Saturday, May 18, 2013
Romans 15:1-13, and Bible reading and devotionals.
Click here to hear God's teachings
Max Lucado Daily: Making the Impossible Possible
“If you have faith, it will happen.” Matthew 21:21
God always rejoices when we dare to dream. In fact, we are much like God when we dream . . . He wrote the book on making the impossible possible . . .
Eighty-year-old shepherds don’t usually play chicken with Pharaohs . . . but don’t tell that to Moses.
Teenage shepherds don’t normally have showdowns with giants . . . but don’t tell that to David . . . And for sure don’t tell that to God
Romans 15:1-13
New International Version (NIV)
15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[a] 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[b] on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”[c]
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”[d]
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”[e]
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”[f]
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Revelation 22:16-21
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
Footnotes:
Revelation 22:16 The Greek is plural.
True Hospitality
May 18, 2013 — by Bill Crowder
Let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. —Revelation 22:17
In 1987, our family moved to California to take up the pastorate of a church in the Long Beach area. The day we flew into town, my secretary picked us up at the airport to take us to our house. As we pulled into traffic, the very first thing I saw was a bumper sticker that read: “Welcome To California . . . Now Go Home!” It was not exactly a warm and cheery welcome to sunny southern California!
I wonder if there might be occasions in our lives when we send similar signals to people around us. Whether we are at church, in the neighborhood, or at social gatherings, are there times when we fail to make others feel welcome in our world?
In Romans 12:13, Paul instructed his readers to be “given to hospitality.” The book of Hebrews goes even further, saying, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (13:2). By showing gracious kindness to those who come our way, we echo the Savior’s invitation for salvation, which declares, “Let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).
To show someone loving hospitality just might be the first step in showing that person the way to heaven.
Give as ’twas given to you in your need;
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed;
Unto your mission be true. —Wilson
Live so that when people get to know you, they will want to get to know Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 18, 2013
Living Simply— Yet Focused
Look at the birds of the air . . . . Consider the lilies of the field . . . —Matthew 6:26, 28
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin”— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as “the lilies of the field.”
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Hosea 8 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Don’t Settle for Anything Less
God rewards those who seek Him. Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus himself!
And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 3:18, “And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.”
Can you think of a greater gift than to be like Jesus? Christ felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to remove yours. Jesus had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased and mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges.
God wants you to have the same!
From Just Like Jesus
Hosea 8
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips!
An eagle is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.
With their silver and gold
they make idols for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf of Samaria.
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.
They will begin to waste away
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.
Now he will remember their wickedness
and punish their sins:
They will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten their Maker
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Exodus 6:1-8
New International Version (NIV)
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a] but by my name the Lord[b] I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”
God’s Strong Arm
May 17, 2013 — by Anne Cetas
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. —Exodus 6:6
My friend Joann had a strong desire to become a concert pianist and to travel and perform as either a soloist or as a piano accompanist. While majoring in piano performance in college, she developed tendinitis in her right arm, and it became too weak to perform the solo recital that was required. She graduated with a degree in music history and literature instead.
She knew Jesus as her Savior, but she had been rebelling against Him for several years. Then through further difficult circumstances, she sensed the Lord reaching out to her, and she turned back to Him. Eventually her arm grew stronger, and her dream of traveling and performing came about. She says, “Now I could play to God’s glory instead of my own. His outstretched arm restored my spiritual life and the strength in my arm to enable me to serve Him with the gift He gave me.”
The Lord promised Moses that His outstretched arm would rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt (Ex. 6:6). He kept that promise even though His often-rebellious people doubted (14:30-31). God’s mighty arm is outstretched for us as well. No matter the outcome of our situation, He can be trusted to bring about His will for each of His children. We can depend on God’s strong arm.
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms. —Hoffman
With God’s strength behind you and His arms beneath you, you can face whatever lies ahead of you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 17, 2013
His Ascension and Our Access
It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven —Luke 24:51
We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward— Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection— everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.
The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.
The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Treating the Real Problem - #6875
Friday, May 17, 2013
I think something is wrong with my nose! Every couple of months it develops this tender spot on the inside, and that's fine - only I know that. But when the outside starts to swell and turns to some not so beautiful shades of red, well, then everybody else knows. Those are the days I'm glad I'm on the radio instead of television. So it seems like a few days a year I get to look like Rudolph, whether it's Christmas or not. I went to the doctor with this, and I said, "Doctor, this is ugly. What will I do?" He said, "Well, you know, there might be an infection in there." This is probably more information than you want, but I'm going somewhere so stick with me. Well, he prescribed the appropriate antibiotic. Sure enough, if I take that antibiotic when that first tenderness starts to come along, it stops the flare-up. What you can see on the outside, though, isn't the real problem.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Treating the Real Problem."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John chapter 4, and I'm going to be reading verses 13 and 14. You might remember that John 4 deals with Jesus meeting at a well with a very immoral woman from a Samaritan village. She has come to draw water that day, she's had several husbands; she is now living with a guy. And the fact that she has to come for her water at noon...well, see, all the other women come early in the morning when it's cool. She comes with this heavy water pot at noontime, probably indicating she was not really the best company everybody wanted to be with. She had to kind of hang out alone. She was not respected in her community. I can only imagine the names they called her in that village.
Well, here's how Jesus handles the situation. "Everyone," He says, "who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." He promises here an eternal spiritual fulfillment. "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty again."
