Max Lucado Daily: Rest in His Finished Work
In Psalm 23:2 when David says, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures"-he's saying, "My shepherd makes me lie down in His finished work." With His own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of the shepherd when, with work completed, he sees his sheep rest in the tender grass? Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of God when we do the same?
His pasture is His gift to us. This is not a pasture you have made. Nor is it one you deserve. It is a gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
Your Shepherd invites you to nestle deeply hidden, buried, in the tall shoots of His love-and there you will find rest.
From Traveling Light
Job 25
Bildad
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.
3 Can his forces be numbered?
On whom does his light not rise?
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
5 If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
a human being, who is only a worm!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Deuteronomy 4:1-9
Obedience Commanded
Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Insight
Far from being a burden, the commands God gave to the Israelites were life-giving. They outlined a life lived in response to His love. In today’s text, Moses reminded the Israelites that the commands were for their wisdom and understanding (v.6). The result of living by the words of the Lord would be that the nations around them would recognize the one true God (vv.7-8).
Words To Live By
By David C. McCasland
Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments . . . that you should act according to them. —Deuteronomy 4:5
For many years I’ve maintained a file folder labeled “Speaking.” It has become thick with articles, quotations, and illustrations that might be useful. Recently I went through it to discard things that are out of date. I found it difficult to throw away many of the items, not because I haven’t used them in a talk but because I haven’t put them into practice. I closed the folder thinking, “These aren’t words to talk about; these are words to live by.”
After 40 years in the desert, Moses addressed the people poised to enter the Promised Land: “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you” (Deut. 4:1). Moses’ repeated theme (vv.1,2,5,6,9) is that God’s commandments are to be kept. He said it well, “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments . . . that you should act according to them” (v.5).
It is so easy to talk about doing more than we actually do and to speak about truth we’re not living by. We can become bloated with words, yet starved for reality, forgetting that all of God’s commands flow from His heart of love for us.
Help us, Lord, not to be just hearers of the Word;
help us to be doers as well. Teach us to be honest
with ourselves about who we really are. We want
to walk in Your ways and to guide others to You.
The strength of our actions should match the strength of our words.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 12, 2014
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.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Wrong Builder - #7131
Monday, May 12, 2014
My son is old enough to have kids of his own now, but we were looking at pictures of him when he was about three. We were in our back yard and we had just set up our tent. We were going to camp out in it that tent that night. Here was a little guy wanting to help his Daddy, so he played with the poles, held the flaps open on the tent door, he was so excited.
I had to go in the house and so he was alone with the tent that was all... Did I mention to you it was all nicely set up for the night? Then he decided to go inside and run around. He was so excited! I guess he decided that one of the poles wasn't quite where he thought it ought to be. So, he grabbed the pole to hold up the rest of the structure of the tent. The entire tent came crashing down around this little guy. The photo, oh I just wish you could see it. It shows him with that one pole in his hand, the tent totally collapsed next to him. He's got the other hand holding his forehead with this look of sheer bewilderment on his face. He tried to build it, but it just collapsed around him. I know the feeling.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want A Word With You today about "The Wrong Builder."
Our word for today from the Word of God is about some suffering. It's in Psalm 127. I'll be reading verses 1-2. "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand by it in vain. In vain you rise up early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat." I guess at a time you build in vain it's safe to say that you're wasting your time. Why bother wasting your time? I would call this a psalm for men and women who work real hard and are make-it-happen people.
See, these are people who feel like, "Yes, I will pray about it. I will ask for God's help. But it's all up to me ultimately." Well, the problem isn't solved if you just work longer or work harder, or follow your own plan. See, we're like, "I've got to work on an answer for myself." They are sort of control freaks. In the process, I can totally throw my life out-of-balance. Man, it's not working, so I've got to do more, work more, make it happen, get up early, stay up late. You often end up neglecting the things that really matter: your family, your other important relationships, your health, your time with God. Work, work, work, work, that's what I think the solution is. Guess what? My tent is falling down.
The Lord isn't saying to you right now, "Work more." He may be saying, "trust more." So often I'm acting as if I'm the builder. The Lord uses my efforts, sure. But success doesn't depend on my efforts. So often my frantic work is really the story of the old sinful, self-reliant, Ron. "I've got to do it. I've got to be in control." But I need help from God. I need God to be overseeing and actually doing it through me. Unless the Lord builds the house, you're wasting your time.
Maybe God wanted you to hear this today because you've kind of been depending on your own efforts to build something that isn't working. The "hurrieder" you go, the "behinder" you get. So quit acting as if it's all up to you. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." If the Lord builds it, it won't fall down, and you won't be left holding a pole; holding your head with a bewildered look on your face.
Maybe the project isn't working simply because you are depending on the wrong builder. You know, that's why life doesn't work. That's why we end up watching a life falling down around us that we have tried to build, because we were never meant to build it. We were never meant to be the architect. The Bible says, "We were created by Christ and for Christ." And we've ended up living it for ourselves. That's why He died. That's why He went to a cross. That's why He walked out of His grace so He could rescue us from what our self-effort could never do. I could never get into heaven on my own. All the religion in the world will not get me there. It takes the Man who died for it.
Today, if life's been falling apart, it's time for you to grab the hand of Jesus extended to you today. I would love to help you begin your relationship with Him. Would you just go to our website ANewStory.com and let your new story begin today.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Matthew 12:1-23, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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.
Matthew 12:1-23
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”[b]
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Footnotes:
Matthew 12:7 Hosea 6:6
Matthew 12:21 Isaiah 42:1-4
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Insight
Second Timothy is Paul’s final letter, written from a Roman prison where he was awaiting execution (see 4:6). Taking the total sweep of this chapter, we find three distinct sections in what is regarded as Paul’s last words. In verses 1-5, the apostle challenges and urges his young protégé, Timothy, to be faithful in carrying out the calling he has received—particularly the ministry of the Word. In verses 6-8, Paul gives his own testimony of service to Christ and his readiness to see the Savior. The bulk of the remaining verses (vv.9-18) deals with people who have disappointed Paul and how he has responded to that disappointment.
