2 Chronicles 9 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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Max Lucado: No Small Power

Where there’s no assurance of salvation, there’s no peace.  No peace means no joy.  No joy results in fear-based lives.  Is this the life God creates?  No.  Grace creates a confident soul.  His love isn’t contingent on your own.  Do you find such a promise hard to believe?  In John 17:11 and verse 20, Jesus prays:

“Holy Father, keep them and care for them, all those you have given me, so that they will be united just as we are.  I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony.”

Our faith will wane, our resolve waver, but we will not fall away.  Jude 1 says, we are “kept by Jesus” and shielded by God’s power.  And that is no small power!  It’s the power of a living and ever-persistent Savior.

From GRACE

2 Chronicles

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at[g] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

9 Then she gave the king 120 talents[h] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood[i] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[j] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[k] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[l] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[m] manned by Hiram’s[n] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses,[o] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death

29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.

Clean Hands

December 26, 2012 — by Bill Crowder

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. —Psalm 24:3-4

It seems that wherever you go these days, you see signs encouraging people to wash their hands. With the constant threat of germs and viruses spreading disease throughout the general public, health officials continually remind us that unwashed hands form the single greatest agent for the spread of germs. So, in addition to the signs calling for vigilant hand- washing, public places will often provide hand sanitizers to help take care of germs and bacteria.

David also spoke of the importance of “clean hands,” but for a dramatically different reason. He said that clean hands are one key to being able to enter into God’s presence for worship: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” he asked. And the answer? “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps. 24:3-4). Here “clean hands” is not a reference to personal hygiene but a metaphor for our spiritual condition—being cleansed from sin (1 John 1:9). It speaks of a life committed to what is right and godly—enabling us to stand blameless before our Lord in the privilege of worship.

As His life is lived out in our lives, He can help us to do what’s right so that our hands are clean and our hearts are ready to give worship to our great God.

Worship, praise, and adoration,
All are due to Jesus’ name.
Freely give your heart’s devotion,
Constantly His love proclaim. —Anon.
The road to worship begins with gratefulness
for the cleansing of God.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 26, 2012


“Walk in the Light”

If we walk in the light as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin —1 John 1:7

To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.

The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7 , which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.

I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Too Precious To Waste - #6773

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I think it's somewhere during your senior year of high school you begin to develop this priceless trait called perspective. I know that Chris did. Chris was at school and I bumped into him one day. He stopped me and he said, "You know, Ron, you told me something when I was a freshman and I didn't believe it then. Now I do."

You said, 'You're going to blink, and suddenly you're going to be a senior.'" And I told him at that time, "You know, it looks like high school is going to be forever, Chris. I know you're only a freshmen, but believe me, it's going to be gone so fast!" Three years later, Chris stood before me, looked me in the eye and said, "Ron, where did high school go? It did go that fast!"

Well, I'm ___ years old, and I'm asking, (you say, "Ron, I didn't understand that." That's correct.) "Where did all those years go...not four years of high school." I look at my children, "Where is that little girl I carried? Where is that little boy at play?" You know, the sooner you realize how fast life is moving, the better you're going to live it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Precious To Waste."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 90, and I'll begin reading at verse 10. Moses says, "The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass..." That sounds like Chris looking back at high school doesn't it? "But they quickly pass, and we fly away." I think that's the feeling.

And then Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Moses seems to be saying here, "When you realize how fast life goes by, you discover the preciousness (I don't know if that's a word, but we'll go with it), you discover the preciousness of a day. He says his response to life racing by is, "Lord, I want to wisely know what the best thing is to do with this day. Help me number my days; make every day count. Help me not to waste this one, Lord."

What a great way to wake up in the morning as you're coming into consciousness and going through your day, and doing your getting ready ritual in the morning, "Lord, help me not to waste this one. It's too precious to waste; these days go too fast. This isn't just another day; this is a day not like any other I'll ever have. I'll never have this 24 hours again."

Take parenting for example. Don't look at your child's life as their whole life. Have a good day with them. Today do they know the boundaries? Today do they know you love them? Have you shown it today? Today have you impressed upon them that Jesus is right here with us? Today do they know they're special? Make this day count in your parenting. Then you don't panic over big chunks of time like what's going to happen in a few months or a few years. Do the day!

How about sharing Christ with someone you care about? There may be a moment of openness and opportunity this day that may never be there again. Making a difference: deciding whether you want to live your life to make a difference, to advance God's kingdom, to seek first His kingdom. That great song "Make me a blessing to someone today." That's a wonderful prayer. How about getting ready to be with Jesus forever by spending time with Him now? Don't you want to invest in the relationship that will be your relationship forever?