This woman's merry-go-round of short-lived relationships with men was a symptom of a deep soul thirst. Until that thirst was quenched by spiritual peace, she'd keep going to one relationship well after another. Now, our Lord models here an important principle in dealing with people's problems. Look beyond the deeds - her immorality, to the needs - the emptiness inside.
You may have someone in your life whose actions are a deep concern to you right now, maybe even an aggravation. There's a tendency to look at that family member, or that friend, or that coworker, or a person at church and say, "Problem!" But if you look through Jesus' eyes you know what you'll say? "Need!" You realize the deeds won't change until the needs are met. Is that person acting out some deep wounds from years ago or a need for approval, maybe just a very frightened insecurity? Maybe they're trying to fill a hole left by someone whose love they needed but they never got, or that they lost, or they were betrayed. Behind the actions is the wound.
If you'll look for the need, you can become part of God's answer instead of somebody who just wounds them some more. That doesn't mean you don't address the problem; you don't address the deeds. Jesus did. He dealt with the problem of the men in her life. But first you move in with the love of Christ and apply some healing to the wounds inside.
What you see on the outside? That's probably not the real problem. Don't attack the deeds; go after the needs. Don't attack the flare-up on the surface; treat the infection that's on the inside.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Hosea 7 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Running the Race
You know as well as I do, it’s one thing to start something. It’s something else entirely to complete it. Relax! “Don’t start what you can’t finish” is not my point!
To be honest, I don’t believe you should finish everything you start. Every student with homework just perked up. There are certain quests better left undone, some projects wisely abandoned. Though I wouldn’t list homework as one of them! We can become so obsessed with completion that we become blind to effectiveness. No, my desire is not to convince you to finish everything. My desire is to encourage you to finish the right thing.
Certain races are optional. Other races are essential—like the race of faith. Consider this admonition from the author of Hebrews in chapter 12:1, “Let us run the race that is before us and never give up!”
Finish strong, my friend.
From Just Like Jesus
Hosea 7
Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practice deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realize
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,
and he joins hands with the mockers.
6 Their hearts are like an oven;
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and none of them calls on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,
but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,
but despite all this
he does not return to the Lord his God
or search for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,
easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,
now turning to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will throw my net over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe to them,
because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me falsely.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[f] appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,
but they turn away from me.
15 I trained them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent words.
For this they will be ridiculed
in the land of Egypt.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 5:21-26
Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
I’m Sorry, Man
May 16, 2013 — by Dave Branon
Be reconciled to your brother. —Matthew 5:24
When my son-in-law Ewing and I attended a sporting event, we enjoyed watching both the game and the people around us.
One of those people showed both the bad and good side of humanity. This man had apparently lost track of his seat. As he was looking for it, he stood squarely between us and the field. A man sitting in front of us also had his view blocked, so he told the guy, “Could you move? We can’t see.”
The lost man responded sarcastically, “Too bad.” A second request got a similar but more heated response. Finally the man moved on. Later came a surprise. He returned and told the man he had blocked, “Hey, I’m sorry, man. I was upset that I couldn’t find my seat.” They shook hands and the incident ended well.
That interaction made me think. As we go through life striving to find our way, situations may frustrate us and cause us to respond to others in an un-Christlike way. If so, we must ask God to give us the courage to apologize to those we have offended. Our worship, according to Jesus, depends on it (Matt. 5:23-24).
We honor God when we make reconciliation with others a priority. After we have been reconciled, we can then fully enjoy communion with our heavenly Father.
It’s not easy, Lord, to swallow our pride and ask
others to forgive us. But You want us to seek
reconciliation before worship can take place.
Help us to seek forgiveness when necessary.
Confession of sin is the soil in which forgiveness flourishes.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 16, 2013
The Habit of Recognizing God’s Provision
. . . you may be partakers of the divine nature . . . —2 Peter 1:4
We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.
Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The 'I Love You' At the Finish Line - #6874
Thursday, May 16, 2013
My regular routine doesn't allow me as much time for exercise as I'd like. In the past, when I had a few days away and my schedule permitted, I would enjoy doing some biking or hiking, or running. Of course, my body always told me that I hadn't been doing it enough. I ended up hurting in places I didn't even know I had places! But it's good to get some extra exercise when you can.
One of those times, my wife and I were away, and I had a chance to do some jogging on the beach at sunrise. I was chugging along trying to cover those last few hundred yards, which seemed like the longest and pounding back down the beach all tired and sweaty and disgusting. My muscles were saying, "Stop this, will you!" And then I saw my wife in the distance. Well, that was a great motivation to finish, and to finish strong. So I kind of picked up the pace a little bit, and had almost reached her when I saw what she had written in huge letters in the sand, "I love you, Ron." Oh boy, there it was! What a happy ending to my run...or for any man on any day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'I Love You' At the Finish Line."
Our word for today from the Word of God is about "wife-ing" actually, and it's in Titus 2:4-5. It's actually instructions to the older women in the church as to what they should, from their well of experience, train the younger women to be like. He says, "Then they can train the younger women..." First and foremost notice now, "...to love their husbands and children. To be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the Word of God."