Mom’s Finish Line
By Dennis Fisher
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
When Jeff learned that his mother’s health was rapidly declining, he immediately caught a plane to be with her. He sat at her bedside holding her hand, singing hymns, comforting her, and expressing his love for her. She passed away, and at her funeral many told Jeff what a blessing his mother had been. She was gifted in Bible teaching, counseling others, and leading prayer groups. These were vital parts of serving Christ until near the end of her life. She finished strong for Christ.
To honor his mother’s life, Jeff participated in a 26.5 mile race. During the race he thanked God for her life and grieved her loss. When he crossed the finish line, Jeff pointed his index finger toward heaven—“Where Mom is,” he said. She had honored Christ to the end, which reminded him of the words of the apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord . . . will give to me on that Day” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
We are involved in a “long-distance race.” Let’s run in such a way that we may obtain the prize of “an imperishable crown” (1 Cor. 9:25). What could be more desirable than to finish strong for Christ and to be with Him forever.
Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up your eyes and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path and Christ the prize. —Monsell
The Christian’s race is not a sprint—it’s a marathon.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 10, 2014
“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.
“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.
Matthew 12:1-23
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”[b]
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Footnotes:
Matthew 12:7 Hosea 6:6
Matthew 12:21 Isaiah 42:1-4
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Insight
Second Timothy is Paul’s final letter, written from a Roman prison where he was awaiting execution (see 4:6). Taking the total sweep of this chapter, we find three distinct sections in what is regarded as Paul’s last words. In verses 1-5, the apostle challenges and urges his young protégé, Timothy, to be faithful in carrying out the calling he has received—particularly the ministry of the Word. In verses 6-8, Paul gives his own testimony of service to Christ and his readiness to see the Savior. The bulk of the remaining verses (vv.9-18) deals with people who have disappointed Paul and how he has responded to that disappointment.
Mom’s Finish Line
By Dennis Fisher
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7
When Jeff learned that his mother’s health was rapidly declining, he immediately caught a plane to be with her. He sat at her bedside holding her hand, singing hymns, comforting her, and expressing his love for her. She passed away, and at her funeral many told Jeff what a blessing his mother had been. She was gifted in Bible teaching, counseling others, and leading prayer groups. These were vital parts of serving Christ until near the end of her life. She finished strong for Christ.
 |
| Pietà (Michelangelo) |
To honor his mother’s life, Jeff participated in a 26.5 mile race. During the race he thanked God for her life and grieved her loss. When he crossed the finish line, Jeff pointed his index finger toward heaven—“Where Mom is,” he said. She had honored Christ to the end, which reminded him of the words of the apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord . . . will give to me on that Day” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
We are involved in a “long-distance race.” Let’s run in such a way that we may obtain the prize of “an imperishable crown” (1 Cor. 9:25). What could be more desirable than to finish strong for Christ and to be with Him forever.
Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up your eyes and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path and Christ the prize. —Monsell
The Christian’s race is not a sprint—it’s a marathon.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 10, 2014
“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.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Job 24 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
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
Job 24
“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[c];
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
the wicked are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”
Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Warnings From Israel’s History
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”[a] 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ,[b] as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6
1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts test the Lord
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
Insight
Paul delved into Israel’s history (Ex. 12:21-23; 14:21-29; 16:4–17:16) to warn the Corinthians not to be led astray (1 Cor. 10:14-22). Despite the Israelites’ experience of God’s grace (vv.1-5), they nevertheless disobeyed and were led into idolatry and rebellion (vv.6-10).
Way Out
By Joe Stowell
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape. —1 Corinthians 10:13
While in London recently, I decided to take the underground train to my destination. So I paid my fare and descended into the depths of London to catch my train. But getting out of the station can be a scary experience for someone who is unfamiliar with the system. If you don’t find the exit, you can quickly get lost in the tunnels.
Being alone in a sparsely populated underground tunnel is an unsettling feeling, so believe me, you don’t want to get lost. Needless to say, I was glad when I spotted the sign that says, “WAY OUT” and followed it to safety.
Paul reminds us that when we are vulnerable to falling into sin, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out” (1 Cor. 10:13 niv). It’s easy to assume that God is not with us when we are tempted to sin. But this verse assures us that He is present and not just standing idly by. Rather, He is actively providing a way out so we can endure it.
So, the next time you feel tempted, remember that you are not helpless. There is a divinely provided “way out”! Look for the sign, and follow it to safety.
Lord, keep us mindful that Your presence with us
in times of temptation means that we need not fall.
Give us the desire to seek Your way out so we can
know the joy of living a life that is pleasing to You.
God is actively working to keep you from the danger of getting lost in sin.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 10, 2014
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.
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
Job 24
“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[c];
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
the wicked are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”
Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Warnings From Israel’s History
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”[a] 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ,[b] as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6
1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts test the Lord
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
Insight
Paul delved into Israel’s history (Ex. 12:21-23; 14:21-29; 16:4–17:16) to warn the Corinthians not to be led astray (1 Cor. 10:14-22). Despite the Israelites’ experience of God’s grace (vv.1-5), they nevertheless disobeyed and were led into idolatry and rebellion (vv.6-10).
Way Out
By Joe Stowell
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape. —1 Corinthians 10:13
While in London recently, I decided to take the underground train to my destination. So I paid my fare and descended into the depths of London to catch my train. But getting out of the station can be a scary experience for someone who is unfamiliar with the system. If you don’t find the exit, you can quickly get lost in the tunnels.
Being alone in a sparsely populated underground tunnel is an unsettling feeling, so believe me, you don’t want to get lost. Needless to say, I was glad when I spotted the sign that says, “WAY OUT” and followed it to safety.
Paul reminds us that when we are vulnerable to falling into sin, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out” (1 Cor. 10:13 niv). It’s easy to assume that God is not with us when we are tempted to sin. But this verse assures us that He is present and not just standing idly by. Rather, He is actively providing a way out so we can endure it.
So, the next time you feel tempted, remember that you are not helpless. There is a divinely provided “way out”! Look for the sign, and follow it to safety.
Lord, keep us mindful that Your presence with us
in times of temptation means that we need not fall.
Give us the desire to seek Your way out so we can
know the joy of living a life that is pleasing to You.