Make sure today you know Him a little better than you knew Him before. You're going to look back - believe me - and you're going to say, "Where did it all go?" Well, right now you need to say, "Where will the days that I have left go?" The answer should be what I would call invested days.

A day is too precious to waste. It is only to be spent for the people and for the causes that are going to matter forever. Okay, you've got a day. Invest it!

2 Chronicles 8 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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Max Lucado: Ordinary No More

It was an ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. Then the black sky exploded with brightness.  Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity.  Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity.  One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien!

The night was ordinary no more. The angel came in the night because it’s when lights are best seen and when they are most needed.  It all happened in a most remarkable moment—a moment like no other.  God became a man.  Divinity arrived.  Heaven opened and placed her most precious one in a human womb.  God had come near!

In the mystery of Christmas, we find its majesty. The mystery of how God became flesh, why he chose to come, and how much he must love his people!

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”  (Luke 2:13)

From Christmas Stories

2 Chronicles 8

Solomon’s Other Activities

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace, 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[d] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[e]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

12 On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered. 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[f] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Hebrews 1:1-9

God’s Final Word: His Son

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son Superior to Angels

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father”[a]?
Or again,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son”[b]?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]
7 In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire.”[d]
8 But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[e]

A Message From God

December 25, 2012 — by David C. McCasland

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. —Hebrews 1:1-2

In 1971, Ray Tomlinson was experi- menting with ways people and computers could interact. When he sent a message from his computer through a network to a different unit in his office, he had sent the first e-mail. Now decades later, more than a billion e-mails are sent every day. Many contain important news from family and friends, but others may carry unwanted advertising or a destructive virus. A basic rule governing e-mail use is: “Don’t open it unless you trust the sender.”

God has sent us a message in the Person of His Son, and we can trust the Sender. In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through the prophets and many rejected God’s Word. But it was all leading to this: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1-2).

We may be awed by the inexplicable mystery of Almighty God entering our world as a baby, yet remain hesitant to embrace Christ fully and place our lives in His hands.

Christmas is the unforgettable message of love, redemption, and hope sent by God. Will you trust the Sender and open His message today?

Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth. —Wesley
God’s timeless message of hope is waiting to be received.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

His Birth and Our New Birth

’Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ’God with us’ —Matthew 1:23

His Birth in History. “. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.

His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Closed Doors at Christmas - #6772

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Two and a half feet of snow had just left a million people without power, and we were there! Wouldn't you know, I had picked my time to be up there in New England when that happened. Well, we checked into the motel before the storm, but now as I stood at the front desk, that phone was ringing incessantly. I kind of felt bad, because the lady gave the same answer every time, "Sorry, no room." Hey, those are tough words to hear.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Closed Doors at Christmas."

Well, you know, Jesus knows that feeling. And as we celebrate this Christmas Day, let's remember that the night He came, the inn keeper told His dad, "No room," and shut the door. Of course it wasn't the last time Jesus got shut out. You know, a lot of us are so busy and running around in our own life, so stressed, we're basically saying, "Jesus, I like you, but I really don't have any room for you."

That happened to Jesus even when He came here. In Matthew 23:37 Jesus said, "I have longed to gather you together, but you were not willing." And that tragedy continues today as Jesus tries to get into a life that He came for that first Christmas; that He died for on Good Friday - maybe yours. He paid such a high price for you. He loves you so much He doesn't want to lose you. He died to pay for the sin that would cause you to be shut out of Heaven.

Actually there is in Luke 13 a disturbing picture of what happens to people because they would not open the door to the only One who could bring them to heaven. It says this: "Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you'll say, 'Well, we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'" These are people who hung out with Jesus; they knew a lot about Jesus. But He will reply, "I don't know you or where you come from. Away from Me! There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," and maybe a mom or a dad, or people you love that went ahead to heaven because they asked Jesus to be their Savior, "but you yourselves thrown out."

You don't want to be, and it's not what Jesus wants for anybody. That's why He paid the price for you to be in heaven with Him. And this Christmas Day He reaches out to you with this word for today from the Word of God, John 1:12. "To all those who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God." That could happen for you this Christmas Day. If you open the door to the man who died for you, you can be sure He'll open the door of heaven to you.

If you're ready to belong to Jesus, please go visit our website, and take just a very short time and find there, whether you want to read it or see it by way of video, you can find out there exactly how to be sure you belong to the Christ of Christmas. YoursForLife.net.