Actually, this passage is referring to two generations of loving wives, because obviously the older women had to do it in order to be able to teach it to the younger women. So, in both generations, the very first word to the women is, "Love your husband." Proverbs 31, that great description of the woman every godly woman wants to be, the Proverbs 31 Woman, well here's what it says about her in verse 12. "She brings her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life." Notice, each 24-hour period. In other words, she brings daily goodies into his life. Now, there's that picture of me running on the beach, coming toward the finish line, tired, feeling like quitting. And suddenly I see these words, "I love you, Ron." It gave me incentive to cross the finish line.
I'll tell you, that's a picture of many days in the life of a man close to you - a husband, a son, a brother. He comes home tired from today's run. Few things mean more to a man than to know that he will find an "I love you" at the finish line. I think a man can handle almost anything if he's sure that he will be safe and appreciated and loved when he gets home. You know, "All's well that ends well." Lots of pressure, lots of stress, but I can handle it if I know there's going to be security at the finish line.
There are a lot of ways to say it to him. First, just verbally express it. Don't just say, "I love you until further notice." No, tell him often. Touch him affectionately. Provide peace in the house as much as possible when he arrives home; maybe that special meal or special card or special note. Now, it's hard, because you've had a long run too. But God will give you strength to put your husband first when you feel like being first yourself.
By the way, what a tremendous surprise it is if that wife is greeted by a man who's more concerned about her needs than his own. If you're a woman, say "I love you" in his language; not just on Valentine's Day or anniversary, but remember "I love you" never means more than after that finish line that he crosses after a long day's run.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Hosea 6 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Celebrate!
At the sinking of the RMS Titanic, over twenty-two hundred people were cast into the frigid waters of the Atlantic. On shore the names of the passengers were posted in two simple columns—saved and lost. God’s list is equally simple.
Our ledger, however, is cluttered with unnecessary columns. Is he rich? Is she pretty? What work does he do? What color is her skin? Does she have a college degree? These matters are irrelevant to God. As he shapes us more and more to be like Jesus, they become irrelevant to us as well.
Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 5:16, “Our knowledge of men can no longer be based on their outward lives.” And so my challenge to you is simple. Ask God to help you have His eternal view of the world. Every person you meet has been given an invitation! When one says yes, celebrate! When one says no, pray!
from Just Like Jesus
Hosea 6
Israel Unrepentant
6 “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.[d]
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 As at Adam,[e] they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
stained with footprints of blood.
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Joshua 7:1-12
Achan’s Sin
7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
No Loose Laces
May 15, 2013 — by Marvin Williams
The children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan . . . took of the accursed things. —Joshua 7:1
One person’s actions can affect an entire group. This truth became clear to journalist Sebastian Junger as he followed a platoon of soldiers. Junger watched a soldier accost another soldier whose bootlaces were trailing on the ground. He didn’t confront him out of concern for his fashion. He confronted him because his loose laces put the entire platoon at risk—he couldn’t be counted on not to trip and fall at a crucial moment. Junger realized that what happens to one happens to everyone.
Achan’s “bootlaces were loose,” and we learn from his story that sin is never private. After the great victory at Jericho, God gave Joshua specific instructions on how to deal with the city and its loot (Josh. 6:18). The people were to “abstain from the accursed things” and to put all the silver and gold “into the treasury of the Lord” (vv.18-19). But they disobeyed his command to them (7:1). The interesting thing is, not all of Israel sinned; only one person did—Achan. But because of his actions, everyone was affected and God was dishonored.
As followers of Jesus, we belong to one another and our individual actions can impact the entire body and God’s name. Let’s “tie up our laces” so that we may individually and together give God the honor He deserves.
Lord, we know our sin is never private, though we
may try to hide it. Help us to remember that we
belong to You and to one another and that what we do
individually grieves You and impacts fellow Christians.
Private sins will inevitably have public impact.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 15, 2013
The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.
May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
God's Enterprise Has No Transporter - #6873
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
If you're not a "Trekkie" you might know someone who is. A Trekkie, of course, is a rabid fan of Star Trek. I think there has seldom been a TV series in American television history that has so captured people's imaginations as Star Trek. And then the movies of course: Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, the Starship Enterprise. They've become really a part of American's kind of fantasy memory bank.
There's one part of Star Trek I wish wasn't fantasy. Scotty, the Enterprise's chief engineer, mans a device called The Transporter. And maybe if you ever saw Star Trek, you know that The Transporter does this molecular magic that allows the transportee to stand under this beam and to be beamed down to a planet, or be beamed up to the ship in just a matter of seconds. Now, that maneuver has given birth to a very familiar refrain, "Scotty, beam me up." Don't you wish you could be immediately transported to your destination sometimes? Well, Scotty can't do it because he's not real, and the only One who could do it, well...
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Enterprise Has No Transporter."
Our word for today from the Word of God - Psalm 84. It's a blueprint for how God gets us to our destination. Listen to what He says, "Blessed are those whose strength is in You (referring to the Lord) who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." Verse 7 says, "They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion."
I was caught by these words, "Blessed are those who have set their hearts on pilgrimage, who go from strength to strength." These are people who realize that there's a regular, day-by-day, strength-to-strength journey involved in getting to our destination in God's will. It's referring to people who realize that following the Lord is a step at a time process, not a spiritual transporter that takes you instantly to spiritual maturity. It's more like, "Take a step, see a step. Take a step, see another step." It's not, "Lord, beam me up to spiritual maturity."
