves the right to end any life that He starts, but only the one who starts the life has that right - the creator, the purchaser. And His choice for your body is that it remain pure. It's not yours to mess around with. His choice for that body that is His really, is that sex be kept special; that you don't flirt with sexual sin by seeing how far you can go; first base, second base, third base as the teenagers say. And then quickly try to throw the transmission into reverse just as you get to the edge so you can remain a technical virgin.
No, you don't do that with God's body. When we use sex outside the boundaries of marriage, we start a chain reaction of guilt, loss of respect, loss of intimacy, future relationships, and ugly choices.
Our body - our life - belongs to Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." He made us; He paid for us with His life. We leave the choices about our body, about our future to Him. But you see, we haven't lived that way. And someone may be listening right now and saying, "Ron, if I had it to do over again, I would do it very differently." We all bear the guilt and the shame of the places we have done it other than God's way. And the good news is that while God hates the sin that we do, He so loves us, the sinners. The Bible says that, "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners." He died for you.
This could be a day when everything you've ever wished you could ever get rid of, you could leave at His cross - a new beginning. You might have started listening dirty, but by the end of this day you'll be clean, because you've been forgiven by the One who died for everything you've ever done. Yes, even that thing. Why don't you tell Him today, "Jesus, I want to belong to you. Forgive me. You died for me; I'm yours."
Go to our website YoursForLife.net. You'll find some great spiritual encouragement there for a time like this. Let this be the day that you're clean.
Max Lucado Daily: God So Loved Us
“If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11, NKJV
Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.
Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.
Ecclesiastes 12
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[c]
“Everything is meaningless! ”
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails —given by one shepherd.[d] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 5:12-21
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people.
13 Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not judged when there is no law. 14 Death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. Death ruled even over those who did not sin as Adam did. He broke God's command. But he also became a pattern of the One who was going to come.
15 God's gift is different from Adam's sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But it was even more sure that God's grace would also come through one man. That man is Jesus Christ. God's gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world.
16 The result of God's gift is different from the result of Adam's sin. God judged one sin. That brought guilt. But after many sins, God's gift made people right with him.
17 One man sinned, and death ruled because of his sin. But we are even more sure of what will happen because of what the one man, Jesus Christ, has done. Those who receive the rich supply of God's grace will rule with Christ in his kingdom. They have received God's gift and have been made right with him.
18 One man's sin brought guilt to all people. So also one right act made all people right with God. And all who are right with God will live. 19 Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey. But one man did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God.
20 The law was given so that sin would increase. But where sin increased, God's grace increased even more. 21 Sin ruled because of death. So also grace rules in the lives of those who are right with God. The grace of God brings eternal life because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.
Faulty Thinking
May 31, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor, and a hiker—were flying in a small plane when the engines died. The pilot said, “There are only three parachutes. Since this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.” He put it on and jumped out. The professor said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me, so I’m taking a parachute,” and he jumped out.
Then the pastor told the hiker, “I don’t want to be selfish, so you take the last parachute.” The hiker replied, “There are still two left, so we can each have one. The professor jumped out with my backpack instead of the parachute!” Though the professor thought he would land safely, his assurance was based on faulty thinking.
Some people have an assurance of salvation based on faulty thinking. They believe that church attendance, baptism, or just being good will gain them approval from God. But our thinking is faulty if it isn’t based on what God says in His Word. God says that “all have sinned” and that we are His enemies. But through the death and resurrection of His Son, we can be made right with God (Rom. 3:23; 5:8-10). By faith in what Christ has done, we can have peace with God (5:1) and the assurance of eternal life in heaven.
Do you believe it? Your eternity is at stake. Don’t trust faulty thinking but put your faith in Christ.
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus—
Trusting only Thee;
Trusting Thee for full salvation,
Great and free. —Havergal
If we could earn our salvation, Christ would not have died to provide it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 31, 2012
Put God First
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . .for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25
Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.
Put God’s Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).
A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need— our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God’s “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God’s “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.
Put God’s Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5).
God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Leave the Choice To the Owner - #6624
Thursday, May 31, 2012
It's the issue that may decide who's the senator or congressman in many states. It may decide who the governor is in some states. The battle lines are drawn around the issue of abortion.
Oh, it's not taxes, or defense spending, or civil rights, or homelessness. The most emotional issue oftentimes in our country revolves around that new life that some woman carries inside of her right now. Oh, there's been demonstrating, banners, chants, and slogans. But underneath it all there are actually two logics that war with each other. Pro-life says that a human life is there from conception and no one has the right to destroy that life. And then the pro-choice people say that the person whose body it is should decide what is done with that body. Well, actually, in a sense they're both right.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leave the Choice To the Owner."
Our word for today from the Word of God: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. "Flee from sexual immorality..." God here says, "...all other sins that man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you; whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."
Well, this passage settles once and for all the issue of whose body you're walking around in. That's not your body; "you are not your own" the Bible says. You have been made by God, so you are His by creation. You've been paid for by God with the purchase price of His own Son on the cross, so you've been purchased by Him.
Now, the pro-choice advocates use this logic: the person whose body it is should decide what is done with it. Well, I do agree with that! Because, see, if that happened, we wouldn't have many abortions to decide about, because God says sexual love is reserved for the fence of marriage; it is reserved for married people committed to each other for a lifetime. And if God is the owner, and we let the owner of the body decide what we do with that body, well then there won't be any babies conceived outside of marriage. There will be very few unwanted babies.
