1 Chronicles 23 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily:Sustaining Grace

The Apostle Paul wrote, “There was given me a thorn in my flesh, from Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)

The cancer in the body.  The sorrow in the heart. The child in the rehab center. The craving for whiskey in the middle of the day. The tears in the middle of the night.  The thorn-in-the-flesh. “Take it away,” you’ve pleaded.  Not once, twice, or even three times.  You’ve outprayed Paul.  And you’re about to hit the wall.

But what you hear is this:  “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Sustaining grace. The grace that meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength.  Sustaining grace!  It doesn’t promise the absence of struggle.  It promises the presence of God.

From GRACE

1 Chronicles 23
The Levites

1 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4 David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. 5 Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”
6 David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Belonging to the Gershonites:
Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan:
Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei:
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.
These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei:
Jahath, Ziza,[a] Jeush and Beriah.

These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.
11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram:
Aaron and Moses.

Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses:
Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The descendants of Gershom:
Shubael was the first.
17 The descendants of Eliezer:
Rehabiah was the first.

Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith was the first.
19 The sons of Hebron:
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel:
Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 The sons of Mushi:
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord. 25 For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.” 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

28 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

32 And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 19:7-11
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,[a]
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules[b] of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

Unlikely Encouragement

December 6, 2012 — by Dave Branon
More to be desired are [God’s laws] than gold. —Psalm 19:10

Are you looking for encouragement? Do you need a little boost today amid all the bad news coming your way? The psalmist David can lift your spirit in an unexpected way through some words we often think of as negative.

When we read Psalm 19, we discover a short listing of ways that the Lord’s clearly defined “law,” or standards for living, can bring positive results. This is unlikely encouragement, for some see God’s standards as restrictive and as robbing us of happiness.

Here are some words the psalmist used for God’s standards: “law of the Lord” (v.7), “testimony” (v.7), “statutes” (v.8), “commandments” (v.8), “fear of the Lord” (v.9), and “judgments” (v.9). These words have an ominous sound that causes many people to want to avoid or reject them.

But notice what these things bring to the believing, obedient heart: conversion of the soul, wisdom, rejoicing of the heart, purity of life, enlightenment of the eyes, endurance, truth, and righteousness (vv.7-9). That’s great encouragement! No wonder David said about God’s law that He’s given to us, “More to be desired are they than gold . . . sweeter also than honey” (v.10).

Lord, we love You and Your Word. We delight in
reading it, learning about You, and following what
You teach us. Thank You for all the blessings that come
from our relationship with You. Amen.
Obedience to God’s Word is the Christian’s greatest freedom.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 6, 2012
“My Rainbow in the Cloud”

I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth —Genesis 9:13

It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.

Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22).

When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Just Go - #6759
Thursday, December 6, 2012

Boy, when our family was growing up, if you were planning to take our oldest son somewhere, you'd better have all your details or you may not go. See, he was never a great fan of surprises or mystery rides; that kind of thing. In fact, ever since he was little, he wanted a detailed itinerary before he could feel good about any trip.

Oh, so man, I would get so many questions, "Well, where are we going, Dad?" "How much money will I need?" "What will we do when we're there?" "What will we do when there's nothing to do?" "Where are we going to eat?" "What time will we be back?" "How long will it take to get there?" "How long will it take to get back?" Ahhh! He should have been a detective or a reporter with all those questions. Now, I'm not sure he was all that unusual. Look, most of us like to know a lot about our destination before we leave where we are. Right? But that information is often not available.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just Go."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 8. Let me begin reading out of the ministry of Philip here in verse 5. "Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there." Now, the ensuing verses go on to tell us that he was having some very dramatic results. And then in the middle of all that in verse 26, "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'"

Now, as you may remember, the rest of the story tells us that Philip went and had an opportunity to find a spiritually prepared man there. He led him to Christ, told him who Isaiah was speaking of, and this man went back and began the spread of the Gospel into Africa because of his very strategic position in the court in Ethiopia.

Now, Philip was in the middle of a great situation in Samaria, and suddenly he gets this command, "Go to the desert." That's it! No further instructions. You know what it says? "So he started out." Okay, there's a biblical pattern here. It happened to Abraham, "Go to the land that I will show you." Not much detail. He said to Saul of Tarsus in chapter 9, after Saul was accosted by Christ and met by Christ on that Damascus road, he says, "Go into the city and you will be told what you must do." Here we go again! No further instructions. See, God often asks you to be going without knowing. And we're just like my son, "Where? What about all the money I need? What are we going to do there? How long will I be there?" God says, "Just go."

Many people have missed God's best because they've limited themselves to safe obedience - must stay in my comfort zone. That's a great place to miss the will of God. Instead of saying, "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go," they sing, "Anywhere with Jesus I can go safely." It wouldn't surprise me if God is right now saying maybe to you, "Go!" Maybe to talk to someone who doesn't know Christ and you've never talked to them; or to go to a ministry assignment you feel unprepared for; or to go follow Him into Christian service; or to go obey Him in an area where that obedience might really cost you something. But will you go? Pray about it? Study His Word?