Because this Christmas, no room for Jesus means no chance of heaven.

2 Chronicles 7 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: His Kingdom Will Never End

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing, is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. As Mary looks into the face of the baby.  Her son. Her Lord.  His majesty—she can’t take her eyes off him.  Somehow Mary knows she’s holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel.  “His kingdom will never end!”

He looks like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. Majesty in the midst of the mundane.  Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.  Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

God came near!

“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Luke 1:33″

From Grace for the Moment

2 Chronicles 7

The Dedication of the Temple

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the Lord’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon

11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’

19 “But if you[a] turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 2:13-20

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Moment Of Grace

December 24, 2012 — by David C. McCasland

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. —Luke 2:20

Every year, I enjoy listening to the BBC’s worldwide live radio broadcast of the Christmas Eve service from King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England. This Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols combines Scripture readings, prayers, and choral music in a moving service of worship. One year, I was struck by the announcer’s description of the congregation leaving the magnificent chapel, saying they were “stepping out of this moment of grace and back into the real world.”

Wasn’t it that way on the first Christmas? The shepherds heard an angel announce the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11), followed by a “multitude of the heavenly host praising God” (vv.13-14). After they found Mary, Joseph, and the Baby in Bethlehem, the shepherds couldn’t help telling others about this Child (v.17). “The shepherds went back to work, glorifying and praising God for everything that they had heard and seen, which had happened just as they had been told” (v.20 Phillips).

They had been changed by their “moment of grace.” As they stepped back into their real world, they carried the good news about Jesus in their hearts and voices.

May we too take God’s grace into the real world this Christmas and every day of the new year.

May the grace that we encounter
At this time of Christmas cheer
Not be true just in this season
But remain throughout the year. —Sper
Take the joy of Christmas with you every day.



My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 24, 2012

The Hidden Life

. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God —Colossians 3:3

The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).

When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walk[ing] in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).

When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

A Battlefield Christmas - #6771

Monday, December 24, 2012

Boy, it's been great to see, the last couple of Christmases, a lot of soldiers coming home. But last Christmas that wasn't Amy's story. I met her at a dinner I spoke at. Wow, was she stressed! She had just gotten called up to go to Afghanistan. So as the Christmas displays were lighting up everything, Amy was saying goodbye to the people she loved and leaving for the battlefield. God knows that feeling.

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

Yeah, Jesus knows how that feels. That's actually what the Son of God was doing that first Christmas. He actually left the safety - the glory of heaven, to come to this battlefield where we live. Imagine this: The Creator of a hundred billion galaxies, of the stars, the moon, the sun, and this planet and everyone on it. The Bible says, "Worshiped by angels." The book of Revelation tells us that "He is worshiped by 10,000 times 10,000 angels." That's a hundred million angels!

Now, listen to our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:14. It says, "He became human and made His home among us." And, when He came, of course, His life began not in a palace, but in a stable and it ended on a cross. You say, "Well, poor Jesus. That's so sad that happened to Him; that He was a victim of that violence." Jesus wasn't a victim. He said in John 10:18, He said, "No one takes my life from me. I lay it down myself." He said, "I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep." He chose to come here. He chose to let them strip him and beat him. He chose to let them mock and ridicule him, and to drive nails through his hands and feet, and to hang on that cross. They couldn't do that to him without his permission! He made the men who nailed him to the cross. He made the tree they nailed him to.

But He had come here to do battle with the monster that has ruined so many things; so many things you and I care about. Sin - it's not breaking somebody's religious rules. Sin is the "all about me" choices that we've all made. Who hasn't? And it's because ultimately, we've hijacked our lives from the God who gave us our life. Where does that take us: Broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams, broken marriages, broken hearts. And Jesus won when He came and paid our death penalty on that cross.

In Isaiah 53, the Bible says this, that "the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." "The punishment that made peace in my heart - peace with God possible - was upon Jesus. That sacrifice on that cross was something not just historic, not just religious, but so deeply personal.

One of the writers of the Bible put it this way, "God loved me and gave Himself for me." He did that so you could be forgiven and so you could be with Him forever in heaven some day.

So, now guess where the battle is? It's in your soul. You can feel it. It's over whether or not you will put all your trust, pin all your hopes on Him. And that battle can be over today if you'll just say, "Jesus, You who loved me enough to die for me; You who was powerful enough to walk out of Your grave, this Christmas I want to be Yours. I want to be forgiven. I want to know I'll be with You forever." Tell Him that now.