Psalm 139 and other passages in the Bible make it very clear that from the very beginning God initiates a new life at conception, and He reserves the right to end any life that He starts, but only the one who starts the life has that right - the creator, the purchaser. And His choice for your body is that it remain pure. It's not yours to mess around with. His choice for that body that is His really, is that sex be kept special; that you don't flirt with sexual sin by seeing how far you can go; first base, second base, third base as the teenagers say. And then quickly try to throw the transmission into reverse just as you get to the edge so you can remain a technical virgin.
No, you don't do that with God's body. When we use sex outside the boundaries of marriage, we start a chain reaction of guilt, loss of respect, loss of intimacy, future relationships, and ugly choices.
Our body - our life - belongs to Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." He made us; He paid for us with His life. We leave the choices about our body, about our future to Him. But you see, we haven't lived that way. And someone may be listening right now and saying, "Ron, if I had it to do over again, I would do it very differently." We all bear the guilt and the shame of the places we have done it other than God's way. And the good news is that while God hates the sin that we do, He so loves us, the sinners. The Bible says that, "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners." He died for you.
This could be a day when everything you've ever wished you could ever get rid of, you could leave at His cross - a new beginning. You might have started listening dirty, but by the end of this day you'll be clean, because you've been forgiven by the One who died for everything you've ever done. Yes, even that thing. Why don't you tell Him today, "Jesus, I want to belong to you. Forgive me. You died for me; I'm yours."
Go to our website YoursForLife.net. You'll find some great spiritual encouragement there for a time like this. Let this be the day that you're clean.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Ecclesiastes 11, bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear God's teachings
Max Lucado: More of Him
When Christ is great–our fears are not! A big God translates into big courage. A small view of God generates no courage. A limp, puny, fireless Jesus has no power over cancer cells, corruption, identity theft, stock-market crashes, or global calamity.
A packageable, portable Jesus might fit well in a purse or on a shelf, but he does nothing for your fears. In the book Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, the character Lucy sees Aslan, the lion, for the first time in many years. He’s changed.
“Aslan,” she says, “you’re bigger.”
“That’s because you are older, little one,” he answers.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
And so it is with Christ. The longer we live in him, the greater he becomes in us. It’s not that he changes, but that we do. We see more of him!
Taken from Fearless
Ecclesiastes 11
Invest in Many Ventures
Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed[b] in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Remember Your Creator While Young
7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 46
For the director of music. A song of the Sons of Korah. For alamoth.
1 God is our place of safety. He gives us strength.
He is always there to help us in times of trouble.
2 The earth may fall apart.
The mountains may fall into the middle of the sea.
But we will not be afraid.
3 The waters of the sea may roar and foam.
The mountains may shake when the waters rise.
But we will not be afraid.
Selah
4 God's blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy.
That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives.
5 Because God is there, the city will not fall.
God will help it at the beginning of the day.
6 Nations are in disorder. Kingdoms fall.
God speaks, and the people of the earth melt in fear.
7 The Lord who rules over all is with us.
The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.
Selah
8 Come and see what the Lord has done.
See the places he has destroyed on the earth.
9 He makes wars stop from one end of the earth to the other.
He breaks every bow. He snaps every spear.
He burns every shield with fire.
10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be honored among the nations.
I will be honored in the earth."
11 The Lord who rules over all is with us.
The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.
Selah
God’s Wheelchair
May 30, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire. —Daniel 7:9
Jean Driscoll is a remarkable athlete. She has won the Boston Marathon eight times. She has also participated in four Paralympic Games and won five gold medals. Born with spina bifida, Jean competes in a wheelchair.
One of Driscoll’s favorite Bible verses is Daniel 7:9, “The Ancient of Days was seated . . . . His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire.” Seeing a connection between Daniel’s vision of God and her own situation, she is able to pass along words of encouragement to others. “Anytime I’ve had an opportunity to talk with people who use wheelchairs and feel bad about being in a chair, I tell them, ‘Not only are you made in the image of God, but your wheelchair is made in the image of His throne!’”
Daniel’s vision, of course, doesn’t portray God as being impaired in motion. In fact, some see God’s “wheelchair” as a symbol of a just God sovereignly moving within human affairs. Other passages speak of God’s providence providing help to those who believe (Prov. 3:25-26; Matt. 20:29-34; Eph. 1:11).
Jean Driscoll’s faith in God has helped her triumph over personal challenges. We too can be confident that the high and holy One is near and ready to help us if only we ask (Ps. 46).
He cannot fail, your faithful God;
He’ll guard you with His mighty power;
Then fear no ill though troubles rise,
His help is sure from hour to hour. —Bosch
With God behind you and His arms beneath you, you can face whatever lies ahead of you. —Ward
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 30, 2012
“Yes— But . . .!”
Lord, I will follow You, but . . . —Luke 9:61
Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.
By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Custom Tailoring For the Fit You Need - #6623
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
I really dislike shopping for clothes. Looking for a suit would rank right up there with going to the dentist, I would say, as far as the pleasure factor is concerned for me. The problem is that they just don't have suits for guys who are shaped like me. Maybe there just aren't many guys who are shaped like me; maybe that's the problem.