Be sure it's His voice and then do it! What happened when Philip did? He found a prepared heart and a mission that made a transforming difference, and you will too. But first, you have to lay aside the caution and the rigidity that only goes when all the answers are there. After all, what is living by faith?

If the Lord is saying, "Just go," then just go.

1 Corinthians 14:1-25 bible reading and devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Where Healing Happens

Find a church congregation that believes in confession.  Avoid a fellowship of perfect people—you won’t fit in anyway. Seek one where members confess their sins and show humility, where the price of admission is simply an admission of guilt.

Healing happens in a church like this.  Jesus said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  (Matthew 6:14-15).  Jesus also said, “If we say we have no sin, we’re fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what’s right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.” (I John 1:8-10)

Not— He might cleanse us, He could, would, or has been known to cleanse us.  He WILL cleanse us!  Oh the sweet certainty of His words!

From GRACE

1 Corinthians 14:1-25
New International Version (NIV)
Intelligibility in Worship

14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[b] but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,[c] unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,[d] say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written:

“With other tongues
    and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
    but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”[e]
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 4:27-39

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

Barriers And Blessings

December 5, 2012 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

Many . . . believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” —John 4:39

What did Jesus see when He looked at the woman at the well in John 4? He saw someone who wanted acceptance and desperately needed to know she was loved. Most of all, He saw someone who needed what only He could give—a new heart.

It was no accident that the disciples had all gone to town to buy food. Surely, they would have tried to warn Jesus not to talk to this person—a woman, a Samaritan, and someone with a bad reputation.

Not being one to follow protocol, however, Jesus used this encounter to bless her with the truth of “living water” (John 4:10). In just one conversation, He broke down barriers of old hostilities, of gender bias, of ethnic and racial divides. And this woman became the first of many Samaritans to confess that Jesus was the Messiah (vv.39-42).

When she told others of her encounter with a Man who knew “all that I ever did,” she was already practicing the principle of “sowing and reaping” that Jesus was teaching His followers (John 4:35-38). Many believed that day, and later Philip, Peter, John, and others would preach in Samaria and lead many more to Christ (Acts 8:5-14; 15:3).

When we tell others of our own “encounter” with Jesus, we bless them with living water.

From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me! —Gabriel
A faith worth having is a faith worth sharing.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 5, 2012

“The Temple of the Holy Spirit”

. . . only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40

I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, “I beseech you . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Problem With Panic - #6758

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

There's this disease that hits college campuses in the spring every year. It's called "senior panic." You arrive at college as a freshman with this sneaking suspicion that you might just meet the person you're going to marry while you're there. And as you go through college, that suspicion becomes an expectation.

Now, my wife and I met at Moody Bible Institute, where we began our education. And D. L. Moody, well, he was a shoe salesman. In fact, they used to say that Moody was a shoe factory where they would take in old heels, and repair their souls, and send them out in pairs. So, you wanted to come out of there with a mate if at all possible. Right?

You started with that suspicion that you might find somebody, and then it became an expectation, and then maybe in your junior year it became a determination, "I've got to find somebody here! I might not have anybody." And then you hit your senior year; there's no husband or wife in sight - senior panic! Quick, do something! I'm going to miss it if I don't do something fast! Who says panic is only a senior problem?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Problem With Panic."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 27. I'll begin reading at verse 30. The Apostle Paul has been for two weeks in the middle of a terrible storm at sea, as he's being carried by a Roman ship to meet with Caesar in Rome. And as they begin to go aground, some of the crew starts to have, not senior panic, but sailor panic. Here's what they decide to do, listen: "In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the Centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.' So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and they let it fall away."

Okay, some background: the Apostle Paul had gotten assurance from the Lord, in the middle of the storm, that though the ship would go aground, the people would be saved. In fact earlier in the chapter, here's the message he conveys, "Do not be afraid. God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you, so keep up your courage men. I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me."

Well, their panic was understandable; the ship's coming apart. Looks like God's not going to deliver them in time. They panic! They scramble for a quick answer. Have you ever done that? See, if they do this, they're not going to make it. If you do, you won't make it. How many times do we look at our storm, we see the ship going down, financially, romantically, emotionally, and we panic. We go for a lifeboat instead of waiting for God's answer, God's provision.

Abraham did it with Hagar and he created a problem for centuries with the two sons of promise, because he and Sarah could not wait for God to fulfill His promise. Rebecca did it with her son, Jacob, when she lied about him to try to get the blessing for him and all she ended up with was a family split apart.

You and I do it when we settle for these patchwork solutions. Because of panic, many of God's kids have ended up with a lot of heartache, in the wrong job, the wrong relationships, the wrong marriage, a mountain of debt. The greatest enemy of God's best may be impatience. "I can't wait for God to deliver." To do as Paul said, "All that God said that He would do."

Those seniors who panic over singleness often get the wrong person. In their rush, they often make a life-long mistake. When they think time's running out, God is right on schedule. Remember, if you panic, you can make a life-long mistake.