He says, "No, I bless those who are committed to that step-by-step process." You say, "Well, I know that! I know it's a process; it's not just a zap you get." But the problem is
We don't live like we really believe it's a day-by-day process. We tend to live from spiritual high to spiritual high, "Lord, I'm going to make this great spiritual commitment. Now, beam me up to where I ought to be." So we make our annual, or semi-annual, or whatever decision it is to dedicate our life or re-dedicate or re-re-dedicate our life.
We want some experience to be a spiritual transporter; to give us instant arrival in Christ. But God says, "I bless pilgrimage." He talks about our walk. It's a daily choice to let Christ be the Lord of your life. You wake up in the morning to discover "today's journey," "today's turnover." What am I going to turn over to the Lord today? What am I going to give Him today to consciously let Him be Lord of that part of me today? You make Christ the Lord of this 24-hour chunk of time, 24-hour strength for a 24-hour commitment. "Your strength will equal your days," the Bible says. That's pilgrimage.
It's pretty liberating to know that we're not failing if we haven't suddenly been transported to spiritual perfection. The question is, are you committed to the journey? Are you crowning Christ Lord each 24 hours?
Really knowing Christ is a million little victories. Then you're exactly where you should be if that's where your mindset is. No, God won't beam you up, but He will walk with you every day until you see Him.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Hosea 5 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: A Clear Vision
The apostle Paul dedicates a paragraph to listing troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, danger—the very difficulties we hope to escape. Paul, however, states their value in Romans 8:35-37. “In all these things we have full victory through God.”
We’d prefer another preposition. We’d opt for “apart from all these things,” or “away from all these things,” or even “without all these things. But Paul says, “in” all these things.
The solution is not to avoid trouble but to change the way we see our troubles. God can correct your vision. He asks, “Who gives a person sight?” then answers, It is I, the Lord.” (Exodus 4:11) More than one have made the request of the blind man, “Teacher I want to see.” (Mark 10:51) And more than one have walked away with clear vision.
Who is to say God won’t do the same for you?
from Just Like Jesus
Hosea 5
New International Version (NIV)
Judgment Against Israel
5 “Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgment is against you:
You have been a snare at Mizpah,
a net spread out on Tabor.
2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.
I will discipline all of them.
3 I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
Israel is corrupt.
4 “Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
A spirit of prostitution is in their heart;
they do not acknowledge the Lord.
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord,
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful to the Lord;
they give birth to illegitimate children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,
he will devour[a] their fields.
8 “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
the horn in Ramah.
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste
on the day of reckoning.
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.
10 Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[c]
12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of Judah.
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you,
not able to heal your sores.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my lair
until they have borne their guilt
and seek my face—
in their misery
they will earnestly seek me.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 2:41-52
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[a] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Becoming
May 14, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. —Luke 2:52
I grew up in a small town. No famous people. No busy streets. Not much to do. Yet I’ve always been thankful for my quiet, uncomplicated upbringing.
One evening when my husband and I were attending a business dinner, a new acquaintance asked me where I was from. When I told her, she said, “Aren’t you embarrassed to admit it?”
Unsure whether or not she was joking, I simply said, “No.”
Although my town was sometimes belittled for its lack of sophistication, it was not lacking in things that matter. My family was part of a church community in which parents brought up children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
Jesus also grew up in a small town: Nazareth. A man named Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Jesus proved that the answer is yes. Even though He grew up in an insignificant place, He was the most significant person in all of history.
Experience taught me and Scripture confirms that what matters is not where you grow up but how you grow up. Sometimes we feel insignificant compared to sophisticated people from prominent places. But we are significant to God, and He can make us strong in spirit and filled with His wisdom.
O teach me what it cost You, Lord,
To make a sinner whole;
And help me understand anew
The value of one soul! —Anon.
What we become is more important than where we’re from.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 14, 2013
The Habit of Enjoying Adversity
. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.
You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).
Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
So Many Sinkholes - #6872
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
My first reaction: "No way." Then, "It's true...and it's awful." A man asleep in the middle of the night. Suddenly, what has been determined to be an approximately 60 foot sinkhole opens up beneath the house and literally sucks the man, the bed, and the bedroom in with it. The home has since been demolished, and the next door neighbors were given 30 minutes to grab what they could and evacuate. There was even speculation that the owners of the other two homes would never return.
Sinkholes seem to be a lot more common than we realize. I mean, certain soil-rock-and-moisture combinations apparently can erode over time and then suddenly collapse beneath you. There's ground that looks like its safe to build on, but one day it just caves in under you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "So Many Sinkholes."
There's a feeling too many of us know all too well. "Hey, I thought this would support me. It just collapsed." Beginning in the fall of 2008, so many friends of mine saw their financial security suddenly disappear into a sinkhole as the ground just shifted overnight. A Wall Street veteran told me, "You know, if you had asked any of us Christian guys here what we were trusting in, we would have said, 'Well, we're trusting In the Lord, of course.' Until we suddenly lost what we were really trusting in."
As they say on the news, sinkholes are all over the place. The person who once said, "Til death do us part" is suddenly gone. The children you lived for left the nest empty. The church or organization you did so much for let you down. The company you served for so long doesn't need you anymore. The friends you gave so much for moved on without you. The plans you made vanished with one visit to a doctor's office. The people you lived to please turned their backs on you.
So many sinkholes! Ground you build on that you can't depend on. Yesterday's dream; now today's nightmare. The family who lost their home and their loved one in that sinkhole did find one consolation - the family Bible the demolition crew managed to retrieve. One family member stood in front of the rubble, just hugging that Bible for all she was worth.