See, if the coat looks good on me, then the pants don't. If the waist is a good fit, then they're baggy in the back. If it fits well in the back, then the waist is tight enough to effect my respiration. Now, there is a way to get a perfect fit - it's called custom tailoring, I can't afford that luxury, so I guess I'm just going to have to stick to one size that's supposed to fit all bodies about that shape. There is a perfect fit that you need right now, and it's yours for free.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Custom Tailoring For the Fit You Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Deuteronomy 33:25 - six words full of encouragement. "Your strength will equal your days." That's just six words, but it says so much about the need, the crisis, the crunch, and the unanswered question that you may be facing right now. God promises strength that is custom tailored for what that day requires; no more strength than you'll need for that day, and no less strength than you'll need for that day.
It's the same kind of promise that He gave in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Sufficient grace - always grace enough. We've sung the hymn many times about God's amazing grace, and it is amazing. It reaches down, forgives every sin, and gives me a royal place in God's family. But His grace is the gift that keeps on giving.
Gary's company is on the edge of bankruptcy. I called him and I said, "How you holding up with everything that you've built at risk?" He said, "You know what? God's peace is making it." I talked to some friends not long ago who lost a loved one in a tragic auto accident, and here was their report, "God's promises are holding us up. He is enough." Yeah, He is.
The wonderful truth in scripture is this, that God gives grace customized for every experience that He sends or He allows in your life. There is dying grace; you say, "I don't know how I would ever handle dying." Well, of course, you're not doing it now; you don't need it now. But haven't you seen people with dying grace? You get it when you need it.
There's suffering grace. For whatever suffering may be ahead, God will give you grace to meet that challenge. There's lonely grace for lonely times in your life. There's heartbreak grace. You don't have it now unless you need it, but at the time the heartbreak comes, the grace comes. There's waiting grace if you're having to wait for God to act in your life. You don't have it until you need it. When you need it, you've got it.
Maybe you fear your ability to handle some situation right now, but just when you need it grace will fill your heart; grace that's designed just to fit that moment. Grace may come in the form of a person, or surprising inner strength, a Bible verse, an ability to release something you've held for so long, but the grace is there if you go get it. Boldly, the Bible says, go to the throne of grace and obtain it there.
God has measured the situation like a spiritual tailor, and He has fitted His grace exactly to your need - custom-tailored designer grace to cover you.
Max Lucado: More of Him
When Christ is great–our fears are not! A big God translates into big courage. A small view of God generates no courage. A limp, puny, fireless Jesus has no power over cancer cells, corruption, identity theft, stock-market crashes, or global calamity.
A packageable, portable Jesus might fit well in a purse or on a shelf, but he does nothing for your fears. In the book Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, the character Lucy sees Aslan, the lion, for the first time in many years. He’s changed.
“Aslan,” she says, “you’re bigger.”
“That’s because you are older, little one,” he answers.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
And so it is with Christ. The longer we live in him, the greater he becomes in us. It’s not that he changes, but that we do. We see more of him!
Taken from Fearless
Ecclesiastes 11
Invest in Many Ventures
Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed[b] in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Remember Your Creator While Young
7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 46
For the director of music. A song of the Sons of Korah. For alamoth.
1 God is our place of safety. He gives us strength.
He is always there to help us in times of trouble.
2 The earth may fall apart.
The mountains may fall into the middle of the sea.
But we will not be afraid.
3 The waters of the sea may roar and foam.
The mountains may shake when the waters rise.
But we will not be afraid.
Selah
4 God's blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy.
That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives.
5 Because God is there, the city will not fall.
God will help it at the beginning of the day.
6 Nations are in disorder. Kingdoms fall.
God speaks, and the people of the earth melt in fear.
7 The Lord who rules over all is with us.
The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.
Selah
8 Come and see what the Lord has done.
See the places he has destroyed on the earth.
9 He makes wars stop from one end of the earth to the other.
He breaks every bow. He snaps every spear.
He burns every shield with fire.
10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be honored among the nations.
I will be honored in the earth."
11 The Lord who rules over all is with us.
The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.
Selah
God’s Wheelchair
May 30, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire. —Daniel 7:9
Jean Driscoll is a remarkable athlete. She has won the Boston Marathon eight times. She has also participated in four Paralympic Games and won five gold medals. Born with spina bifida, Jean competes in a wheelchair.
One of Driscoll’s favorite Bible verses is Daniel 7:9, “The Ancient of Days was seated . . . . His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire.” Seeing a connection between Daniel’s vision of God and her own situation, she is able to pass along words of encouragement to others. “Anytime I’ve had an opportunity to talk with people who use wheelchairs and feel bad about being in a chair, I tell them, ‘Not only are you made in the image of God, but your wheelchair is made in the image of His throne!’”
Daniel’s vision, of course, doesn’t portray God as being impaired in motion. In fact, some see God’s “wheelchair” as a symbol of a just God sovereignly moving within human affairs. Other passages speak of God’s providence providing help to those who believe (Prov. 3:25-26; Matt. 20:29-34; Eph. 1:11).
Jean Driscoll’s faith in God has helped her triumph over personal challenges. We too can be confident that the high and holy One is near and ready to help us if only we ask (Ps. 46).
He cannot fail, your faithful God;
He’ll guard you with His mighty power;
Then fear no ill though troubles rise,
His help is sure from hour to hour. —Bosch
With God behind you and His arms beneath you, you can face whatever lies ahead of you. —Ward
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 30, 2012
“Yes— But . . .!”
Lord, I will follow You, but . . . —Luke 9:61
Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.
By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Custom Tailoring For the Fit You Need - #6623
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
I really dislike shopping for clothes. Looking for a suit would rank right up there with going to the dentist, I would say, as far as the pleasure factor is concerned for me. The problem is that they just don't have suits for guys who are shaped like me. Maybe there just aren't many guys who are shaped like me; maybe that's the problem.