God is actively working to keep you from the danger of getting lost in sin.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 10, 2014
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.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Job 23 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Every Reason to be Content
You have every reason to be content! A man once went to a minister for counseling. He was in the midst of financial collapse.
"I've lost everything," he bemoaned.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear you've lost your faith."
"No," the man corrected him, "I haven't lost my faith."
"Well then, I'm sad to hear you've lost your character."
"I didn't say that," he corrected. "I still have my character."
"I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your salvation."
"That's not what I said," the man objected.
"I haven't lost my salvation."
"You have your faith, your character, your salvation. Seems to me," the minister observed, "that you've lost none of the things that really matter."
We haven't either! You and I could pray like the Puritan. He sat down to a meal of bread and water. He bowed his head and declared, "All this and Jesus too?"
From Traveling Light
Job 23
Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?
No, he would not press charges against me.
7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him,
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.
8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.
15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Genesis 15:5-21
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[a] be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[b] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Footnotes:
Genesis 15:5 Or seed
Genesis 15:18 Or river
Promises Still Kept
By Randy Kilgore
When the sun went down . . . there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. —Genesis 15:17
In the ancient Near East a treaty between a superior (a lord or king) and an inferior (his subjects) was called a suzerain treaty. The ratification ceremony required animals to be sacrificed and cut in half. The animal parts were then arranged in two rows on the ground, forming an aisle between them. As the suzerain walked between the halves, he was publicly declaring he would keep the covenant and would become like the slain animals if he failed to keep his word.
When Abram asked God how he could be sure His promises would come to pass, God used the culturally significant symbolism of the suzerain treaty to affirm His promises (Gen. 15). When the burning torch passed through the pieces of the sacrifice, Abram understood that God was declaring it was His job to keep the covenant.
God’s covenant with Abram and His assurance of its completion extends to followers of Christ. That is why Paul repeatedly refers to believers as sons of Abraham in his New Testament writings (Rom. 4:11-18; Gal. 3:29). Once we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, God becomes the keeper in our covenant of faith (see John 10:28-29).
Because God is the keeper of our salvation, with renewed confidence in Him we trust Him with our lives.
He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break.
Onward then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away. —Havergal
Our salvation is secure because God does the holding.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 09, 2014
Reaching Beyond Our Grasp
Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . . —Proverbs 29:18
There is a difference between holding on to a principle and having a vision. A principle does not come from moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything. A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, “. . . I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2). I too may have the right idea of God and His attributes, but that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.
Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?
“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]. . . .” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Don't Run Over Your Gift - #7130
Friday, May 9, 2014
It's a big deal when a child can finally start buying gifts with his or her own money. I remember one of the first gifts I was able to buy for my mother. It was a corsage for Mother's Day. I was doing this all on my own. I was so proud. I saved up my allowances, and I rode my bike about six blocks to the florist. I picked out these two carnations. I still remember - one pink, one white. And I made sure they put that little plastic bumble bee in with the flowers. And then I got on my bike and I held the white box on my handle bars. I was so proud of this gift, and then I hit a bump. In one very depressing moment, that white box went flying off the handle bars in front of my bike and I ran over it. So there I was, this forlorn little guy, bike on the ground, looking very sadly at my gift with a tire mark right down the middle.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Run Over Your Gift."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 4. I'll begin reading at verse 3. It says, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified;..." That means to be kept special and reserved for special purposes. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." Now notice the sequence here. Stay special. You do that by avoiding sexual immorality-sexual sin-and you do that by controlling your passions.
See, God has given you this unique gift to give to the person you commit your love to for a lifetime-your husband or wife. And there's no greater joy than to present that gift to your permanent lifetime partner. God is saying here, "Stay special. Don't ruin your gift." Take it from the boy who ran over the gift that he wanted to be special. It really hurts when you ruin it.
If you're in a position to influence young people about sexual purity, use the approach God uses-a positive morality. Not a negative, condemning one. It's all about the beauty of the gift of sex, not the dirtiness of it. It's too good to ruin. And you ruin it when you open it early or you run over it. The best of sex and the best of love are reserved for those who keep it special.
And if you're single and you're facing the pressure to have sex outside of marriage, assume God had you tune in today. He's whispering two words in your heart to build your morality on, "No regrets." What might give you some short-term sense of relief or closeness or even love will give you a very long-term sense of guilt and loss. See, you can only give your purity for the first time - one time.
When I was bringing home that corsage I made a fatal mistake. I valued the gift, but I balanced it precariously on the handle bars. You can't decide to keep your gift of sex special and keep flirting with losing it. You've got to avoid being alone with somebody you care about for any length of time. You've got to keep the small expressions of physical affection special so you don't rush up that ladder. Remember, "no regrets."
You say, "Well, Ron, I've already run over the gift." Don't believe the lie that it doesn't matter what you do now. It does. Here's great news. 1 John 1:7, "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, purifies us from all sin." In Joel 2:25 He says, "He will restore the years the locusts have eaten." Bring your sexuality; bring your sexual sin to the Lord, and let Him purify you and let Him begin to restore your spiritual and emotional virginity.
See, when you understand what a priceless, irreplaceable gift God gave you in the gift of sex, you commit yourself to keep it special. And if you've never experienced the wonderful, spiritual shower of knowing you have been forgiven by God for every wrong thing, every dirty thing, every sinful thing you have ever done, the place that happens is at the cross where Jesus paid for what you wish you had not done; for every sin of your life.
Today you say, "Jesus I'm Yours." And He comes into your life and erases every sin of your life from God's Book. Let it happen today. Let me help you with that. Go to our website today. ANewStory.com.
It hurts a lot to ruin a valuable gift, so hold it close. Don't balance it on the edge. It will be worth the wait when you present that unspoiled gift to your lifetime love.
You have every reason to be content! A man once went to a minister for counseling. He was in the midst of financial collapse.
"I've lost everything," he bemoaned.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear you've lost your faith."
"No," the man corrected him, "I haven't lost my faith."
"Well then, I'm sad to hear you've lost your character."
"I didn't say that," he corrected. "I still have my character."
"I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your salvation."
"That's not what I said," the man objected.
"I haven't lost my salvation."
"You have your faith, your character, your salvation. Seems to me," the minister observed, "that you've lost none of the things that really matter."