If you want to know more about how to start the relationship I've talked about, go to our website this very day - YoursForLife.net. When you open your heart to Him, the battle is finally over and the peace is in your soul.

2 Corinthians 1 bible reading and daily devotionals.

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

Max Lucado Daily: Ordinary No More

Today your Savior was
born in the town of David.
He is Christ, the Lord.
Luke 2:11

It was an ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds.

Then the black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien.

The night was ordinary no more.

The angel came in the night because that is when lights are best seen and when they are most needed.

It all happened in a most remarkable moment—a moment like no other.

God became a man. Divinity arrived. Heaven opened and place her most precious one in a human womb. God had come near!

In the mystery of Christmas, we find its majesty. The mystery of how God became flesh, why he chose to come, and how much he must love his people.

2 Corinthians 1
New International Version (NIV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise to the God of All Comfort

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity[b] and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

15 Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Isaiah 2:1-4

The Mountain of the Lord

2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.

Plowshare Christmas

December 23, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

They shall beat their swords into plowshares . . . ; neither shall they learn war anymore. —Isaiah 2:4

In his book Christmas 1945, Matthew Litt tells about the first peacetime Christmas celebration in the US after World War II. The New York Daily News alerted readers to expect a fleet of warships in New York Harbor: “Christmas Day will find a mighty armada, consisting of 4 battleships, 6 carriers, 7 cruisers, and 24 destroyers.” But instead of waging war, the military ships hosted 1,000 needy children.

The children’s measurements had been taken previously so that perfectly fitted navy-blue coats and woolen caps would be gift-wrapped and awaiting them aboard the ships. These vessels of war had been transformed into carriers of compassion.

The prophet Isaiah predicted a future day of Christ’s reign of peace on this earth: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (2:4). Christmastime serves as a reminder that the Prince of Peace will ultimately bring a time of global calm and compassion.

As we celebrate the first coming of the Prince of Peace and wait for His second coming, we are reminded of our privilege to serve as His “carriers of compassion.”

Lord, You have come and brought peace, and I long to
share Your compassion everywhere I go.
Thank You that this world will know ultimate peace
when You return. Amen.
True peace comes from the Prince of Peace.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 23, 2012

Sharing in the Atonement

God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14

The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces a decision of our will. Have I accepted God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ? Do I have even the slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His death— to be completely dead to all interest in sin, worldliness, and self? Do I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for anything except Him and His purposes? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can commit myself under the banner of His Cross, and that means death to sin. You must get alone with Jesus and either decide to tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you, or that at any cost you want to be identified with His death. When you act in confident faith in what our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place immediately. And you will come to know through a higher knowledge that your old life was “crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6). The proof that your old life is dead, having been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you now enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.

Every once in a while our Lord gives us a glimpse of what we would be like if it were not for Him. This is a confirmation of what He said— “. . . without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus. We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means.

2 Chronicles 6 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: His Kingdom Will Never End

His kingdom will never end. Luke 1:33

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing, is the teenage girl in the smelly stable.

As Mary looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty—she can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God.

So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

He looks like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

God came near!

And Luke 1:33 says, “His kingdom will never end.”

2 Chronicles 6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

7 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

10 “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,[h] and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

16 “Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.

18 “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

22 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

24 “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

28 “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart), 31 so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

34 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

36 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.

40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
    may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
    Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 19:1-6

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

The Heavens Declare

December 22, 2012 — by Joe Stowell

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. —Psalm 19:1

You don’t have to gaze long at the night sky to marvel at the wonder of God’s awe-inspiring handiwork. The massive stretch of galaxies and the cloudy mass of our own Milky Way remind us of the spectacular creation and the sustaining work of Jesus by whom it is all held together (Col. 1:16-17). It’s as though all of us have front-row seats in the theater of God’s creative power.

But the nightly show we experience is nothing compared with the glory that God displayed when He sent His Son to Earth. While shepherds were watching their flocks, the sky was suddenly ablaze with angelic messengers praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:14). Even Magi from a foreign land came and worshiped the King when God planted the brightest of stars in the east, which led them to Bethlehem.

While “the heavens declare the glory of God” nightly (Ps. 19:1), never before or since has the theater of the universe been more alive with His glory than it was with the announcement that the Creator of this universe loved us enough to come to our planet to save us from our sin. Keep that thought in mind the next time you marvel at the stars!