See, if the coat looks good on me, then the pants don't. If the waist is a good fit, then they're baggy in the back. If it fits well in the back, then the waist is tight enough to effect my respiration. Now, there is a way to get a perfect fit - it's called custom tailoring, I can't afford that luxury, so I guess I'm just going to have to stick to one size that's supposed to fit all bodies about that shape. There is a perfect fit that you need right now, and it's yours for free.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Custom Tailoring For the Fit You Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God, Deuteronomy 33:25 - six words full of encouragement. "Your strength will equal your days." That's just six words, but it says so much about the need, the crisis, the crunch, and the unanswered question that you may be facing right now. God promises strength that is custom tailored for what that day requires; no more strength than you'll need for that day, and no less strength than you'll need for that day.
It's the same kind of promise that He gave in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Sufficient grace - always grace enough. We've sung the hymn many times about God's amazing grace, and it is amazing. It reaches down, forgives every sin, and gives me a royal place in God's family. But His grace is the gift that keeps on giving.
Gary's company is on the edge of bankruptcy. I called him and I said, "How you holding up with everything that you've built at risk?" He said, "You know what? God's peace is making it." I talked to some friends not long ago who lost a loved one in a tragic auto accident, and here was their report, "God's promises are holding us up. He is enough." Yeah, He is.
The wonderful truth in scripture is this, that God gives grace customized for every experience that He sends or He allows in your life. There is dying grace; you say, "I don't know how I would ever handle dying." Well, of course, you're not doing it now; you don't need it now. But haven't you seen people with dying grace? You get it when you need it.
There's suffering grace. For whatever suffering may be ahead, God will give you grace to meet that challenge. There's lonely grace for lonely times in your life. There's heartbreak grace. You don't have it now unless you need it, but at the time the heartbreak comes, the grace comes. There's waiting grace if you're having to wait for God to act in your life. You don't have it until you need it. When you need it, you've got it.
Maybe you fear your ability to handle some situation right now, but just when you need it grace will fill your heart; grace that's designed just to fit that moment. Grace may come in the form of a person, or surprising inner strength, a Bible verse, an ability to release something you've held for so long, but the grace is there if you go get it. Boldly, the Bible says, go to the throne of grace and obtain it there.
God has measured the situation like a spiritual tailor, and He has fitted His grace exactly to your need - custom-tailored designer grace to cover you.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Ecclesiastes 10, bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear God's message.
Max Lucado: Courage Through Community
Questions can make hermits out of us, driving us into hiding. But Christ distributes courage through community; He dissipates doubts through fellowship. He distributes pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to many. When we mix, mingle, confess and pray–Christ speaks!
When we brush up against the church, we do just that. Paul said, “The church is his body; it’s made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”
The adhesiveness of the disciples instructs us. They stuck together. Even with ransacked hopes, they clustered in conversant community. Isn’t this a picture of the church–sharing stories, exchanging ideas, mulling over possibilities, lifting spirits? And as they did, it says in Matthew 18:20 that Jesus showed up to teach them, proving, “when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
Taken from Fearless
Ecclesiastes 10
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.
3 Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone how stupid they are.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
6 Fools are put in many high positions,
while the rich occupy the low ones.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
but skill will bring success.
11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the charmer receives no fee.
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but fools are consumed by their own lips.
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
15 The toil of fools wearies them;
they do not know the way to town.
16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant[a]
and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Acts 17:22–31
22 Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, "Men of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. 23 As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with ~to an unknown god= written on it. Now I am going to tell you about this 'unknown god' that you worship.
24 "He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn't live in temples built by hands. 25 He is not served by human hands. He doesn't need anything. He himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have. 26 From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. 27 God did this so that people would seek him. Then perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us. 28 'In him we live and move and exist.' As some of your own poets have also said, 'We are his children.'
29 "Yes, we are God's children. So we shouldn't think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't a statue planned and made by clever people. 30 In the past, God didn't judge people for what they didn't know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. 31 He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to all people by raising that man from the dead."
Pride And Prejudice
May 29, 2012 — by David H. Roper
He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. —Acts 17:26
Back in the 1930s, my childhood home was loving and happy, but my parents were often away. On those occasions, the center of warmth in our home was the kitchen and our tiny, joyous housekeeper named Annie.
I spent many hours with Annie, sitting at our kitchen table reading books or playing with toys and listening to her sing and hum spirituals and hymns. From her heart sprang a continual flow of wisdom, cheerfulness, and song.
One morning, with childish exuberance, I used a racial slur I had heard. “Oh my, no,” she said, and then proceeded to pour out her heart in a gentle lecture on the harm and hurt in that, accompanied by a terrible sadness in her eyes. I never used that word again.
I learned that we cause unfathomable sorrow when we dishonor and debase others through bigotry. Every human being is created in the image of God—more like God than any other creature and worthy of honor. To demean that image is to wound another human being at the deepest level.
There is but one race: the human race. God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). We are of the same family, made to be treasured and cherished by one another.