Well, I'll tell you, that's the only ground I know that will never cave in beneath you. It's what Martin Luther was counting on when he stood against the mightiest religious forces of his day and insisted knowing God was by faith alone. As all other ground around him was collapsing, he stood firm on a Biblical bedrock that is our word for today from the Word of God. Listen, "Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89).
Firm in the heavens. Truth you can stake your life on; a foundation that can never be shaken. It's where Paul told Timothy to plant his feet when it seems as if everyone - including God's people - are adrift. "But as for you, (he said) continue in what you have learned...you have known the Holy Scriptures...All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:14-16). Sometimes, it means standing with a holy defiance of the culture, the crowd, the consensus, both feet firmly planted on God's Word. "God has spoken. That settles it."
Jesus told about two men - one whose house "collapsed" when the torrent came, and one whose house "could not be shaken." The first one, he says, built on "ground without a foundation." The other "dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock." He said the sinkable man "hears My words and does not put them into practice." The unsinkable man (he said) "hears My words and puts them into practice" (Luke 6:47-49).
So sitting in church just soaking up Christian beliefs is not enough to sustain you when your world's collapsing. Compartmentalized faith is collapsible faith. You have to do God's Word, not just know God's Word, daily letting what you read change your life. Then when it's all going down, you intuitively know where your Anchor is.
King David posed this question for a sinkhole moment: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" That's a good question. Here's the answer: "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne" (Psalm 11:3-4).
When your world caves in, His Throne hasn't moved. His Word is unchanged, and your God still reigns.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Romans 14 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Hope-filled Heart
Wouldn’t you love to have a hope-filled heart? Wouldn’t you love to see the world through the eyes of Jesus? Where we see unanswered prayer, Jesus saw answered prayer. Where we see the absence of God, Jesus saw the plan of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 26:53: “Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels.”
Jesus saw His Father’s presence in every problem. Twelve armies of angels were in His sight. Sure Max, but Jesus was God. He could see the unseen. He had eyes for heaven and a vision for the supernatural. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet maybe, but don’t underestimate God’s power.
He can change the way you look at life! God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them!
from Just Like Jesus
Romans 14
New International Version (NIV)
The Weak and the Strong
14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 6:25-34
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Tulip Day
May 13, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher
Consider the lilies of the field . . . ; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. —Matthew 6:28-29
Several countries around the world celebrate Tulip Day to welcome the spring. When I think of tulips, I often think of the Netherlands, but commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Middle East. Today these colorful flowers span the globe. An estimated 109 species of tulips now grace parks, thoroughfares, and home gardens all around the world.
Last fall I planted some tulip bulbs. Several months later, they bloomed with vivid colors, announcing the coming of spring. They reminded me that summer was on the way and with it will come even more flowers to delight the eye.
Flowers are wonderful reminders to me of the grace of God in our lives. Our Lord used lilies of the field to remind us of the provision of our heavenly Father. In His great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field . . . ; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . . Will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt. 6:28-30).
Tulips alert us to the end of winter and the beginning of spring. But like the lilies of the field, they can also remind us of the One upon whom we can depend to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
In trees and flowers of the field,
In creatures large and small,
We trace the watchful care of Him
Who planned and made them all. —King
If Jesus is concerned about flowers and birds, He certainly cares about you and me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 13, 2013
The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience
. . . strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men —Acts 24:16
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . .” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Grabbing the Robe - #6871
Monday, May 13, 2013
I was ten years old, and I had one of the most frightening moments of my life. I was out with some of my friends about my age in Lake Michigan, and for some reason I panicked in the water and I started to go under. I can still remember it as if it was today. I really, really felt like I was going to die. Now, unfortunately, my friends didn't take my cries for help seriously at first. "Oh, there's Ron! He's clowning around! He's goofing off!" I guess that's the price you pay for being a clown, which I guess I was...and am. Well, I began to flail around; I was desperately trying to save myself. Someone finally saw me. I mean, they saw I was really in trouble and they came to my rescue. And when they did, I quit thrashing, I quit trying to swim, and because I did they were able to rescue me. You know why? I quit trying to rescue myself!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grabbing the Robe."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark chapter 5. I'll begin reading at verse 25, "And the woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, she had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
Well, here's a lady who had spent years thrashing around, in a sense, trying to save herself, and every time she goes under. Then when she had run out of human solutions and earthly resources, she almost literally lunged for Jesus. Here's a desperate woman grabbing His robe and she got the answer that had eluded her all those years. You know what? That's probably the only way you'll get your answer.
See, there's a condition that God can do the most with. It's called desperation. When I'm out of answers, I'm willing to admit I'm out of answers. It's a total abandonment of faith in any solutions I can come up with, any faith in human resources. I'm past that; I'm desperate. At that point, you can choose to go to the Lord broken and powerless, but we usually have to be driven there. But there's no condition God can do more with than powerlessness. It's the most powerful position you could be in. See, we already are powerless; we don't have the resources. We just have to get to the point where we know it and we'll admit it.
Why do we wait until we're driven to the edge? We North American Christians have so many other resources we can trust in. Other believers in other parts of the world only have God. Actually that's all we have too.