Lord, make us mindful of the glorious day when the
heavens resounded with the announcement of the
coming of Your Son. Lead us to glorify Him in ways
that catch the attention of our watching world.
The spectacular glory of God’s love for us
was revealed in the coming of Jesus.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 22, 2012

The Drawing of the Father

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him . . . —John 6:44

When God begins to draw me to Himself, the problem of my will comes in immediately. Will I react positively to the truth that God has revealed? Will I come to Him? To discuss or deliberate over spiritual matters when God calls is inappropriate and disrespectful to Him. When God speaks, never discuss it with anyone as if to decide what your response may be (see Galatians 1:15-16). Belief is not the result of an intellectual act, but the result of an act of my will whereby I deliberately commit myself. But will I commit, placing myself completely and absolutely on God, and be willing to act solely on what He says? If I will, I will find that I am grounded on reality as certain as God’s throne.

In preaching the gospel, always focus on the matter of the will. Belief must come from the will to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a surrender to a persuasive or powerful argument. I must deliberately step out, placing my faith in God and in His truth. And I must place no confidence in my own works, but only in God. Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. I must be willing to ignore and leave my feelings behind. I must will to believe. But this can never be accomplished without my forceful, determined effort to separate myself from my old ways of looking at things. I must surrender myself completely to God.

Everyone has been created with the ability to reach out beyond his own grasp. But it is God who draws me, and my relationship to Him in the first place is an inner, personal one, not an intellectual one. I come into the relationship through the miracle of God and through my own will to believe. Then I begin to get an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the wonder of the transformation in my life.

2 Chronicles 5 bible reading and devotionals.

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

Max Lucado Daily:No Room

Some of the saddest words on earth are:  “We don’t have room for you.”

Jesus knew the sound of those words.  He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you.” (Luke 2:7)

And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection?  “We don’t have room for you in our world.”

Even today Jesus is given the same treatment.  He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. Every so often, he’s welcomed.  Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay.  And to that person Jesus gives this great promise: “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” (John 14:2)

What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts….And he makes room for us in his house!

From Grace for the Moment

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

7 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Proverbs 16:19-24

English Standard Version (ESV)
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
    than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 Whoever gives thought to the word[a] will discover good,
    and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
    and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
    but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
    and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
    sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Sweet Words

December 21, 2012 — by Anne Cetas

Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering. —Colossians 3:12

Scott had always admired the relationship between Ken and Phyllis, his wife’s parents. So he asked them one day what made their marriage work. Ken replied, “You need to keep it sweet!”

A friend of mine concludes many of her notes to me and my husband and other friends with these words: “Remember to be good to each other.”

That’s great advice from both of them about being kind. The daily stresses of life can easily cause us to get irritable with our spouses or with others. We pick at the little annoyances or criticize minor habits. We blurt out harmful, unkind words without thinking.

The book of Proverbs gives us counsel about the words we use with others. It says, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (21:23). And there are these warnings: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (18:21); and “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (12:18 niv). Ken’s advice about “keeping it sweet” reminds me of Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

Lord, fill our hearts with words that will be a blessing to others today.

Instead of hurling angry words
That wound and stir up strife,
Use words of kindness, filled with love,
That heal and nourish life. —Sper
Kind hearts are the gardens; kind thoughts are the roots; kind words are the flowers; kind deeds are the fruits.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 21.

Experience or God’s Revealed Truth?

We have received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God —1 Corinthians 2:12

My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left only with my personal experiences, I am left with something not produced by redemption. But experiences produced by redemption prove themselves by leading me beyond myself, to the point of no longer paying any attention to experiences as the basis of reality. Instead, I see that only the reality itself produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.

If you try to hold back the Holy Spirit within you, with the desire of producing more inner spiritual experiences, you will find that He will break the hold and take you again to the historic Christ. Never support an experience which does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? You must allow Him to be Lord over you, and pay no attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. Then there will come a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience, and you can truthfully say, “I do not care what I experience— I am sure of Him!”

Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Surprises in the Family Tree - #6770

Friday, December 21, 2012

There are lots of people digging into their family tree these days. In fact, we've done some of our own. A lot of digging around to find out where your roots are. You know, where my grandfather came from and my great grandfather, and which king or famous person I'm descended from. Of course I would be descended from someone famous, right?

Some people do find out that they are related to royalty, and then other people find out some embarrassment in their family tree - the old horse thief, you know, that they'd rather not talk about. For 2,000 years God has been developing and protecting a line for His Son to come through, and there are in that family tree some eyebrow raisers.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Surprises in the Family Tree."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God, comes right out of the Christmas Story, is found in Matthew 1. Now, you may or may not be aware of the fact that the Christmas Story begins actually with a genealogy; a list of Jesus' family tree. God's been preparing this line for the Messiah; it's this most special lineup of people - the most special family tree in the history of planet earth. He goes down a long list of names that starts here with Abraham, works its way on down, and I'll just read a couple of them to you.

"Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth," etc. You probably don't want to hear a whole lot more of that. But all of a sudden you stop and your eye goes back and you say, "Rahab? What's she doing in Jesus' family tree?" Now, in most of this genealogy only the father is mentioned. It's only in rare cases where God wants to make a special point of it that He includes the mother. Why Rahab?

Now, if you remember your Old Testament a little bit, some years before, the Israelites were preparing to conquer the land of Canaan. God sent in a couple of spies and they went to the city of Jericho and they found one home where they were taken in to hide, and it turned out it was the home of Rahab - the prostitute. She turned out to be the prostitute who gave herself to the Jewish God for the rest of her life.

But these aren't the kind of people you talk about in your family tree; these are the ones you cover up. This isn't the king! And yet God makes it a point to include her. You see, there's a hidden message here in the Christmas Story. A message that Jesus is for people who know they need forgiving and who know that God's grace has no limits. God doesn't use the word deserve when it comes to salvation. None of us deserves to be in His family tree. It's not just Rahab that's a surprise; what is Ron Hutchcraft doing in God's family? What are you doing in His family?

We're sinners who must always find grace to be "Amazing grace - how sweet the sound." The hymn says, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me...a sinner condemned, unclean." I hope today you still find God's grace amazing, and that you haven't been around so long that you think you belong in God's family because you deserve it. There is no one listening today who will not be forgiven by Him. Rahab was. And there is no person who doesn't still need His amazing grace today.

But maybe you've never experienced that grace for yourself. Oh, you've heard that song a lot of times - Amazing Grace. It says, "I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see." But today, this Christmas season, how appropriate. The God who will forgive all those who come to Him, holds out His hand to you and says, "Grab My hand, my child." His Son died to pay the penalty that you deserve. And God can be a forgiver because of the death of His Son on a cross. And, because His Son walked out of His grave under His own power, what began in a manger ended on a cross, and culminated with a resurrection and becomes personal for you when you let this Jesus be the forgiver of your sins.

That's the day you're welcomed into His family. Would you tell Him today, "Jesus, I want the Savior you came to be, to be my Savior. You came into the world at Christmas. Come into my life this Christmas season."

And, go to our website and find out there how you can be sure you belong to Him - YoursForLife.net. Because the story of Rahab tells us this Christmas that there is no one who He will not welcome into the family of God.

2 Chronicles 4 bible reading and devotionals.

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

Max Lucado Daily:

He Called His Name Jesus

Scripture says,  “And Joseph took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.  And he called His name Jesus! Matthew 1:24”

Joseph was literally willing to tank his reputation.  And he did. He traded it in for a pregnant fiancée and an illegitimate son and made the big decision of discipleship.  He placed God’s plan ahead of his own.  Rather than make a name for himself, he made a home for Christ.  And because he did, a great reward came his way. “And he called His name Jesus!”

Of all the saints, sinners, prodigals, and preachers who’ve spoken the name, Joseph—a blue-collar, small-town construction worker said it first.  Joseph cradled the wrinkle-faced prince of heaven, and with an audience of angels and pigs, whispered, “Jesus—You’ll be called Jesus!”

From: Grace for the Moment

2 Chronicles 4

New International Version (NIV)
The Temple’s Furnishings

4 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[a] 2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[b] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[c] to measure around it. 3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[d] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

4 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 It was a handbreadth[e] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[f]

6 He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

7 He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.

9 He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

12 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

14 the stands with their basins;

15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.

All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan.[g] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

the golden altar;

the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;

20 the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Colossians 1:19-27

Colossians 1:19-27
English Standard Version (ESV)
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[a] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul's Ministry to the Church

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Gift

December 20, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

And you . . . He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight. —Colossians 1:21-22

We refer to Christmas as the season of giving. Most of us try hard to find gifts that friends and family will like, but not all gifts are equal. Some gifts come with a subtle hint, like an exercise machine or a book about weight loss. Other gifts are those that the giver really wants for himself. But the best gifts are those that come from someone who loves us and knows what we want.