Of all creation’s treasures rare,
Not one compares in worth with man,
In God’s own image he was made
To fill a place in His great plan. —D. De Haan
God desires that we show respect to all people, because everyone bears His image.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 29, 2012
Untroubled Relationship
In that day you will ask in My name . . . for the Father Himself loves you . . . —John 16:26-27
In that day you will ask in My name . . . ,” that is, in My nature. Not “You will use My name as some magic word,” but—”You will be so intimate with Me that you will be one with Me.” “That day” is not a day in the next life, but a day meant for here and now. “. . . for the Father Himself loves you . . .”— the Father’s love is evidence that our union with Jesus is complete and absolute. Our Lord does not mean that our lives will be free from external difficulties and uncertainties, but that just as He knew the Father’s heart and mind, we too can be lifted by Him into heavenly places through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that He can reveal the teachings of God to us.
“. . . whatever you ask the Father in My name . . .” (John 16:23). “That day” is a day of peace and an untroubled relationship between God and His saint. Just as Jesus stood unblemished and pure in the presence of His Father, we too by the mighty power and effectiveness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be lifted into that relationship—”. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22).
“. . . He will give you” (John 16:23). Jesus said that because of His name God will recognize and respond to our prayers. What a great challenge and invitation—to pray in His name! Through the resurrection and ascension power of Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit He has sent, we can be lifted into such a relationship. Once in that wonderful position, having been placed there by Jesus Christ, we can pray to God in Jesus’ name—in His nature. This is a gift granted to us through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus said, “. . . whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” The sovereign character of Jesus Christ is tested and proved by His own statements.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Light in Your Night - #6622
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
We had rented a cabin in the mountains, and we really didn't want to leave it much. The view across the valley was like a painting. It would change as the sun changed and the weather changed; all kinds of moods that you see in the mountains.
I had looked at the mountain across the valley from us many times, but I finally took a good look that direction at night. That's when I saw it - the cross. There was a lighted cross on top of the mountain, glowing in the night from a vantage point where it could be seen all around. Actually, that cross is there all the time but you don't really see it until it's dark.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Light in Your Night."
You know, for many of us, the greatest discovery of our lives came when it was night; one of those dark times that we all go through in our life. A lot of people have learned that when it's night, you can see the cross, often for the first time in your life.
The cross - that awful place where Jesus was brutally crucified - turns out to be the ultimate proof of how much God loves you and me. If it's sacrifice that proves love, then we don't ever have to wonder how God feels about us. God the Father gave up God the Son to absorb the guilt and the hell for every wrong thing you and I have ever done. There has never been a greater sacrifice. There's never been a greater love.
But we can know about what happened at that cross. We can be around it for years and still miss that forgiveness, that love, and the heaven that Jesus died to give us. Maybe you've been kind of skirting the issue of dealing with Jesus personally. Maybe you feel someone's been pressuring you about Jesus, and that's just made you resist Him even more. Maybe it's pride that's kept you from having a life-changing encounter at the cross, or it could be even your Christianity, because you've had so much Christianity you thought you had Christ.
It's easy to go very busily about the routines of your life and never really see that cross until...it's suddenly night time. Something happens to your health, to your family, to your job, or whatever you've counted on for security. And none of your answers, none of your fixes are enough. That's when a lot of people look up and finally see the cross, shining there in the night, showing them where hope is.
In John 12:32-33, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus said, "'When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.' He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die.'" See, that was it - lifted up to die on a cross. But there would be a magnet in that old hunk of wood; a magnet that would draw the people He died for right to His side.
Which is exactly why you might be feeling that tug in your heart right now. Jesus is drawing you to come to the cross, to give yourself to Him; to find what you've spent your whole life looking for. All those religious hang-ups, all those lame arguments, all the proud resistance, all the spiritual pride just drops to the ground at the foot of His cross and you finally belong to the One you were made for.
If you've been doing it without Jesus all these years, for whatever reason, and you want this to be the day that you finally experience Him for yourself, would you tell Him that right where you are, "Lord, I turn from the running of my own life. I am pinning all my hopes on You because You died for me, and You walked out of your grave so you could walk into my life and I want you to today."
If that's what you want, then I think our website YoursForLife.net is a good place for you to go right now. Because that's where I've laid out in very simple and non-religious words exactly what the Bible says about how to be sure you belong to Jesus Christ; how you can know every sin of your life has been forgiven; how you can know for sure you're going to heaven. I hope you'll check it out.
Look, maybe it's night right now, not because God doesn't love you, but because He does. He doesn't want to lose you. His cross shines very brightly in your night.
Once you meet Him there, well it will never be night in your soul again.
Acts 10, bible reading and devotionals.
Max Lucado: Goodness and Mercy
God treats you the way one mother
treated her young son, Timmy. She didn’t like the idea of his walking to
school alone. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother.
She did her best to stay calm, quoting the 23rd Psalm to him every morning:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life.”
One day she asked a neighbor who
walked with her daughter to follow Timmy to school, but to stay at a
distance. After several days Timmy’s little friend said, “Do you know
that woman who follows us to school? “Sure,” Timmy answered.
“That’s Shirley Goodnest and her daughter, Marcy.” My mom reads about
them every day in the 23rd Psalm She says they will follow me all the
days of my life. So, I guess I better get used to them!
You will too. God never sends
you out alone!
Taken from Fearless
Acts 10:1-23
New International Version (NIV)
New International Version (NIV)
Cornelius Calls for Peter
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear.
“What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers
and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send
men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is
staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him
had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one
of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to
Joppa.
Peter’s Vision 9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
Peter’s Vision 9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter
replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
17 While Peter was wondering about
the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s
house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was
known as Peter was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking
about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for
you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I
have sent them.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
22 The men replied, “We have come
from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is
respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to
his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited
the men into the house to be his guests.