1 Chronicles 22 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: A Spiritual MRI

What would an X-ray—an MRI—of your soul reveal?  Regrets over teenage relationships?  Remorse over a poor choice?  You become moody, cranky.  You’re angry, irritable.  Understandable, you have shame lodged in your soul.

Interested in an extraction?  Confess.  Request a spiritual MRI.  Psalm 139: 23-24 is just that:

“Search me, O God and know my heart;
 try me, and know my anxieties;
and see if there’s any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We need a prayer of grace-based confession.

God, I’ve done what you say is wrong.
Would you wash away my guilt and make me clean again.

No chant or candle needed.  Just an honest prayer of confession.  Try it!

From GRACE

1 Chronicles 22

22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

2 So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,[g] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents[h] of gold, a million talents[i] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Deuteronomy 15:7-11

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly[a] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Open-Handed Help

December 4, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

You shall open your hand wide to [the poor]. —Deuteronomy 15:8

A homeless man spends time in our local library. One afternoon, while I was writing there, I took a lunch break. After I finished the first half of a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich, an image of the man’s face came to mind. A few minutes later, I offered him the untouched part of my lunch. He accepted.

This brief encounter made me realize that with all that God has given me, I needed to do more to help those who are less fortunate. Later, as I thought about this, I read Moses’ instructions on providing for the poor. He told the Israelites: Do not “shut your hand from your poor brother, but . . . open your hand wide to him” (Deut. 15:7-8). An open hand symbolizes the way God wanted His nation to provide for impoverished people—willingly and freely. No excuses, no holding back (v.9). God had given to them, and He wanted them to give generously enough to supply whatever was “sufficient” for the need (v.8).

When we offer open-handed help to the poor, God blesses us for our kindness (Ps. 41:1-3; Prov. 19:17). With His leading, consider how you might “extend your soul to the hungry” (Isa. 58:10) and freely give to help others in Jesus’ name.

Grant us, then, the grace for giving
With a spirit large and free,
That our life and all our living
We may consecrate to Thee. —Murray
You may give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 4, 2012

The Law of Opposition

To him who overcomes . . . —Revelation 2:7

Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.

Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.

Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.

And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Just the Two of Us - #6757

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Five thousand miles in one month! That's not too bad if you're in an airplane, but that's how far I drove one summer and still often do. (Although I should say my wife does a lot of the driving these days.) But back then I just about ran the wheels off of our van driving from one conference, or speaking assignment, or college trip to another. Let's see, if I averaged 50 mph, that means I drove for 100 hours. Oh, man!

Well, it was a great time, it really was. You know why? My wife was with me. We finally got to be together for extended blocks of time with no phone, no errands to do, no people to take us away. We didn't talk all the time, although we had a lot to catch up on. We probably could have been catching up for about 100 hours. Right?

Sometimes we just played music, or occasionally we would just spontaneously pray about something together. Or a lot of times we just enjoyed the silence or some of the beautiful scenery. And then every once in a while you'd hear the silence punctuated with an occasional comment or just an "I love you." I think my wife spoke for both of us when she described what was so nice about all those 5,000 miles. She said, "It was just so great being in your company; just the two of us."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just the Two of Us."

You know, relationships need time together and especially times when there's like no agenda. It really enriched me to have that kind of time with my wife during all that driving. There's another relationship that might be a need, maybe desperate need of some "just being" time.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 42, out of the heart of David, verses 1 and 2. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God; for the living God." And then he asks this powerful question, "When can I go and meet with God?" That's the cry of a believer for the greatest emotional need he has - to be intimate with his Lord. When is the last time you just sat down with Jesus and enjoyed His company? Or do you only see Him when you have a list for Him?

Jeremy was over at our house with his parents, and he'd been downstairs playing. Suddenly he came into the living room and kind of sat down in his Dad's lap, and his Dad liked that. His Dad kind of wrapped his arms around him, started to cuddle him, and Jeremy didn't settle down; he just kept wiggling. He looked up at his Dad and he said, "Daddy, you know I'm not sitting here just because I want to be with you." Great! Yeah, he needed something.

Wow! How often is that me with my Heavenly Father, or you maybe? In fact we say, "Well, I'm not here just because I want to be with You; I've got my list. I need something." But you're growing up as a child of God when you want to be with God just to be with God. You say, "Ron, I don't really feel that way yet." Well, that's okay. Tell Him that. Ask Him for the desire for His company; this passion that David had just to be with Him. "When can I go and meet with God?"

We have the indescribable privilege to cuddle in the lap of the King of the Universe; to call Him "Daddy"; to let Him comfort our battered emotions; to speak new ideas and insights into our quiet heart. He can't do that while you're talking to Him. To be real, real close, you can't just run in and run through your "pleases" and "thank yous" and then run out. You can do all that, but then stay a little longer.

I think you and Jesus will feel the same way about it. It's like my wife said, "It was so great just being in your company, Lord, just the two of us."

1 Chronicles 21 bible reading and devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Confession

Confession!  It’s a word that conjures up many images—some not so positive.