Maybe you've been trying to plan an answer, or engineer an answer, politic it, manipulate it, talk an answer, work an answer, you prayed but not in desperation. You still have other things you're depending on. God is using this need to teach you one of life's sweetest lessons: Jesus is enough. He's the source. You learn that, not when you casually approach Him to help you, but when you lunge for Him, cry out to Him, come broken to Him, and grab His robe. It's only when you realize when Jesus died on the cross to become your Rescuer from your sin, because there was nothing you could do to rescue yourself, that you finally change your eternal destination from hell to heaven; where you finally experience having every sin of your life forgiven, the peace of knowing that when you die you will be in heaven with Him.
Maybe this is that day for you - your day of personal rescue. Take it from a boy who almost drowned, thrashing around getting nowhere. As long as I was flailing around I was pretty hard to rescue. So are you. Your religion, your goodness will never get you to heaven. It cannot possibly pay the death penalty for your sin.
We'd love to show you the way to begin that relationship with Him. Just go to our website YoursForLife.net. When you know you're going down for the third time and you grab your Savior, you will finally be safe in those arms that have wanted to carry you all along.
Max Lucado Daily: Hope-filled Heart
Wouldn’t you love to have a hope-filled heart? Wouldn’t you love to see the world through the eyes of Jesus? Where we see unanswered prayer, Jesus saw answered prayer. Where we see the absence of God, Jesus saw the plan of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 26:53: “Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels.”
Jesus saw His Father’s presence in every problem. Twelve armies of angels were in His sight. Sure Max, but Jesus was God. He could see the unseen. He had eyes for heaven and a vision for the supernatural. I can’t see the way he saw. Not yet maybe, but don’t underestimate God’s power.
He can change the way you look at life! God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them!
from Just Like Jesus
Romans 14
New International Version (NIV)
The Weak and the Strong
14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 6:25-34
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Tulip Day
May 13, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher
Consider the lilies of the field . . . ; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. —Matthew 6:28-29
Several countries around the world celebrate Tulip Day to welcome the spring. When I think of tulips, I often think of the Netherlands, but commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Middle East. Today these colorful flowers span the globe. An estimated 109 species of tulips now grace parks, thoroughfares, and home gardens all around the world.
Last fall I planted some tulip bulbs. Several months later, they bloomed with vivid colors, announcing the coming of spring. They reminded me that summer was on the way and with it will come even more flowers to delight the eye.
Flowers are wonderful reminders to me of the grace of God in our lives. Our Lord used lilies of the field to remind us of the provision of our heavenly Father. In His great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field . . . ; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . . Will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt. 6:28-30).
Tulips alert us to the end of winter and the beginning of spring. But like the lilies of the field, they can also remind us of the One upon whom we can depend to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
In trees and flowers of the field,
In creatures large and small,
We trace the watchful care of Him
Who planned and made them all. —King
If Jesus is concerned about flowers and birds, He certainly cares about you and me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 13, 2013
The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience
. . . strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men —Acts 24:16
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . .” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Grabbing the Robe - #6871
Monday, May 13, 2013
I was ten years old, and I had one of the most frightening moments of my life. I was out with some of my friends about my age in Lake Michigan, and for some reason I panicked in the water and I started to go under. I can still remember it as if it was today. I really, really felt like I was going to die. Now, unfortunately, my friends didn't take my cries for help seriously at first. "Oh, there's Ron! He's clowning around! He's goofing off!" I guess that's the price you pay for being a clown, which I guess I was...and am. Well, I began to flail around; I was desperately trying to save myself. Someone finally saw me. I mean, they saw I was really in trouble and they came to my rescue. And when they did, I quit thrashing, I quit trying to swim, and because I did they were able to rescue me. You know why? I quit trying to rescue myself!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grabbing the Robe."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark chapter 5. I'll begin reading at verse 25, "And the woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, she had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."
Well, here's a lady who had spent years thrashing around, in a sense, trying to save herself, and every time she goes under. Then when she had run out of human solutions and earthly resources, she almost literally lunged for Jesus. Here's a desperate woman grabbing His robe and she got the answer that had eluded her all those years. You know what? That's probably the only way you'll get your answer.
See, there's a condition that God can do the most with. It's called desperation. When I'm out of answers, I'm willing to admit I'm out of answers. It's a total abandonment of faith in any solutions I can come up with, any faith in human resources. I'm past that; I'm desperate. At that point, you can choose to go to the Lord broken and powerless, but we usually have to be driven there. But there's no condition God can do more with than powerlessness. It's the most powerful position you could be in. See, we already are powerless; we don't have the resources. We just have to get to the point where we know it and we'll admit it.
Why do we wait until we're driven to the edge? We North American Christians have so many other resources we can trust in. Other believers in other parts of the world only have God. Actually that's all we have too.
Maybe you've been trying to plan an answer, or engineer an answer, politic it, manipulate it, talk an answer, work an answer, you prayed but not in desperation. You still have other things you're depending on. God is using this need to teach you one of life's sweetest lessons: Jesus is enough. He's the source. You learn that, not when you casually approach Him to help you, but when you lunge for Him, cry out to Him, come broken to Him, and grab His robe. It's only when you realize when Jesus died on the cross to become your Rescuer from your sin, because there was nothing you could do to rescue yourself, that you finally change your eternal destination from hell to heaven; where you finally experience having every sin of your life forgiven, the peace of knowing that when you die you will be in heaven with Him.
Maybe this is that day for you - your day of personal rescue. Take it from a boy who almost drowned, thrashing around getting nowhere. As long as I was flailing around I was pretty hard to rescue. So are you. Your religion, your goodness will never get you to heaven. It cannot possibly pay the death penalty for your sin.