Peter at Cornelius’s House
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Revelation 7:9-17
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
Read: Revelation 7:9-17
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing
around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They
fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes —who are they, and where did they come from?”
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes —who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who
have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]”
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]”
The Gathering
May 28, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
The Lamb who is in the midst of the
throne will shepherd [us] and lead [us] to living fountains of waters.
—Revelation 7:17
During Oswald Chambers’ service as a
YMCA chaplain in Egypt (1915–1917), he touched the lives of many soldiers who
died in World War I. On November 6, 1916, Chambers wrote in his diary: “We have
a letter from a New Zealand friend telling us that Ted Strack has been killed.
And so Ted Strack has ‘gone to be with Jesus.’ That is just how he would have
put it . . . . [He] was a rough beauty of nature and of grace, a fearless,
loveable little saint. Thank God for every remembrance of him . . . . So they
are gathering one by one.”
As we grieve the death of those we
love, we cling to Jesus’ promise of life beyond the grave. The book of
Revelation records John’s vision of a great multitude from every nation, tribe,
and language gathered around God’s throne in heaven (7:9). The overarching
truth of this passage is a glad, eternal reunion when “the Lamb who is in the
midst of the throne will shepherd [us] and lead [us] to living fountains of
waters” (v.17).
The passing of every believer in
Christ foreshadows the day when we will join them with the Lord. In our sadness
today, we are hopeful as we see that “they are gathering one by one.”
Beyond the sunset, O glad
reunionWith our dear loved ones who’ve gone before;In that fair homeland we’ll
know no parting—Beyond the sunset forevermore. —BrockGoodbyes are the law of
earth; reunions are the law of heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald
Chambers
May 28, 2012
May 28, 2012
Unquestion Revelation
In that day you will ask Me nothing
—John 16:23
When is “that day”? It is when the
ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. “In that day” you will be one with
the Father just as Jesus is, and He said, “In that day you will ask Me
nothing.” Until the resurrection life of Jesus is fully exhibited in you, you
have questions about many things. Then after a while you find that all your
questions are gone— you don’t seem to have any left to ask. You have come to
the point of total reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, which brings you
into complete oneness with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If
not, why aren’t you?
“In that day” there may be any
number of things still hidden to your understanding, but they will not come
between your heart and God. “In that day you will ask Me nothing”— you will not
need to ask, because you will be certain that God will reveal things in
accordance with His will. The faith and peace of John 14:1 has become the real
attitude of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If
anything is a mystery to you and is coming between you and God, never look for
the explanation in your mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner
nature— that is where the problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is
willing to submit to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly
clear, and you will come to the place where there is no distance between the
Father and you, His child, because the Lord has made you one. “In that day you
will ask Me nothing.”
A Word With You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Do I Love Him This Much? - #6621
Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
It was one of the great showdowns of
my life - over a jar of peanut butter. Yeah. See, I was in love with my now
"bride" for two and a half years before we got married, and because I
loved her I began to change some things before we got married. I lost some
weight; I changed my schedule to make sure there was a little time for her in
there. I changed my after shave because there was one she liked. I became
interested in her friends. My love was steadily changing one area after another
in my life, until the day we went grocery shopping together.
Yeah. See, there was tension over
whether to buy the expensive name brand of various items which I wanted to do,
or the less expensive store brand which she had been raised to do. Since it was
going to be "our" money when we got married, it got to be pretty
tense. It came to a head over uh... yeah, a jar of peanut butter. My name brand
versus her store brand. Suddenly I had hit a wall in how far this love thing
was going to go, and the line was what I wanted in my favorite foods.
Fortunately, I ended up deciding that she was more important than peanut butter
or soft drinks. But every important love reaches a test point, and it's
surprising what the issue often is.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to
have A Word With You today about "Do I Love Him This Much?"
Well, our word for today from the
Word of God comes from Psalm 40 , and I'll begin reading at verse 1. It's
David's personal testimony, "I waited patiently for the Lord" he says.
"He turned to me; He heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out
of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to
stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God."
Now, David indicates here a very personal,
very practical thing that the Lord changed when He came into his life. David
says He changed my music. "He put a new song in my mouth; a hymn of praise
to our God." Interestingly enough, that area of music is for many a major
test of how much they love their Lord. Will I let Jesus affect my music...what
I listen to?
Honestly, for many followers of
Christ, that's the equivalent of the peanut butter test in my love for my wife.
Do I love Jesus enough to let Him affect this - to let Him change my music? You
say, "Come on, that's a teenage issue, right, that music stuff?" Not
exclusively.
Music is one of the most powerful
influences in our lives. It can make us feel romantic, or patriotic, or
religious, sad. Music just drives in ideas. As one great composer said, "I
loved music from being a young boy, because it bypasses the brain. It goes
straight to the heart." That's true! Commercials use music all the time to
drive messages into our head. See, if I'm going to live right, I've got to think
right. And if I'm going to have to think right, I've got to get right input,
which means I need to submit my music - this most powerful input - to the
lordship of Christ. It doesn't matter if its country music, easy listening
music, rock music, or rap music, whatever. The devil has planted his values in
many styles of music. And honestly, it's often a separate compartment in many
of our lives where we've put up a "No Trespassing" sign for Jesus. We
say, "Well, that's just my entertainment." No! No, it's an important
part of who you are. So important you won't let Jesus touch it.