Confession isn’t telling God what he doesn’t know.  That’s impossible.  It’s not pointing fingers at others without pointing any at me.  That may feel good, but it doesn’t promote healing. Confession is a radical reliance on grace—a trust in God’s goodness.  The truth is, confessors find a freedom that deniers don’t!

Scripture says,  “If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. John 1:8-9?

Tell God what you did.  Again, it’s not that he doesn’t already know, but the two of you need to agree!  Then let the pure water of grace flow over your mistakes!

From GRACE

1 Chronicles 21

David Counts the Fighting Men

21 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

9 The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

11 So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away[c] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

13 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah[d] the Jebusite.

16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

17 David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,[e] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

David Builds an Altar

18 Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

22 David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

23 Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

25 So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels[f] of gold for the site. 26 David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

27 Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29 The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

By Grace Through Faith

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The Spirit Of The Age

December 3, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world. —Ephesians 2:1-2

Every age has its own thoughts, ideas, and values that influence the culture, the “spirit of the age.” It is the kind of growing consensus that morally lulls us to sleep, gradually causing us to accept society’s latest values.

The apostle Paul called this corrupting atmosphere the “course of this world.” Describing the lives of the believers at Ephesus before they encountered Christ, he said that they were “dead in trespasses and sins” and “walked according to the course of this world” (Eph. 2:1-2). This is the world’s peer pressure—a satanically inspired system of values and ideas that cultivates a lifestyle that is independent of God.

Jesus intends for us to live in the world (John 17:15), so worldly influence is nearly impossible to escape. But He’s given us His Word to so permeate our thinking that we don’t have to become conformed to the world’s values (Rom. 12:1-2). Instead, God helps us walk in His light (Eph. 5:8), in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), in love (Eph. 5:2), in truth (3 John 4), and in Christ (Col. 2:6).

As we walk in God’s power and spend time in His Word, He gives us the strength to live according to kingdom values and not the spirit of the age.

Father, You have made us alive in Christ and now we
have a new kind of thinking that differs from the world.
Teach us Your kingdom’s values that we might
learn to walk in love. Amen.
Although Christians live in this world,
their allegiance is to heaven.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 3, 2012

“Not by Might nor by Power”

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4

If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.

Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Another At-Bat - #6756

Monday, December 3, 2012

While a lot of people were watching the Presidential debates, and there were some who didn't watch them, actually because baseball was still going on. They were just watching men with caps swinging a stick at a speeding white ball.

Now, it came on the last day of the regular baseball season when the first Presidential debate took place, but there were still decisive games being played. One of which gave my Yankees (okay, no booing - I can't hear it anyway), they get the division championship. But in the midst of some of these cliffhanger baseball dramas being played out, there was another baseball story that really captured people's attention about one guy having his one time at-bat.

Seven years ago, in his first Major League at-bat, 24-year-old Adam Greenberg was struck in the head by a 92-mile-per-hour fastball. That left him with these migraine-like symptoms and lots of other complications - the end of a dream. Well, except somebody forgot to tell Adam it was over. He was determined to fight his way back - if only some team would give him a chance.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Another At-Bat."

Well, filmmaker and fan Matt Liston launched a passionate, online petition. He called it "One At-Bat" to get Adam that chance. And on a Tuesday night near the end of the season, Adam Greenberg stood at home plate in a Major League game at-bat again. See, the Florida Marlins signed him to a one-game contract so he could swing again. Now, he was greeted by a rousing standing ovation in the stadium, even after he struck out, because Adam Greenberg is anything but "out." He's a winner!

Now, his life was changed by one man who did whatever it took to give him another at-bat - another chance. My life was changed by the same kind of person; so were millions of others. Yours could be too. Because I had struck out big time. See, God gave me my life, but I hijacked it from Him. I did what I wanted to do with it; me defying the God who made a hundred billion galaxies, who decides if I take another breath. Ignoring Him. Marginalizing Him. Living my way instead of the way He created me to live.

I knew the Bible was talking about me when it said: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And I had no chance of ever reaching "home." And then the God of second chances went to bat for me.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:12 that the very God I didn't care about sent His only Son to erase the sin that had left me "without hope and without God." But the price for me to have a chance at heaven wasn't cheap. In our word for today from the Word of God in Revelation 1:5 it says, "Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood." Heaven's Prince chose to literally sacrifice His life to pay for my rebellion and yours as He was nailed to a cross.

And then He did what no man has done before or since. He walked out of His grave under His own power, to give the life that He purchased to millions. To me. To you. He did what it took to bring us all Home.

Jesus is the God of another chance...of a new beginning. He fights for you when others have counted you out. He offers restoration when others offer only condemnation. He refuses to give up on you even when you've given up on yourself. With His forgiving, life-giving power, He gives "losers" and sinner, and marriages and families a second chance, because Jesus is all about hope - another at-bat.

A new beginning - that's the gift Jesus has made possible for all of us. By forgiving what only He can forgive, and changing what only He can change. He stands ready to do that for you today, from the moment you reach out to Him to begin your personal love relationship with Him. Listen, if that's what you want, I encourage you to check out our website and see there exactly how to get started with Jesus. It's YoursForLife.net. And let the God of second chances give you a new beginning.