We haven't either! You and I could pray like the Puritan. He sat down to a meal of bread and water. He bowed his head and declared, "All this and Jesus too?"
From Traveling Light
Job 23
Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?
No, he would not press charges against me.
7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him,
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.
8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.
15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Genesis 15:5-21
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[a] be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[b] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Footnotes:
Genesis 15:5 Or seed
Genesis 15:18 Or river
Promises Still Kept
By Randy Kilgore
When the sun went down . . . there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. —Genesis 15:17
In the ancient Near East a treaty between a superior (a lord or king) and an inferior (his subjects) was called a suzerain treaty. The ratification ceremony required animals to be sacrificed and cut in half. The animal parts were then arranged in two rows on the ground, forming an aisle between them. As the suzerain walked between the halves, he was publicly declaring he would keep the covenant and would become like the slain animals if he failed to keep his word.
When Abram asked God how he could be sure His promises would come to pass, God used the culturally significant symbolism of the suzerain treaty to affirm His promises (Gen. 15). When the burning torch passed through the pieces of the sacrifice, Abram understood that God was declaring it was His job to keep the covenant.
God’s covenant with Abram and His assurance of its completion extends to followers of Christ. That is why Paul repeatedly refers to believers as sons of Abraham in his New Testament writings (Rom. 4:11-18; Gal. 3:29). Once we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, God becomes the keeper in our covenant of faith (see John 10:28-29).
Because God is the keeper of our salvation, with renewed confidence in Him we trust Him with our lives.
He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break.
Onward then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away. —Havergal
Our salvation is secure because God does the holding.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 09, 2014
Reaching Beyond Our Grasp
Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint . . . —Proverbs 29:18
There is a difference between holding on to a principle and having a vision. A principle does not come from moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything. A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, “. . . I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2). I too may have the right idea of God and His attributes, but that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.
Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?
“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]. . . .” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Don't Run Over Your Gift - #7130
Friday, May 9, 2014
It's a big deal when a child can finally start buying gifts with his or her own money. I remember one of the first gifts I was able to buy for my mother. It was a corsage for Mother's Day. I was doing this all on my own. I was so proud. I saved up my allowances, and I rode my bike about six blocks to the florist. I picked out these two carnations. I still remember - one pink, one white. And I made sure they put that little plastic bumble bee in with the flowers. And then I got on my bike and I held the white box on my handle bars. I was so proud of this gift, and then I hit a bump. In one very depressing moment, that white box went flying off the handle bars in front of my bike and I ran over it. So there I was, this forlorn little guy, bike on the ground, looking very sadly at my gift with a tire mark right down the middle.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Don't Run Over Your Gift."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 4. I'll begin reading at verse 3. It says, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified;..." That means to be kept special and reserved for special purposes. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." Now notice the sequence here. Stay special. You do that by avoiding sexual immorality-sexual sin-and you do that by controlling your passions.
See, God has given you this unique gift to give to the person you commit your love to for a lifetime-your husband or wife. And there's no greater joy than to present that gift to your permanent lifetime partner. God is saying here, "Stay special. Don't ruin your gift." Take it from the boy who ran over the gift that he wanted to be special. It really hurts when you ruin it.
If you're in a position to influence young people about sexual purity, use the approach God uses-a positive morality. Not a negative, condemning one. It's all about the beauty of the gift of sex, not the dirtiness of it. It's too good to ruin. And you ruin it when you open it early or you run over it. The best of sex and the best of love are reserved for those who keep it special.
And if you're single and you're facing the pressure to have sex outside of marriage, assume God had you tune in today. He's whispering two words in your heart to build your morality on, "No regrets." What might give you some short-term sense of relief or closeness or even love will give you a very long-term sense of guilt and loss. See, you can only give your purity for the first time - one time.
When I was bringing home that corsage I made a fatal mistake. I valued the gift, but I balanced it precariously on the handle bars. You can't decide to keep your gift of sex special and keep flirting with losing it. You've got to avoid being alone with somebody you care about for any length of time. You've got to keep the small expressions of physical affection special so you don't rush up that ladder. Remember, "no regrets."
You say, "Well, Ron, I've already run over the gift." Don't believe the lie that it doesn't matter what you do now. It does. Here's great news. 1 John 1:7, "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, purifies us from all sin." In Joel 2:25 He says, "He will restore the years the locusts have eaten." Bring your sexuality; bring your sexual sin to the Lord, and let Him purify you and let Him begin to restore your spiritual and emotional virginity.
See, when you understand what a priceless, irreplaceable gift God gave you in the gift of sex, you commit yourself to keep it special. And if you've never experienced the wonderful, spiritual shower of knowing you have been forgiven by God for every wrong thing, every dirty thing, every sinful thing you have ever done, the place that happens is at the cross where Jesus paid for what you wish you had not done; for every sin of your life.
Today you say, "Jesus I'm Yours." And He comes into your life and erases every sin of your life from God's Book. Let it happen today. Let me help you with that. Go to our website today. ANewStory.com.
It hurts a lot to ruin a valuable gift, so hold it close. Don't balance it on the edge. It will be worth the wait when you present that unspoiled gift to your lifetime love.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Job 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Heaven Knows Your Heart
All that stuff you have? It's not yours. And you know what else about all that stuff? It's not you! In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, "Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."
Heaven doesn't know you as the fellow with the nice suit or the woman with the big house. Heaven knows your heart. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Bible says the Lord looks at the heart. When God thinks of you, He may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but He doesn't think of your things.
Define yourself by your stuff, and you'll feel good when you have a lot and bad when you don't. Contentment comes when we can honestly say with Paul who said, "I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty" (Philippians 4:12).
From Traveling Light
Job 22
Eliphaz
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise person benefit him?
3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
6 You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.
7 You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land—
an honored man, living on it.
9 And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
10 That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
11 why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?
14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’
15 Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked have trod?
16 They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.’
21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
22 Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24 and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
28 What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Present Weakness and Resurrection Life
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Footnotes:
2 Corinthians 4:6 Gen. 1:3
Insight
Today’s reading showcases a remarkable spiritual reality concerning those who are resistant to the gospel. “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . should shine on them” (vv.3-4). The apostle Paul tells us that Satan, “the god of this age,” has produced a form of spiritual blindness that hinders one’s perception of the reality of Jesus Christ. Spiritual blindness can only be overcome by the light of Christ (v.6).