He's looking at that locked closet
and He's asking, "May I go in there? Didn't I die for that too?" Will
you open up to the Lord this huge area of the music you listen to, who your
music heroes are? Don't let it be an idol that He can't touch. Jesus is saying,
"Let Me into your music."
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Ecclesiastes 9 bible reading and devotionals.
Max Lucado Daily: Devotion
“I give my life for the sheep.” John 10:15
The ropes used to tie our Lord’s hands and the soldiers used to lead him to cross were unnecessary. They were incidental. Had they not been there, had there been no trial, no Pilate and no crowd, the very same crucifixion would have occurred. Had Jesus been forced to nail himself to the cross, he would have done it. For it was not the soldiers who killed him, nor the screams of the mob. It was his devotion to us.
Ecclesiastes 9
A Common Destiny for All
So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[f] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good,
so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
so with those who are afraid to take them.
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope[g]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times
that fall unexpectedly upon them.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Timothy 2:19-26
19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
A Sense Of Dread
May 27, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. —2 Timothy 2:23
In Tennyson’s classic poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” valiant cavalry troops riding into battle are described by the imposing phrase, “Into the valley of death rode the six hundred.” Those words portray a sense of foreboding that anticipated the tragedy that lay before them.
When I was a pastor, I sometimes felt a sense of dread when heading to church meetings. Being aware of current or potential areas of conflict can easily cause serious concern. But this does not need to be the case in the church.
To a young pastor struggling with the pressures of ministry, Paul wrote, “Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife” (2 Tim. 2:23). This applies to pastors as well as church attenders. Our personal conduct can help to reduce the amount of friction instead of elevating it through unwise actions or words. We can model for others the biblical way to avoid, manage, and even resolve conflict. Verses 24-25 encourage us to be gentle, patient, and humble in relating to others.
As James says, “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). Pursuing the goal of being a peacemaker can reduce the sense of dread that conflicts generate.
O Lord, help us to turn aside
From words that spring from selfish pride,
For You would have Your children one
In praise and love for Your dear Son. —D. De Haan
Christians at war with each other cannot be at peace with their heavenly Father.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 27, 2012
The Life To Know Him
. . . tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high —Luke 24:49
The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The statement in John 7:39 — “. . . for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”— does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified— our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.
The Holy Spirit’s influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.
It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ— it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity— it is one amazing glorious now. “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Ecclesiastes 8, bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear God's word.
Max Lucado Daily: He Leads Us
He Leads Us
“We will find grace to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:16, NLT
God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene . . . so you might as well quit looking for it. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know he leads us and “we will find grace to help us when we need it.”
Ecclesiastes 8
Who is like the wise?
Who knows the explanation of things?
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
and changes its hard appearance.
Obey the King
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing? ”
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though a person may be weighed down by misery.
7 Since no one knows the future,
who can tell someone else what is to come?
8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
so[c] no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own[d] hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried —those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise[e] in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life , because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth —people getting no sleep day or night— 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 14:5-22
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen[a] and troops —pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Stand Or Go?
May 26, 2012 — by Dave Branon
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord”—Exodus 14:13
The Israelites were trapped. Soon after leaving slavery and Egypt behind, they looked up and saw a distressing sight. A cloud of dust was moving their way, and in that dust was a massive army. Pharaoh’s “disease” had returned—hardening of the heart (Ex. 14:8). As a result, he sent his chariots after Moses and his people.
Once the Egyptian army caught up with the Israelites, all seemed lost. They were trapped between a wall of soldiers and a sea of water. In panic, they cried out to both Moses and God.
Both of them responded with instructions. Moses said, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. ” (14:13). And God told them, “Go forward” (v.15). While that may seem to be contradictory advice, both commands were from God and right. First, the people had to “stand still” or “firm” long enough to get instructions from God. What if they had rushed headlong into the Red Sea without consulting the Lord? But in standing still, they heard God’s instructions, which included both what they were to do—move on, and what Moses was to do—stretch out his hand over the sea in obedience and God would part the waters.
Do circumstances have you trapped? Stand still. Take time to consult God and His Word. Then, using His instructions, move ahead and let God guide you.
It matters not how dark the way,
How thick the clouds from day to day,
God will direct in all we do
If we take time to pray it through. —Mead
If you’re looking for guidance, follow Christ as your guide.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 26, 2012
Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught
Pray without ceasing . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:17
Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing . . .”— maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.
Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “. . . everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But . . . , but . . . .” God answers prayer in the best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?
The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Ecclesiastes 7 bible reading and devotionals.
Click to hear God's message to you.
Max Lucado Daily: Mix and Match
If only we could order life the way we order gourmet coffee. Wouldn’t you love to mix and match the ingredients of your future? How about a grande happy-latte, with a dollop of love, sprinkled with Caribbean retirement? Take me to that coffee shop! Too bad it doesn’t exist.
The truth is, life often hands us a concoction entirely different from the one we requested. Life comes caffeinated with surprises. Transitions and alterations. Some changes are welcome, others are not.
Remember the summary of King Solomon? For everything there is a season.
A time to be born and a time to die
A time to plant and a time to harvest
A time to cry and a time to laugh
Make friends with whatever’s next! Embrace it. Don’t resist it. As Paul wrote, “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”
Taken from Fearless
Ecclesiastes 7
Wisdom
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.[a]
19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise” —
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b] “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 12:14-21
14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time. I won't cause you any expense. I don't want what you have. What I really want is you. After all, children shouldn't have to save up for their parents. Parents should save up for their children. 15 So I will be very happy to spend everything I have for you. I will even spend myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?