1 Chronicles 20 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: A Love That Never Fails

Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:8

A love that never fails! Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

Has human love ever failed you? I’m guessing your answer may be, “Yes it has—more times than I like to admit!”

I Corinthians 13:8 promises that “love never fails.”

Not God’s kind of love anyway.

I sense you may be so thirsty for this type of love. Those who should have loved you didn’t. Those who could have loved you didn’t. You were left at the hospital. Left at the altar. Left with an empty bed. Left with a broken heart. Left with your question “Does anybody love me?”

Listen to heaven’s answer. God loves you—with a love that never fails.

Personally. Powerfully. Passionately.

Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded! God loves you with an unfailing love. And His love—if you will let it—can fill you! Come thirsty—and drink deeply!

1 Chronicles 20

The Capture of Rabbah

20 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. 2 David took the crown from the head of their king[a]—its weight was found to be a talent[b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 3 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

War With the Philistines

4 In the course of time, war broke out with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites, and the Philistines were subjugated.

5 In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.

6 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

8 These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Colossians 1:3-14

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[a] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[b] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[c] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[d] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We Need Hope

December 2, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. —Jeremiah 17:7

Adam and Eve didn’t need hope because they didn’t lack anything they needed. And they had every reason to think that life would go on as pleasantly as it started—with every good thing that God had given them to enjoy. But they put it all at risk for the one thing the serpent said that God had withheld: the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17; 3:5). So when the serpent came with his offer, Eve was quick to indulge, and Adam quick to follow (3:6). They got what they wanted: knowledge. But they lost what they had: innocence. With the loss of innocence came the need for hope—hope that their guilt and shame could be removed and goodness restored.

Christmas is the season of hope. Children hope for the latest popular toy or game. Families hope that everyone can make it home for the holidays. But the hope that Christmas commemorates is much bigger than our holiday desires. Jesus, the “Desire of All Nations” (Hag. 2:7), has come! He has “delivered us from the power of darkness,” bought our redemption, and forgiven our sins (Col. 1:13-14). He even made it possible for us to be wise about what is good and innocent about evil (Rom. 16:19). Christ in us gives us the hope of glory.

Praise God for the hope of Christmas!

What are the prospects for this earth?
What hope is there for man?
A world restored through Jesus Christ
In whom we see God’s plan. —D. DeHaan
Hope for the Christian is a certainty—
because its basis is Christ.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 2, 2012

Christian Perfection

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12

It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.

Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.

1 Corinthians 13 bible reading and daily devotionals

(Click to listen to God’s teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: Full Victory

n all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. Romans 8:37

When it comes to healing our spiritual condition, we don’t have a chance. We might as well be told to pole-vault the moon.

Romans 8:37 says: “In all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us.”

We don’t have what it takes to be healed. Our only hope is that God will step into our hurt and helplessness and do it for us!

Which is exactly what he’s done!

I wish we would take him at his word. When he says we’re forgiven, let’s unload the guilt. When he says we’re valuable, let’s believe him. When he says we’re provided for, let’s stop worrying.

God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless!


1 Corinthians 13
New International Version (NIV)
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Isaiah 49:8-18

Restoration of Israel

8 This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
    and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
    some from the north, some from the west,
    some from the region of Aswan.[a]”
13 Shout for joy, you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;
    burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

Do We Matter To God?

December 1, 2012 — by Philip Yancey

In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You. —Isaiah 49:8

When I consider Your heavens,” wrote the psalmist, “what is man that You are mindful of him?” (Ps. 8:3-4). The Old Testament circles around this question. Toiling in Egypt, the Hebrew slaves could hardly believe Moses’ assurances that God would concern Himself with them. The writer of Ecclesiastes phrased the question more cynically: Does anything matter?

I was entertaining that same doubt myself when I received an invitation to address a conference on the theme: “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isa. 49:16).

God made this stirring declaration to people suffering through a low point in their history as Isaiah prophesies that they would be taken away captive to Babylon. Hearing this, the people lamented, “The Lord has forsaken me, and . . . forgotten me” (Isa. 49:14). To this lamentation God gave a series of promises—the Servant Songs (Isa. 42–53)—in which He sets the stage of hope for deliverance from hostile enemies. He foretells of the incarnation and sacrificial death of the Servant.

Do we matter to God? Christmas memorializes God’s answer: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14).

Love brought Him down from the glory,
Love made Him come from the sky;
Love in His heart for the sinner
Led Him to suffer and die. —Anon.
The fact of Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares. —Barclay


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 1, 2012


The Law and the Gospel

Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all —James 2:10

The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “. . . sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection!

We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power.

1 Chronicles 19 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?

Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!

The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there!  Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement.  That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities.  When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this:  God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds.  Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!

But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.”

So what do you think?  More plumber than executive?  More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations!  God uses people like you…and me.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:24?

From Max on Life

1 Chronicles 19

David Defeats the Ammonites

19 In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Haven’t his envoys come to you only to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

5 When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents[e] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim,[f] Aram Maakah and Zobah. 7 They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.