Talking About Jesus
By Dave Branon
I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. —1 Corinthians 2:2
Former major league baseball player Tony Graffanino tells of an ongoing ministry effort in a European country. Each year his organization holds a week-long baseball camp. During this week they also offer a daily Bible study. In past years, the leader tried to find reasoned ways to convince the campers that God exists so they would place their faith in Him. After about 13 years, they had seen only 3 people decide to follow Jesus.
Then they changed their approach, says Graffanino. Instead of “trying to present facts, or winning arguments for a debate,” they simply talked about “the amazing life and teachings of Jesus.” As a result, more campers came to listen, and more chose to follow Him.
The apostle Paul said that when we tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should set “forth the truth plainly. . . . We do not preach ourselves,” he said, “but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:2,5 niv). This was Paul’s standard for evangelism: “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
We should be knowledgeable about the Bible and about the reasons for our belief, and sometimes we need to explain those reasons. But the most compelling and effective story we can tell puts Christ in the center.
Father God, please use me in the lives of others.
Remind me to talk about who Jesus is and His life
and teachings. And not to be dragged into debates,
but to share Jesus’ amazing life.
The risen Christ is the reason for our witness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 08, 2014
The Faith to Persevere
Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10
Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.
God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Waiting For the Best - #7129
Thursday, May 8, 2014
I think there's like this five-year-old kid that comes out in everybody when they get to Disney World. I'm going to have to confess that the little boy inside of me is still alive and well when I'm there, even though it's been awhile since I've been there. I mean, we did enjoy the times when our family visited the Magic Kingdom together some years ago. We've got the memories, we've got the photos. And, you know, now the next generation is taking their family!
Now, it's good to get to places like that early. I mean, all the attractions are great, but you've got to wait for them, even though you probably don't want to spend your time just standing in long lines most of the time. One of the most exciting rides we used to take in the Magic Kingdom was called Space Mountain. It still is. It was one of our favorite things to do. But there was this warning you had to read before you took the ride. Something like this, "If you have a heart condition, bad back, ingrown toenail, or whatever, don't get on this ride."
If you do decide to take the ride, it's a wild ride through this outer space environment, in total darkness. So, you look at the line, and you see it's one of the longest lines in the park. You go, "How long is this wait?" They say, "About an hour." No! Are we going to wait an hour? We did, and we even went back other times. It was great! It was worth it! There were a lot of teenagers in that line, and you know they're not normally known for really being patient. It's true of all of us. You've got to wait for the best that they have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Waiting For the Best."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. There are only a few chapters, but there's a lot in it. You should look it up if you're not familiar with it. He told God's children back in that day that he was actually struggling with God's calling. He wanted justice. He's going, "God, why don't you stop the sin in our nation? How come it's taking so long?" And God says, "I'm going to answer your prayer in My time." Then the dreaded word in chapter 2, verse 3, "For the revelation awaits an appointed time." There's that word! It's a 'wait' word.
Habakkuk learns a beautiful lesson, because He says near the end of the book in chapter 3, verse 16, "I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior."
Habakkuk has learned a solid gold lesson about following the Lord. Doing God's best is a lot like riding the best ride at a place like Disney World. You have to wait to get the best. The Bible is full of instances where people couldn't wait for God's answer. Like Abraham. He goes with Hagar, his wife's handmaid. He cannot wait for the promised son to come through him and Sarah, and he causes a horrible situation. Ishmael comes along, and today the descendants of Isaac, who would later come as the son of Abraham and Sarah, and Ishmael the descendant of Abraham and Hagar, still today are fighting it out in the Middle East because Abraham couldn't wait.
Moses tried to deliver the Jews by killing an Egyptian. He had the right idea, "My people should go free." God agreed, but not that way. He had to wander in the wilderness for forty years because he acted too soon. He acted his way... tried it his way. Created a forty year mess. See, God's best always comes after a wait. Look, a baby takes nine months.
Suppose you need an answer, but you can't wait for it. How different the result could be if you could get an instant answer. Wait! You don't want a premature answer. You want God's full term. Maybe you're tired of waiting, but God's answer is worth the wait; it's the best. You may have spent a whole life waiting for a love you couldn't lose and a peace that will sustain you in every storm, and the assurance that when you die you will be in heaven.
Today God is coming your way with the offer of Jesus, His Son, who died to make all that happen. Who walked out of His grace to prove that He can. Maybe you've never had a day when you made Him your Savior. Maybe you've never opened your heart, your life, to Him. If you want to and you need to know how, would you visit with me at our website ANewStory.com. A lifetime of waiting for the love that could begin today.
All that stuff you have? It's not yours. And you know what else about all that stuff? It's not you! In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, "Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."
Heaven doesn't know you as the fellow with the nice suit or the woman with the big house. Heaven knows your heart. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Bible says the Lord looks at the heart. When God thinks of you, He may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but He doesn't think of your things.
Define yourself by your stuff, and you'll feel good when you have a lot and bad when you don't. Contentment comes when we can honestly say with Paul who said, "I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty" (Philippians 4:12).
From Traveling Light
Job 22
Eliphaz
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise person benefit him?
3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
6 You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.
7 You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land—
an honored man, living on it.
9 And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
10 That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
11 why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?
14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’
15 Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked have trod?
16 They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.’
21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
22 Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24 and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
28 What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Present Weakness and Resurrection Life
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Footnotes:
2 Corinthians 4:6 Gen. 1:3
Insight
Today’s reading showcases a remarkable spiritual reality concerning those who are resistant to the gospel. “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . should shine on them” (vv.3-4). The apostle Paul tells us that Satan, “the god of this age,” has produced a form of spiritual blindness that hinders one’s perception of the reality of Jesus Christ. Spiritual blindness can only be overcome by the light of Christ (v.6).
Talking About Jesus
By Dave Branon
I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. —1 Corinthians 2:2
Former major league baseball player Tony Graffanino tells of an ongoing ministry effort in a European country. Each year his organization holds a week-long baseball camp. During this week they also offer a daily Bible study. In past years, the leader tried to find reasoned ways to convince the campers that God exists so they would place their faith in Him. After about 13 years, they had seen only 3 people decide to follow Jesus.