We'd love to show you the way to begin that relationship with Him. Just go to our website YoursForLife.net. When you know you're going down for the third time and you grab your Savior, you will finally be safe in those arms that have wanted to carry you all along.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Hosea 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: God So Loved Us
“If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11, NKJV
Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.
Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.
Hosea 4
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing,[p] lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.
4 “But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.
5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother—
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
“Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children.
7 The more priests there were,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God[q] for something disgraceful.
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.
10 “They will eat but not have enough;
they will engage in prostitution but not flourish,
because they have deserted the Lord
to give themselves 11 to prostitution;
old wine and new wine
take away their understanding.
12 My people consult a wooden idol,
and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
they are unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution
and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
14 “I will not punish your daughters
when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots
and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—
a people without understanding will come to ruin!
15 “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.
“Do not go to Gilgal;
do not go up to Beth Aven.[r]
And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
16 The Israelites are stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the Lord pasture them
like lambs in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 2:6-7,25-35
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:25-35
New International Version (NIV)
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[a] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Seasons Of Life
May 12, 2013 — by Herbert Vander Lugt
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. —Ecclesiastes 3:1
When I was a pastor, I served many women who were moms. I called on them in the hospital and rejoiced with them for their precious babies who had come into the world. I counseled with anxious mothers and tried to assure them that God was watching over their rebellious teenagers. I stood with mothers at the bedside of injured or ill children and felt their pain. And I cried with them in their grief when their son or daughter died.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, also experienced times of joy and sorrow. What joy she must have felt when the Christ-child was born! (Luke 2:7). What excitement when the shepherds and later the wise men came to worship Him (vv.8-20; Matt. 2:1-12). What uneasiness when Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her soul (Luke 2:35). And what heart-wrenching grief as Mary watched her Son dying on the cross! (John 19:25-30). But her seasons of being a mother didn’t end with that terrible scene. She rejoiced that He rose from the grave.
Mothers, and all of us for that matter, experience many great joys and intense sorrows. But when we submit our lives to the Lord, every season of life can serve His eternal purposes.
Thank You, Lord, for motherhood
With all its vale of tears,
For happy moments never dimmed
Through all the many years. —Strecker
Being a mom is a sacred partnership with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 12, 2013
The Habit of Having No Habits
If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful . . . —2 Peter 1:8
When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, “I can’t do that right now; this is my time alone with God.” No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcoming and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.
Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things— things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Hosea 3 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click to listen)
Max Lucado Daily: God is Everywhere
God is Everywhere
“Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Psalm 139:7-8, NIV
Our asking “Where is God?” is like a fish asking “Where is water?” or a bird asking “Where is air?” God is everywhere! Equally present in Peking and Peoria. As active in the lives of Icelanders as in the lives of Texans.
We cannot find a place where God is not.
Hosea 3
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels[n] of silver and about a homer and a lethek[o] of barley. 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Joshua 4:1-6,20-24
4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow
May 11, 2013 — by David C. McCasland
That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty. —Joshua 4:24
Recently I realized that all of the photos and mementos in my office represent the past. I considered removing them, but wondered if those reminders of people, places, and events might serve some purpose beyond nostalgia. To avoid being mired in the “yesterdays” of life, I needed to discover the value of those items for today and tomorrow.
When God’s people crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, He told their leader, Joshua, to choose 12 men, have each one take a stone from the middle of the river, and carry it to their campsite that night (Josh. 4:1-5). Joshua set up the stones as a memorial so that when future generations asked, “What do these stones mean to you?” they could tell them about God’s faithfulness in holding back the water while they crossed (vv.6-7).
As followers of Christ, it’s good for us to have tangible evidence of God’s help in the past. Those mementos remind us that His faithfulness continues today, and we can follow Him confidently into the future. Our “stones” may also help others know that God’s hand is mighty, as they encourage us to fear the Lord our God forever (v.24).
The memories of what God has done for us can become building blocks for today and tomorrow.
Thinking It Over
How has God shown Himself to be faithful to
you and your family? What would help you to remember?
Is there someone you can talk to about it today?
Precious memories of yesterday can strengthen our faith today and tomorrow.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 11, 2013
“Love One Another”
. . add to your . . . brotherly kindness love —2 Peter 1:5, 7
Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26). Initially, when “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5), it is easy to put Jesus first. But then we must practice the things mentioned in 2 Peter 1 to see them worked out in our lives.
The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “. . . love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He is saying, “I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.
“The Lord . . . is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish . . .” (2 Peter 3:9). I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Hosea 2 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Trash Talk
The Garbage Project was conducted by a researcher convinced we can learn a lot from the trash dumps of the world. He was called a garbologist! What’s it like to be a “garbologist?” When he gives a speech, is it referred to as “trash talk?” Are his business trips called “junkets?” Though I prefer to leave the dirty work to the garbologist, his attitude toward trash intrigues me.
Suppose we changed the way we view the garbage that comes our way? The days that a dumpster couldn't hold all the garbage we face: hospital bills, divorce papers, pay cuts. What do you do when an entire truck of sorrow is dumped on you? Jesus said, “If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.” (Matthew 6:22-23 MSG).
How we look at life–even the garbage of life– determines how we live life!
from Just Like Jesus
Hosea 2
2 [d]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’
Israel Punished and Restored
2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold—
which they used for Baal.