8 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 9 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

10 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 11 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 12 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. 13 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

14 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

16 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak the commander of their army.

19 When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him.

So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,[a] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Our Prayer; God’s Will

November 30, 2012 — by Dave Branon

I pleaded with the Lord three times that [a thorn in the flesh] might depart from me. —2 Corinthians 12:8

The handwritten prayer request was heartbreaking in its seeming impossibility: “Please pray—I have multiple sclerosis, weak muscles, trouble swallowing, increased pain, diminishing sight.” The woman’s body was breaking down, and I could sense despair in her plea for intercession.

But then came the hope—the strength that trumps the physical damage and degradation: “I know our blessed Savior is in full control. His will is of utmost importance to me.”

This person may have needed my prayers, but I needed something she had: unabated confidence in God. She seemed to present a perfect portrait of the truth God taught Paul when he asked for relief from his difficulty—what he called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). His quest for relief turned out to be not just a seeming impossibility; his request was turned down flat by his heavenly Father. Paul’s continual struggle, which was clearly God’s will, was a valuable lesson: Through his weakness, God’s grace could be displayed and God’s strength was “made perfect” (v.9).

As we pour out our hearts to God, let’s be even more concerned with seeking His will than we are with receiving the answer we want. That’s where the grace and the strength come from.

Dear heavenly Father, I bring to You my petitions,
but I give to You my heart. While I plead for You to
answer my prayers, I also submit to Your will so that
my heart may be strengthened and Your work be done.
We pray not to obtain our will in heaven,
but to effect God’s will on earth.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 30, 2012

“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am”

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Drowning Out the Disturbing Music - #6755

Friday, November 30, 2012

There's a 7-Eleven store owner in Texas who won my respect some years ago. Never met the man, but I really respect his creativity. He had this particular problem every night in his parking lot. A bunch of teenagers would gather there and their rock music would blare from their cars and then they kind of took over their neighborhood with decibels. And when they left, they'd leave a trail of litter and broken bottles.

Now, he could have gone out in the parking lot and yelled and screamed, and said, "You crazy kids, get out of here!" But he was much more creative and effective than that. He installed his own speakers on the roof of his store and started playing Mozart in the parking lot at night. His speakers were so big he was drowning out their speakers. I'll bet you could guess and guess correctly what happened! No more teenagers in the parking lot! They're not going to go near that Mozart stuff. His music cleared the parking lot. Now, that's a great way to win.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Drowning Out the Disturbing Music."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy 6. It is addressed to parents who have just moved out of the wilderness. They're moving into the Promised Land of Canaan, but it's a pagan place. They've been raising their children around people who believe what they believe. Now, they're going to have to raise their children in a pagan culture, a pleasure-mad, godless environment. There's going to be a lot of temptations for their kids, and the children will be hearing the siren song of Canaan blasting through the neighborhood.

How do parents deal with all these pagan influences? It sounds like the atmosphere in which we're raising our kids, doesn't it? Do you go out and yell and scream against all the sin? That might not be the best approach. Deuteronomy 6, beginning with verse 6: "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Seems like the strategy that God suggests here is to drown out the music of a godless earth with the music of a Christ-centered home. You can create in your family an island of sanity in an otherwise insane world. We hear all the appealing voices and temptations of a sinful culture, and oftentimes we act like we're afraid of that as if they really have something to offer. We cloister our kids; we try to pretend there is no other music. But God says in essence, "You can't stop the world from playing its alluring attractions for your children, but you can play the music of Jesus louder." How do you do that? Impress His teachings on your children. It doesn't just say tell them or teach them. It says to impress them.

Now, if you want to make an impression on something physically, you've got to be right next to it, in touch with it. That's how you impress something. Well, see, this is close-up time! It's not just teaching Christian answers; it's spending lots of that close-up time with them. It's interweaving God talk and God values into their everyday activities. The best place to learn about Him, to see the reality of your faith is in the classroom of everyday life. It's debriefing your child daily from their venture into the world. The greater impression is when they see you loving Jesus, enjoying Jesus yourself. Not so much pushing Jesus - enjoying Him; a spontaneous faith treats Jesus like the unseen member of our family; the decisive person in all the things that matter to you.

The world can't play music like that, so don't waste a lot of time trying to fight the world's blaring music. Just play Jesus' song louder, with a living faith in your family.

1 Chronicles 18 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: The Forgiveness of Christ

Nov 28, 2012 10:01 pm
 Today's MP3
The dilemma was:  “I know the Bible says I’m forgiven.  But my conscience says I’m not!”

If this question hits home… If you haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness, you’re doomed to live in fear.  And no pill or pep talk can set you at ease.  Am I right?  You may deaden the fear, but you can’t remove it.  Only God’s grace can do that!

Have you accepted the forgiveness of Christ?  If not, do it!  The Bible says “if we confess our sins, God is faithful–not just to forgive us, but He cleanses us from all unrighteousness! I John 1:9?

Make it your simple prayer:  Dear Father, I need forgiveness.  I admit I’ve turned away from you.  Forgive me, please.  I place my soul in Your hands and I trust in your grace.  Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now!  Live forgiven!