Last Christmas, my pastor, Jim Samra, challenged us to think about Christ’s coming in another way. We know that Jesus was God’s perfect gift to us (Rom. 6:23), but Pastor Jim added another thought. He said that His coming to earth could also be looked at as a gift that Jesus gave to His Father. Jesus loved His Father and knew that what He wanted more than anything else was for us, His creation, to be reconciled to Him. Through His incarnation, Jesus made it possible for us to be a holy and blameless present to God (Col. 1:22).

Thinking of ourselves as a gift to God makes us want to be a present worth the cost, “fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (v.10).

Dear Lord, from whom all blessings flow,
Most precious gifts dost Thou bestow;
So truly faithful may I be
As Thou art gracious unto me. —Roworth
God’s highest Gift should awaken our deepest gratitude.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 20, 2012

The Right Kind of Help

And I, if I am lifted up . . . will draw all peoples to Myself —John 12:32

Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.

When you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world’s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.

But our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified— to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker’s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.

The calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Gift He Didn't Want - #6769

Thursday, December 20, 2012

When my friend Rich was about seven years old, his parents really splurged on his Christmas gift. They got him a big boy bike! What a moment that Christmas morning. Can you imagine? They'd been holding on to this, waiting to surprise him. They wheel it into the living room, and Rich says, "Thanks, but I don't want it." That's the truth, really. Can you imagine? That boy rejected the best gift his parents could give him. He's not alone.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Gift He Didn't Want."

Man, I can only imagine how his father felt about that bike that he had spent a good deal on, and his boy didn't want it. More importantly, can you imagine how God feels when we do that to Him? Because Christmas...that's when He gave the most expensive gift He could possibly give. In the words of the Bible, "He spared not His Son but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32). Jesus came that Christmas to end up dying alone on a cross to pay for every sin we've ever done; to take our hell so we could go to His heaven. That's the ultimate gift!

But see, that tells us how bad our sin is. We can't excuse sin as just a few immoral failures. It's rebellion against God that could only be paid for by a death penalty. It's spiritual hijacking. And we've said, "God, you made the universe. You run the universe. I'll run me, thank you." How dare I defy the God of a hundred billion galaxies, who decides if I take my next breath. Yeah, that's how bad our sin is. If you don't know how bad it is, you go to that cross and look at what it took to pay for it. There's only one way to pay for our sin. Either we pay the death penalty forever in a place away from God, or we accept the payment Jesus made. That's the gift He died to pay for.

Now, in our word for today from the Word of God, Romans 6:23, it says, "The gift of God is eternal life." Before that it says, "The wages of sin is death." That's what we deserve. But "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Now, I'll tell you why it's a gift. It's because there's nothing you can do to earn heaven. You don't pay God for it. You don't begin to somehow acquire it by doing good works. When someone gives you a gift on Christmas, you don't do anything for it. Your only way of making it yours is to receive it and to take it for yourself. There's a big lie out there. You see it across the world among religious people that, "I can be good enough somehow to make it to heaven." But if we could have been good enough, would God have sent His Son to pay this awful price if there was any other way? Obviously it had to be bought with the blood of the only perfect One there was - God's Son.

And that gift? That gift is being wheeled out in front of you this Christmas season. The biggest mistake of your life would be to say "Thanks, God, but I don't want it." This Christmas, you've got to decide what you're going to do with this greatest gift of all. To reject that gift is to reject God's great sacrifice for you, is to spurn this ultimate act of love from the God who made you, and to turn your back on the heaven that you want to go to when you die.

Listen, if you want to take that gift for yourself, will you tell Him that, "Jesus, I am Yours. I cannot any longer ignore, postpone, marginalize or reject this gift. I want the gift of eternal life You died to give me." This Christmas season, what a wonderful time to receive God's greatest gift. You can go to our website and walk right through there how to begin this relationship with Jesus. Go to, YoursForLife.net.

It's so important that you take this gift, because I can tell you, the God who sent His Son here will never forget what you do with His Son.

1 Corinthians 16 bible reading and devotionals.

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

Max Lucado Daily: God Stakes His Claim

I heard the announcement, “Your name is on the standby list!”  Groan!  The dreaded standby list.  Possibility but no guarantee.

Oh, to be numbered among the confirmed!  To have my own seat and departure time.  How can you rest if you aren’t assured passage on the final flight home?

Many live with a deep-seated anxiety about eternity.  They think they’re saved, but they still doubt, wondering, “Am I really saved?” Jesus promised a new life that could not be forfeited or terminated.  He says “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned.” God stakes his claim on us.  Bridges are burned, and the transfer is accomplished.  Ups and downs may mark our days, but they will never ban us from his kingdom.  Jesus bottom-lines our lives with His grace!