16 In any case, I haven't caused you any expense. But I'm such a tricky fellow! I have caught you by tricking you!
17 Did I take advantage of you through any of the men I sent to you? 18 I asked Titus to go to you. And I sent our brother with him. Titus didn't take advantage of you, did he? Didn't I act in the same spirit? Didn't I follow the same path?
19 All this time, have you been thinking that I've been speaking up for myself? No, I've been speaking with God as my witness. I've been speaking like a believer in Christ. Dear friends, everything I do is to help you become stronger.
20 I'm afraid that when I come I won't find you as I want you to be. I'm afraid that you won't find me as you want me to be. I'm afraid there will be arguing, jealousy and fits of anger. I'm afraid you will separate into your own little groups. Then you will tell lies about each other. You will talk about each other. I'm afraid you will be proud and cause trouble.
21 I'm afraid that when I come again my God will put me to shame in front of you. Then I will be sad about many who sinned earlier and have not turned away from it. They have not turned away from uncleanness, sexual sins and wild living. They have done all those things.
Conversion
May 25, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link
I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls. —2 Corinthians 12:15
Before my husband and I travel, we go to the bank and trade in our US dollars for the currency of the country we’ll be visiting. We do this so we can pay for expenses while we’re away from home.
When we become Christians, another kind of exchange takes place. Our lives are like currency that we convert from one medium to another. We trade our old life for a new one so that we can begin “spending” ourselves in a different kingdom. Instead of spending ourselves for the causes of this world, we are able to start spending ourselves for the cause of Christ.
The apostle Paul is a good example of this difference. After his dramatic conversion on the way to Damascus (Acts 9), he began spending his life in a dramatically different way. Instead of pursuing Christians to imprison and kill them, he began pursuing non-Christians to convert them. Then he spent the rest of his life for their welfare. He wrote to the church at Corinth, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). Everything he did was for the edification of his spiritual children (vv.14,19).
Conversion is far more than just changing our final destination. It’s changing the way we spend each day of our lives.
Lord, help me to spend myself on what will last,
not on what will fade away one day.
I give my life to You that I might spend and be spent
for others and Your will. Amen.
Conversion takes only a moment—transformation takes a lifetime.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 25, 2012
The Good or The Best?
If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left —Genesis 13:9
As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.
Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.
Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God. And God says to us, as He did to Abram, “. . . walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Survivor Tree - #6620
Friday, May 25, 2012
It was right after Christmas in 2004, and Damian Barrett was on a beach in Thailand. Suddenly he saw the tide go out so quickly that the bay was drained dry. And moments later, the ocean came roaring back with the monster tsunami that claimed so many lives that day across South Asia. A massive wave swept Damian into the shopping area and then into a store which then started filling with water. Unfortunately, he was carried to the ceiling by that rising water. He was sure he was going to die there, until the water actually pushed him through a gap in the roof.
But any relief that he felt didn't last long. Now he was being sucked out to sea where he would stand no chance. And then the tide slammed him into the trunk of a large tree - a massive tree that could withstand even the force of the tsunami. As vehicles, appliances and all kinds of debris swept past him, he hung onto that tree with everything he had.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Survivor Tree."
That man lived to tell his story because of a tree that stood between him and certain death. For 2,000 years, a tree has been saving the lives of people who would otherwise have no chance. I'm one of them. That tree has stood between them and the deadly tide of eternal judgment that awaits on the other side of this life. Because as Hebrews 9:26-27, our word for today from the Word of God says: "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."
The verses immediately before and after that unsettling verdict tell us about the tree that offers hope of life. One of those verses says of Jesus, "He has appeared...to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." See, our sin is the tide that is sweeping us inexorably toward the judgment of a holy God. He made us to live for Him; we've lived for ourselves instead. Everything else He made obeys Him except us. We are the rebels of the universe, and our rebellion carries an awful death penalty that the Bible calls hell. So imagine the power of those words, "He appeared to do away with sin." How? "By the sacrifice of Himself." See, that's the tree! It's that horrific cross where Jesus poured out His blood and His life to take the judgment you and I deserve.
The judgment for your sin fell on Jesus at the cross. That tree is what stands between you and the penalty of your sin no matter how good you are, no matter how religious you are, because no amount of good can satisfy a holy God or pay a death penalty. All our spiritual efforts are no match for the size of the wave of God's judgment.
So our only hope is clinging to the tree where God's judgment fell on His Son. Or, more importantly, to cling to the One who died on that tree, which means abandoning all other hopes: our pride, our religion, our self-reliance. And realizing we are as desperate and as helpless as a man being swept out to sea, and then clinging to the One whose death on that tree for us is literally our only hope - your only hope.
Have you ever told Him that? Have you ever said, "Jesus, I'm lost without You. I have no hope without You. But I'm ready to turn from my sin and I'm ready to hold onto You with all the faith I've got." If you've never done that, you're still facing the judgment for your sin. But if you'll do that today, your sin will be forgiven, erased from God's Book, your hell cancelled, your heaven guaranteed. It's time to tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
You know, our website is there set up really to be there for you at a moment like this to help you know how to belong to Him, how to begin your relationship with Him and know you've got it settled. If you want to get this done, would you go to our website? It's YoursForLife.net.
There's an old hymn that says it pretty well, "Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Your cross I cling." Wow! I pray that that will be you today.
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