From Max on Life

1 Chronicles 18

David’s Victories

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines.

2 David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought him tribute.

3 Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah, in the vicinity of Hamath, when he went to set up his monument at[b] the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought him tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah[c] and Kun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea, the pillars and various bronze articles.

9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold, of silver and of bronze.

11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

David’s Officials

14 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek[d] son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary; 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 112

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

112 [a] Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
    who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
    he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever;
    his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
    he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
    the desire of the wicked will perish!

A Life Of Honor

November 29, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. —Psalm 112:1

In 2010, my brothers and I celebrated our dad’s 90th birthday. We hosted an open house with great food and fellowship. In the living room, family and friends took up banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and Irish drum to play and sing all afternoon. A big cake was prepared with this written on it in frosting: “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord—Psalm 112:1. Happy 90th birthday, Hal.”

When I later examined Psalm 112, I was impressed with how it seemed to describe my dad—who had walked with God for more than 50 years and is now at home with Him. Dad had his own share of heartaches and faults, but his steadfast faith resulted in much blessing. This psalm tells us that blessings will fall on the man who has a reverential fear of God and who delights in His commands. In response to this growing integrity and faith, God will extend blessing not only to the believer but also to his children (v.2).

This psalm challenges us to reflect an inner reverence for God and to make continual decisions to delight in following His commands. If we do that, then as we look back on our years—no matter how many or how few—we will know that God has helped us live a life of honor.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey. —Sammis
If you honor God in your heart, He will be honored by your life.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 29, 2012

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ

He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14

The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.

The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!

Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Pollution Leaves a Trail - #6754

Thursday, November 29, 2012

We were zipping down the Interstate, and we saw this long cloud of thick blue smoke ahead of us. When we got close, we saw that it was belching out of the smoke stack of this big old semi, and the smoke was so heavy you could hardly see as you passed it. In fact, it was a very good time to hold your breath. Now, as we passed him, I looked through the smoke into the cab, and I saw two men inside and they were just kind of laughing and they seemed oblivious to the smoke and the smell that they were spreading down the Interstate.

Now, I noticed after we passed that semi and that mountain of smoke, that there were little black spots all over our windshield. Now, I instinctively reached for my windshield wipers to get rid of the spots, and it was then that I saw the driver ahead of us who had turned his wipers on. His entire windshield was smeared with this thick, black substance. Whew! Glad I didn't turned my wipers on.

We stopped for lunch a few minutes later and when I got out I found spots of oil all over our vehicle. After we finished eating we got some great exercise cleaning off the oil. Now, that driver probably thought the smoke was just his problem, but it was actually a problem for everyone who got close to it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Pollution Leaves a Trail."

Our word for today from the Word of God, we're in the Old Testament book of Jonah, and you know the Lord gave him directions to go to Nineveh. Jonah 1:3 says, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord." Which is kind of a humorous thought in itself (running away from the Lord, right?), but it says "He went down to Joppa where he found a ship and paid the fare, went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up."

Well, of course, now the captain goes below, wakes up Jonah, and then it says, "The sailors said to each other, 'Come with us. Cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble? What did you do? Where do you come from? What is your country?' He said, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.'"

Now, Jonah has disobeyed God, and if he thinks like most of us twenty-first century types, he's saying, "Hey, I might be sinning, but it's not hurting anybody. Right?" Oh, I suppose the driver of the smoky semi could have said, "I've got a problem, but it's not hurting anyone else." Well, he was wrong if he thought that, and so was Jonah. Everyone around him was suffering; not because of their sin, but because of his.

Modern morality says, "You know, it's okay if it doesn't hurt anybody." You know what? There's no such thing. I've hugged the parents who are sobbing over their son's life or their daughter's life. And while they're doing their thing, it could be breaking the heart of the people who love that person the most. I've been with the son or daughter who is waiting and watching while their parent walks away from the very truth they were taught by that parent, and they're crushed.

No man is an island. When you have premarital sex you're hurting your future lifetime partner and their future lifetime partner. Your choices affect the family name, and they sure affect your Lord. They affect the reputation of your family. And while you're on your detour, unbelievers are deciding about Jesus based on how you are living.

See, sin twists everything around. You can't sin in a vacuum. You have an ugly trail of wounded people left behind when you're living outside of Christ's boundaries. There's pollution spattering everywhere close to you when you depart from the Word of God. The two you're hurting the most? You and a Savior who loves you very much; who died so you don't have to do that sin.

Isn't it time to end the hurt? Do it God's way. That pollution has already left a long enough trail.

1 Chronicles 17 bible reading and daily devotionals.

(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God's teaching)

Max Lucado Daily: He Makes a Difference

We get what sin is.  But, what we struggle with is how to make up for it?

To put it simply—we’re not good enough!  If I lose my temper in traffic, can I make up for it by waving at the next four cars?  If I’m greedy one year, how many years should I be generous?