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  John 5:24?

From GRACE

1 Corinthians 16
New International Version (NIV)
The Collection for the Lord’s People

16 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Personal Requests

5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

10 When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.

12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, 16 to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. 17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

Final Greetings

19 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla[a] greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord[b]!

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.[c]


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Mark 10:46-52

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Be Specific

December 19, 2012 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

What do you want Me to do for you? —Mark 10:51

On the day before a major surgery, I shared with my friend that I was really scared about the procedure. “What part scares you?” she inquired. “I’m just so afraid that I won’t wake up from the anesthesia,” I replied. Immediately, Anne prayed: “Father, you know all about Cindy’s fear. Please calm her heart and fill her with Your peace. And, Lord, please wake her up after surgery.”

I think God likes that kind of specificity when we talk to Him. When Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, called out to Jesus for help, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight!” Jesus said, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:51-52).

We don’t need to beat around the bush with God. While there may be a time to pray poetically as David did, there are also times to say bluntly, “God, I’m so sorry for what I just said,” or to say simply, “Jesus, I love You because . . . .” Being specific with God can even be a sign of faith because we are acknowledging that we know we’re not talking to a far-off Being but to a real Person who loves us intimately.

God is not impressed by a flurry of fanciful words. He is listening for what our heart is saying.

Poetic prose in prayer to God
Is not what He requires;
Instead, specific heartfelt pleas
Are what the Lord desires. —Sper
The heart of prayer is prayer from the heart.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 19, 2012

The Focus Of Our Message

I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34

Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.

If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).

There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring . . . a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Wanting to be King - #6768

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

There's nothing quite so precious as a little child screaming on an airplane. You're a captive group; what are you going to do? A couple of people might have a suggestion for what to do with the child, but you're stuck. It happened to me on a plane not long ago. Actually we hadn't taken off yet; I guess we could have left. But here's this little five-year-old and his mother's trying to get him to sit down.

He is screaming, and hollering, and having a tantrum in the aisle, stamping his feet, and they're trying to get him seated so we could take off. And she said, "Harvey! Will you please sit down!" And he just screamed at the top of his lungs, "No! I want to drive!"

No way, baby. No way he's going to drive. There's a man up front who knows what to do with that plane. I'll let him scream all the way, but I have no interest in letting him drive. Of course, you and I probably sound like that obnoxious little kid, and Christmas brings it all to a head.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wanting to Be King."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 2, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 1. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, magi came from the East to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him.' When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him."

Now, we know later that he was more than disturbed; he turned his anger on all those newborn babies to destroy a threat to his rule. He said, "No one else is going to be king, I'll tell you that!" You know what he was saying? "I want to drive! I'm going to stay in charge here."

Before you file King Herod away under "N" for "Not Me," consider this: most of us are willing to give Jesus everything but the one thing that matters. Oh, you'll give Him time; you'll give Him money, "Jesus, I'll give You my allegiance." "I pledge my allegiance to You! I'll go by most of Your rules." We'll give Him everything except control. In fact, we learn about King Herod in Matthew 2:8, that he said, "Tell me when you find Him that I may go and worship Him." Look, he's talking religious talk! He's got a religious exterior, but underneath he's saying, "As long as I can still be king. I want to drive."

As we count down to our annual visit to the manger, let me ask you, "Who's king in your life?" "Who's driving?" We don't mind the baby in a manger; that's kind of sweet. We don't even mind the Savior on the cross, but king on the throne; king of my life? Him driving? That's another story.

It may be that because you've run your life, you're missing the greatest word in the Christmas Story in your own heart, "Peace on earth." I had a teenager tell one of our staff, as he pointed to his heart, "It's empty in here; there's nothing there." Can you feel that this Christmas? Peace has always supposedly been over that next hill for you, but it's never come has it? Well, peace actually does begin at the top of a hill; a cross on that hill. Christ is dying there for you.

That little baby; that Jewish baby in the manger, those little hands; they made the tree He died on. It was all for you. This Christmas could be the one where you go beyond religion - Herod was religious. This can be the time when you finally walk to the cross and say, "I'm Yours, Lord." Oh, you've felt His tug on your heart recently; He's calling you to come home to Him now. It all begins when you say, "Jesus, I'm giving You what You came here for. I'm giving You me." Would you tell Him just before Christmas, "I'm Yours."

Our website is all about how to begin that relationship with Him. I urge you to go check it out today and get this settled. Get it done! YoursForLife.net is where you can go.

Like that song says, you will finally be "Home for Christmas."