Then they changed their approach, says Graffanino. Instead of “trying to present facts, or winning arguments for a debate,” they simply talked about “the amazing life and teachings of Jesus.” As a result, more campers came to listen, and more chose to follow Him.
The apostle Paul said that when we tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should set “forth the truth plainly. . . . We do not preach ourselves,” he said, “but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:2,5 niv). This was Paul’s standard for evangelism: “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
We should be knowledgeable about the Bible and about the reasons for our belief, and sometimes we need to explain those reasons. But the most compelling and effective story we can tell puts Christ in the center.
Father God, please use me in the lives of others.
Remind me to talk about who Jesus is and His life
and teachings. And not to be dragged into debates,
but to share Jesus’ amazing life.
The risen Christ is the reason for our witness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 08, 2014
The Faith to Persevere
Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10
Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.
God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Waiting For the Best - #7129
Thursday, May 8, 2014
I think there's like this five-year-old kid that comes out in everybody when they get to Disney World. I'm going to have to confess that the little boy inside of me is still alive and well when I'm there, even though it's been awhile since I've been there. I mean, we did enjoy the times when our family visited the Magic Kingdom together some years ago. We've got the memories, we've got the photos. And, you know, now the next generation is taking their family!
Now, it's good to get to places like that early. I mean, all the attractions are great, but you've got to wait for them, even though you probably don't want to spend your time just standing in long lines most of the time. One of the most exciting rides we used to take in the Magic Kingdom was called Space Mountain. It still is. It was one of our favorite things to do. But there was this warning you had to read before you took the ride. Something like this, "If you have a heart condition, bad back, ingrown toenail, or whatever, don't get on this ride."
If you do decide to take the ride, it's a wild ride through this outer space environment, in total darkness. So, you look at the line, and you see it's one of the longest lines in the park. You go, "How long is this wait?" They say, "About an hour." No! Are we going to wait an hour? We did, and we even went back other times. It was great! It was worth it! There were a lot of teenagers in that line, and you know they're not normally known for really being patient. It's true of all of us. You've got to wait for the best that they have.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Waiting For the Best."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. There are only a few chapters, but there's a lot in it. You should look it up if you're not familiar with it. He told God's children back in that day that he was actually struggling with God's calling. He wanted justice. He's going, "God, why don't you stop the sin in our nation? How come it's taking so long?" And God says, "I'm going to answer your prayer in My time." Then the dreaded word in chapter 2, verse 3, "For the revelation awaits an appointed time." There's that word! It's a 'wait' word.
Habakkuk learns a beautiful lesson, because He says near the end of the book in chapter 3, verse 16, "I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior."
Habakkuk has learned a solid gold lesson about following the Lord. Doing God's best is a lot like riding the best ride at a place like Disney World. You have to wait to get the best. The Bible is full of instances where people couldn't wait for God's answer. Like Abraham. He goes with Hagar, his wife's handmaid. He cannot wait for the promised son to come through him and Sarah, and he causes a horrible situation. Ishmael comes along, and today the descendants of Isaac, who would later come as the son of Abraham and Sarah, and Ishmael the descendant of Abraham and Hagar, still today are fighting it out in the Middle East because Abraham couldn't wait.
Moses tried to deliver the Jews by killing an Egyptian. He had the right idea, "My people should go free." God agreed, but not that way. He had to wander in the wilderness for forty years because he acted too soon. He acted his way... tried it his way. Created a forty year mess. See, God's best always comes after a wait. Look, a baby takes nine months.
Suppose you need an answer, but you can't wait for it. How different the result could be if you could get an instant answer. Wait! You don't want a premature answer. You want God's full term. Maybe you're tired of waiting, but God's answer is worth the wait; it's the best. You may have spent a whole life waiting for a love you couldn't lose and a peace that will sustain you in every storm, and the assurance that when you die you will be in heaven.
Today God is coming your way with the offer of Jesus, His Son, who died to make all that happen. Who walked out of His grace to prove that He can. Maybe you've never had a day when you made Him your Savior. Maybe you've never opened your heart, your life, to Him. If you want to and you need to know how, would you visit with me at our website ANewStory.com. A lifetime of waiting for the love that could begin today.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Matthew 11 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Want
Come with me to the world’s most oppressive prison. The name of the prison? You’ll see it over the entrance. WANT! The prison of want. They want something bigger. Nicer. Faster. Thinner. They want just one thing. One new job. One new car. One new spouse. They want just one. And when they have “one,” they’ll be happy. But then it happens. The new car smell passes. The new job gets old. The new spouse has bad habits.
Are you in prison? You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less. But there’s good news. You have a visitor—with a message that can get you parole. “I have a secret to tell you,” he whispers., “the secret of satisfaction.”
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want!” What you have in God is greater than what you don’t have in life!
From Traveling Light
Matthew 11
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus and John the Baptist
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.[a]
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’[c]
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,[d] and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Woe on Unrepentant Towns
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[e] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
The Father Revealed in the Son
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Footnotes:
Matthew 11:1 Greek in their towns
Matthew 11:5 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Matthew 11:10 Mal. 3:1
Matthew 11:12 Or been forcefully advancing
Matthew 11:23 That is, the realm of the dead
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 6:9 The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.
Insight
The key word in today’s passage is the word but (three times in verse 11). After listing the characteristics of those who will not “inherit the kingdom of God” (vv.9-10), Paul says, “such were some of you,” and then he adds the word but (v.11). Despite the Corinthians’ past, they had been washed, sanctified, and justified. No sinner is beyond receiving forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. Paul himself (the writer of the letters to the Corinthian church) says that he “was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man,” but “the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant” (1 Tim. 1:13-14).
My Kind Of People
By David H. Roper
Such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. —1 Corinthians 6:11
Years ago in a worship service, pastor Ray Stedman stepped to the pulpit and read the text for the day: “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that” (1 Cor. 6:9-11 nlt).
Then he looked up, a bemused smile on his face, and said, “I’m curious: How many of you have one or more of these sins in your background? If so, will you stand?”