The truth is, I don’t know the answer to those questions. There’s no price list.  No rule sheet.   Is God some kind  of heavenly deal broker who sells packages of grace?  Is that the kind of God we have?  Is that the kind God we want?  Actually, God’s standard is much higher.

Romans 3:23 says, we fall short of the glory of God.  Way short!  We’re not good enough—but He is!  It’s Christ in us that makes the difference!

From Max on Life

1 Chronicles 17

After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”

2 Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”

3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. 5 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. 6 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders[a] whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

7 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. 9 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 10 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: 11 When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. 14 I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”

15 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer

16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.

18 “What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

20 “There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

23 “And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

25 “You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. 26 You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Philippians 3:7-14

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Bookmobile

November 28, 2012 — by Bill Crowder

power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. —Philippians 3:10

Before the electronic gadgets and distractions of today, the long summer days of my boyhood were brightened each week when the bookmobile arrived. It was a bus lined with book-filled shelves that were transported from the regional library to neighborhoods so that those without transportation could access them. Because of the bookmobile, I spent many a happy summer day reading books that would otherwise have been inaccessible. To this day, I am thankful for the love of books that the bookmobile fostered in me.

Some Bible scholars say that the apostle Paul had a love of books and studied them till the end of his life. He wrote in his final letter, “Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Tim. 4:13). The books he was asking for could very well have been the Old Testament and/or some of his own writings.

I’m sure that Paul’s pursuit of knowledge was more than intellectual curiosity or entertainment. It was the pursuit of Christ that drove Paul. His goal: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil 3:10). I pray that this same pursuit will drive us today.

Heavenly Father, give me a passionate desire
to know You and Your Son. Please stir my heart
for this, the greatest of all pursuits, so that
I might grow ever closer to You. Amen.
To know Christ is the greatest of all knowledge.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 28, 2012

The Riches of the Destitute

. . . being justified freely by His grace . . . —Romans 3:24

The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Take Care of it Before the Price Goes Up - #6753

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Okay, I'm traveling. I get off the road because it's lunch time. I have a choice. My vehicle is empty, and I'm empty. Which one shall I fill up first? Well, there's a gas station on one side of the road; a restaurant on the other. Guess which one I filled up first? Of course, me. So, I went in, ordered my food. Looking out the window, I noticed that the attendant over there was changing the sign out in front. He's posting a new gasoline price three cents higher per gallon than the price had been a few minutes earlier. I'm sure you can believe that. I waited and it got more expensive right before my eyes! That was a costly choice.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Take Care of it Before the Price Goes Up."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from James 1:15, and there's a sobering equation here. Listen to the sequence of events, "After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." This verse describes the escalation in the cost of sin. First it's a desire, you're just thinking about it. Then you begin to do it. Then you do it some more, and sin ultimately will kill everything that really matters, because when it is full grown it will give birth to death.

When I waited to fill up with gas and I waited to take care of things, it cost me more. Sin is just like that. The longer you wait to deal with that sinful compromise; that dark corner in your life, the more it's going to cost you. It's not that you haven't felt guilty about it. The Holy Spirit, of course, is doing His work. And after you're done you say, "Man, why did I do that? I shouldn't do that any more; I feel so crummy when I do." Oh, it's not that you haven't thought about cleaning things up, but you're still doing it dishonestly, immorally, selfishly, bitterly. I urge you now to deal with it today. Why?

Well, first, because that sin will never be smaller than it is now. Every day you wait, it is strengthening its grip on your heart. And it will, inevitably, follow the biblical sequence: desire will become sin, sin will become death. It will never be easier to change than it is today. Fight it when it's the smallest it will ever be. That's right now!

Secondly, deal with it now because it's going to be doing more and more damage. There was a prominent preacher whose sexual problems brought great embarrassment to the name of Christ. He had reportedly struggled with pornography since he had been a teenage boy. And the Devil let him get away with it for years and years. The Devil always does this. And then he waits until it will do the maximum damage to the most people, yanks on your chain and says, "See, you never were getting away with it."

Maybe you feel like you're getting away with it right now, and all the while the Devil is just raising the price on the pump. It will cost you in your reputation and your relationships, in your distance from God, in the slavery that it creates, the loss of your self-respect, and worst of all God's judgment.

The Bible says that "man is destined to die once, and after this the judgment." And when you and I stand before God with an appointment that we don't know when it is scheduled, but we can't possibly postpone or cancel it, when we have that appointment with God, there we will stand to answer for the sin of a lifetime. Unless it has been forgiven and erased. Of course there is only person who can do that. That would be the only person who died to pay for it. That would be God's Son, Jesus.

It is so good to know that every sin of my life has been erased from God's Book, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus did for me with blood on the cross. And He walked out of His grave under His own power three days later. He's alive; He waits to walk into your life and be your Savior from your sin today, and to give you the resurrection power He has to be free from the sin you've never been able to stop. Why don't you tell Him today, "I'm Yours, Jesus." Go to our website and learn there how to begin a relationship with Him. Just go to YoursForLife.net.

The bill will never be smaller than today. Victory will never be more within your reach than it is today. The cost is going up! Take care of it before the price goes up any more.