9 “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor[e] a door of hope.
There she will respond[f] as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.[g]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in[h] righteousness and justice,
in[i] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[j] faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the Lord.
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.[k]
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[l]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[m]’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Waiting To Cheer
May 10, 2013 — by Randy Kilgore
. . . to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. —Ephesians 3:19
In his very first Little League baseball game, a young player on the team I was coaching got hit in the face with a ball. He was not hurt but was understandably shaken. For the rest of the season, he was afraid of the ball. Game after game, he bravely tried, but he just couldn’t seem to hit the ball.
In our final game, we were hopelessly behind, with nothing to cheer about. Then that young man stepped up to take his turn. Thwack! To everyone’s surprise, he hit the ball sharply! His teammates went wild; his parents and his teammates’ parents cheered loudly. Even though we were still losing the game, I was jumping up and down! We all loved this kid and cheered him on.
I imagine that the Lord cheers us on in our lives as well. He loves us deeply and desires that we “may be able to comprehend . . . what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:18-19).
Some think of the Lord as unloving and waiting for us to slip up so He can punish us. So we have the privilege of telling them of His deep love for them. Imagine their joy when they hear about the God who loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for their sin and who wants to cheer them on!
Help us, heavenly Father, to see the many
ways You love and encourage us; then help
us to love and encourage those around
us so that they can see You in us.
The nail-pierced hands of Jesus reveal the love-filled heart of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 10, 2013
Take the Initiative
. . . add to your faith virtue . . . —2 Peter 1:5
Add means that we have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us (Philippians 2:12). Add means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning— to instruct yourself in the way you must go.
Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative— stop hesitating— take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt”; and then do it! Make it irrevocable.
We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Mom's Greatest Gift - #6870
Friday, May 10, 2013
Nine years old and oh, so proud; proud of the gift I had just bought for my mom for Mother's Day. I picked it out myself. I paid for it with my own allowance. And I ruined it all by myself. It was a two-carnation corsage with a plastic bumblebee. I still remember the bumblebee; it was really cool. I was pushing the speed limit on my bicycle with the white florist box perched on my handlebars. Until I hit a bump and it went flying. I ran over my Mother's Day present. The flowers were crushed and so was I.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Mom's Greatest Gift."
Maybe that's why I love the idea of a crushproof Mother's Day gift. And there is one. It might be the greatest gift Mom could ever receive. And it's intimately tied to an amazing gift a Mom can give her son or daughter. I know. If it weren't for those two gifts, the wife I've loved all these years might never have been born.
Bill was the apple of his mother's eye. He had a great job, a good income, and an insatiable appetite for alcohol. From the time he was nine years old, Bill entertained the men at the local store by lapping booze from a saucer like a kitten.
By the time Bill was in his 20s, his drinking cost him his job, his dignity and almost some of the people he loved. After drinking heavily one night, he returned home, and he flew into a rage and chased his sisters with a butcher knife. Later, his drinking - and even his cocaine use - took him to jail and then prison. You talk about hopeless. Except for the gift his mother gave him - her relentless prayer for him. In 1907, Bill's mama wrote this on the back of a picture of him, dressed so fashionably at the time: "Will, O dear Will, when will you cease from your wandering ways and return to Jesus Christ? You may see this long after I am gone from this earth, but may you know that your mother always prayed for you."
One night those prayers reached all the way to her "Billy Boy," walking down Chicago's South State Street. He was heading for Lake Michigan; he wanted to end his life. Then he heard the music - a hymn he remembered from his childhood. It was coming from a rescue mission. And it drew Bill inside. There a mission worker reached out to him with these words that are our word for today from the Word of God, John 3:16. You may have never heard them before; you may have heard them thousands of times. Listen like your life depends on it. It does. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him (they said that night) shall not perish but have everlasting life."
On the night Bill planned to end his life, he gave his life to Jesus. And he would say, from that day on, "I wasn't a reformed man - I was a transformed man." He spent the rest of his life traveling this country, telling people about the Rescuer of "hopeless" lives. Living in a trailer, his "Little Church on Wheels" he called it, with John 3:16 emblazoned on the side. His Mama actually lived to see the miracle she prayed for. She saw his transformed life for ten wonderful years before she went Home. She gave her son the gift of her never-give-up praying. And he gave her the greatest gift of all - a child who loved and lived for her Savior.
Without those gifts, my wife would not be here, because Bill - that young man saved by Jesus minutes before he planned to die - was her grandfather. The mother would not give up praying for her wandering child. As a result, she experienced the miracle a widowed mother long ago experienced at the funeral of her only son. Jesus touched that coffin and commanded her dead boy to "get up!" "The dead man sat up...and Jesus gave him back to his mother" (Luke 7:14, 15). He is still the Savior who gives back lost sons and daughters to a mother who loves them.
There is no greater gift a mother can give her children than to pray them to the foot of Jesus' cross. There is no greater gift a child can give a mother than to live their life for Jesus. I have living proof of the power of those gifts. My wife, who I can wish "Happy Mother's Day."
Maybe you're the son or daughter of a praying mother, but you've never given your heart to Jesus. He waits with open arms to welcome you home - to the love you were made for; to the love that brought Him to a cross to pay for every sin you've ever committed.
If you've never begun a relationship with Him, go to our website. We want to show you how - YoursForLife.net. It's time to come home.
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