There was a young man there who had never been in a church before. He had recently been saved at a Billy Graham crusade and came with fear and trembling to church that Sunday, not knowing what he would find. He later told me that when he heard the pastor’s question, he looked around to see if anyone would stand. At first no one did, but then most of the congregation was on their feet. He said to himself, “These are my kind of people!”
We can all find ourselves in Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians. But when we confess our sin and accept the gift of eternal life paid for by the death of Jesus, we become a new creation saved by grace (Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:17).
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Building For Eternity
Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28
Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).
The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hope in the Darkest Hour - #7128
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
It was a dark cloud over the last Super Bowl Sunday, because the news had rocked Hollywood. It rocked Broadway, and then countless everyday folks who wouldn't forget the compelling characters that this actor had created on the screen. Academy Award-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, found dead in his apartment of a drug overdose at the age of 46.
Social media was filled with grieving reactions of a lot of stars. Words like "devastated" and "heartbroken" showed up over and over. I mean, after all, Hoffman was considered one of the most gifted, most admired actors in show business. And the sadness was compounded by the many reminders that he was so talented, so young, and the circumstances of his death so wrenchingly tragic.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope in the Darkest Hour."
The autopsy revealed the exact cause of death. But there is no autopsy for a human soul to find out what went wrong there. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman had admitted his addictions. Those closest to him said he had beaten those problems in rehab. On that Sunday, drugs allegedly killed him.
Comedian and actor, Jim Carrey - who is no stranger to success - went beyond simple condolences in his response to Seymour's death. He said, "Dear Philip, a beautiful, beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much." I guess you don't have to be a star to know what he's talking about. So many people live in quiet desperation, closer to the edge than anybody knows.
Actor Val Kilmer suggested in his reaction that "addiction comes from trying to escape the pain of living. We all struggle with this." The escapes are many: drugs or alcohol for some, an affair for others, pornography for still others, or just running into a relentless schedule or a consuming workload.
But that "pain of living" afflicts virtually all of us humans. Sadly, escape is never an answer. Escape always seems to ultimately run into a wall. And wherever you go, you take you with you. But Philip Seymour Hoffman's own words are important to hear in the midst of that shock and mourning that followed his death. He told the New York Times: "I try to live my life in such a way that I don't have profound regrets. That's probably why I work too much. I don't want to feel like I missed something important."
Look how many people slip away from this life, knowing that they have missed something important, and never knowing what it was. Like a source of untouchable peace that would sustain me when that "noise" becomes "too much." Or a source of strength that enables me to overcome "that pain of living." Rather than escaping into something that solves nothing and just creates more pain. Or a hope so strong that not even the darkest of days can erase it.
Where can I find the power to conquer my inner darkness when there's no scriptwriter who's going to write a happy ending? I'm not going to find it in me. It's not going to be in my greatest achievements or my personal strength; even my deepest relationships. Life is too hard, my resources too finite to find ultimate answers by looking in myself. Or around at the people close to me.
Now, our word for today from the Word of God, where the answer really is, the hope is, Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 12 that describes people being without hope and without God in the world. If I do not have a personal relationship with the God I was made by and made for, I am without hope. But then it says, "In Christ Jesus, you who were once far away..." We've got a wall between us and God. "...you've been brought near through the blood of Christ." Jesus died to tear down that wall.
And then it says, "He Himself is our peace." Peace is not a pill. Peace is not an escape. Peace is a person. His name is Jesus. And the question I ask you today, "In the midst of the storm in your life, is do you know Him? Do you belong to Him?" If there's never been a day when you've begun a relationship with Him, make this that day.
You say, "I need to know how." Would you go to our website and let me help you know how? It's ANewStory.com. The darkness doesn't have to win. Not with this light that nothing can extinguish.
Come with me to the world’s most oppressive prison. The name of the prison? You’ll see it over the entrance. WANT! The prison of want. They want something bigger. Nicer. Faster. Thinner. They want just one thing. One new job. One new car. One new spouse. They want just one. And when they have “one,” they’ll be happy. But then it happens. The new car smell passes. The new job gets old. The new spouse has bad habits.
Are you in prison? You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less. But there’s good news. You have a visitor—with a message that can get you parole. “I have a secret to tell you,” he whispers., “the secret of satisfaction.”
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want!” What you have in God is greater than what you don’t have in life!
From Traveling Light
Matthew 11
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus and John the Baptist
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.[a]
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’[c]
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,[d] and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Woe on Unrepentant Towns
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[e] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
The Father Revealed in the Son
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Footnotes:
Matthew 11:1 Greek in their towns
Matthew 11:5 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Matthew 11:10 Mal. 3:1
Matthew 11:12 Or been forcefully advancing
Matthew 11:23 That is, the realm of the dead
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 6:9 The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts.
Insight
The key word in today’s passage is the word but (three times in verse 11). After listing the characteristics of those who will not “inherit the kingdom of God” (vv.9-10), Paul says, “such were some of you,” and then he adds the word but (v.11). Despite the Corinthians’ past, they had been washed, sanctified, and justified. No sinner is beyond receiving forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. Paul himself (the writer of the letters to the Corinthian church) says that he “was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man,” but “the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant” (1 Tim. 1:13-14).
My Kind Of People
By David H. Roper
Such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. —1 Corinthians 6:11
Years ago in a worship service, pastor Ray Stedman stepped to the pulpit and read the text for the day: “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that” (1 Cor. 6:9-11 nlt).
Then he looked up, a bemused smile on his face, and said, “I’m curious: How many of you have one or more of these sins in your background? If so, will you stand?”
There was a young man there who had never been in a church before. He had recently been saved at a Billy Graham crusade and came with fear and trembling to church that Sunday, not knowing what he would find. He later told me that when he heard the pastor’s question, he looked around to see if anyone would stand. At first no one did, but then most of the congregation was on their feet. He said to himself, “These are my kind of people!”
We can all find ourselves in Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians. But when we confess our sin and accept the gift of eternal life paid for by the death of Jesus, we become a new creation saved by grace (Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:17).
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Building For Eternity
Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28
Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).
The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Hope in the Darkest Hour - #7128
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
It was a dark cloud over the last Super Bowl Sunday, because the news had rocked Hollywood. It rocked Broadway, and then countless everyday folks who wouldn't forget the compelling characters that this actor had created on the screen. Academy Award-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, found dead in his apartment of a drug overdose at the age of 46.
Social media was filled with grieving reactions of a lot of stars. Words like "devastated" and "heartbroken" showed up over and over. I mean, after all, Hoffman was considered one of the most gifted, most admired actors in show business. And the sadness was compounded by the many reminders that he was so talented, so young, and the circumstances of his death so wrenchingly tragic.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope in the Darkest Hour."
The autopsy revealed the exact cause of death. But there is no autopsy for a human soul to find out what went wrong there. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman had admitted his addictions. Those closest to him said he had beaten those problems in rehab. On that Sunday, drugs allegedly killed him.
Comedian and actor, Jim Carrey - who is no stranger to success - went beyond simple condolences in his response to Seymour's death. He said, "Dear Philip, a beautiful, beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much." I guess you don't have to be a star to know what he's talking about. So many people live in quiet desperation, closer to the edge than anybody knows.
Actor Val Kilmer suggested in his reaction that "addiction comes from trying to escape the pain of living. We all struggle with this." The escapes are many: drugs or alcohol for some, an affair for others, pornography for still others, or just running into a relentless schedule or a consuming workload.
But that "pain of living" afflicts virtually all of us humans. Sadly, escape is never an answer. Escape always seems to ultimately run into a wall. And wherever you go, you take you with you. But Philip Seymour Hoffman's own words are important to hear in the midst of that shock and mourning that followed his death. He told the New York Times: "I try to live my life in such a way that I don't have profound regrets. That's probably why I work too much. I don't want to feel like I missed something important."
Look how many people slip away from this life, knowing that they have missed something important, and never knowing what it was. Like a source of untouchable peace that would sustain me when that "noise" becomes "too much." Or a source of strength that enables me to overcome "that pain of living." Rather than escaping into something that solves nothing and just creates more pain. Or a hope so strong that not even the darkest of days can erase it.
Where can I find the power to conquer my inner darkness when there's no scriptwriter who's going to write a happy ending? I'm not going to find it in me. It's not going to be in my greatest achievements or my personal strength; even my deepest relationships. Life is too hard, my resources too finite to find ultimate answers by looking in myself. Or around at the people close to me.
Now, our word for today from the Word of God, where the answer really is, the hope is, Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 12 that describes people being without hope and without God in the world. If I do not have a personal relationship with the God I was made by and made for, I am without hope. But then it says, "In Christ Jesus, you who were once far away..." We've got a wall between us and God. "...you've been brought near through the blood of Christ." Jesus died to tear down that wall.
And then it says, "He Himself is our peace." Peace is not a pill. Peace is not an escape. Peace is a person. His name is Jesus. And the question I ask you today, "In the midst of the storm in your life, is do you know Him? Do you belong to Him?" If there's never been a day when you've begun a relationship with Him, make this that day.
You say, "I need to know how." Would you go to our website and let me help you know how? It's ANewStory.com. The darkness doesn't have to win. Not with this light that nothing can extinguish.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Job 21 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Lord is My Shepherd
We want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the best way. Forget God’s way. We want to do things our way. And according Isaiah 53:6, that’s precisely our problem. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.”
Sheep are dumb. Ever see sheep tricks? Know anyone who has ever taught his sheep to roll over? No, sheep are just too dumb. Instead of “the Lord is my shepherd,” couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor than sheep? How about “The Lord is my commander in chief, and I am his warrior!”
When David, who was a warrior, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” And in so doing he proudly implied, “I am His sheep.”
From Traveling Light
Job 21
Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “Is my complaint directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not on them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.[c]
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;
let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind
when their allotted months come to an end?
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?
23 One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
24 well nourished in body,[d]
bones rich with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,
the tents where the wicked lived?’
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,
that they are delivered from[e] the day of wrath?
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[f] before them.
34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”
Job 21:13 Or in an instant
Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 4:20-27
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
Insight
The book of Proverbs had several contributing authors, but most of the wisdom found here was written by King Solomon. In the opening nine chapters, Solomon specifically instructs his son (and sometimes his sons) regarding the wisdom that would help him engage life in a meaningful way. Some of the themes of these chapters include the value of wisdom, the necessity of faith, the peril of deceitful women, and the danger of foolishness. Beginning in chapter 10, the book becomes a collection of general wise sayings.
Heart Matters
By Poh Fang Chia
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. —Proverbs 4:23
Our hearts pump at a rate of 70-75 beats per minute. Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back. A healthy heart can do amazing things. Conversely, if our heart malfunctions, our whole body shuts down.
The same could be said of our “spiritual heart.” In Scripture, the word heart represents the center of our emotions, thinking, and reasoning. It is the “command center” of our life.
So when we read, “Keep your heart with all diligence” (Prov. 4:23), it makes a lot of sense. But it’s difficult advice to keep. Life will always make demands upon our time and energy that cry out for immediate attention. By comparison, taking time to hear God’s Word and to do what it says may not shout quite so loudly. We may not notice the consequences of neglect right away, but over time it may give way to a spiritual heart attack.
I’m thankful God has given us His Word. We need His help not to neglect it, but to use it to align our hearts with His every day.
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day. —Garrison
To keep spiritually fit, consult the Great Physician.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 05, 2014
Liberty and the Standards of Jesus
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . . —Galatians 5:1
A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand—”Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.
Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Young People Leading the Charge - #7127
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
It's really hard for me to drive by Civil War battlefields without stopping. I'm a history buff, and I like to stop at those things! Now, when I say Civil War, I might have to explain that to some of my friends, because if you grew up in the South, they say there was nothing civil about it. It was the War Between the States. At least that's what they taught my wife at her school. One of the battlefields that I've driven by a lot is in New Market, Virginia.
I've had cause to drive by there several times on other trips. I finally had the opportunity to stop and find out what went on there. It was a time of desperate days for the confederacy. It was 1864, and Ulysses S. Grant was making an all-out push to try to take the Shenandoah Valley, and then Richmond, the capitol of the confederacy. And the Union Army had failed to do that five times.
One part of the army was to move down the Shenandoah Valley, which is where New Market is. Now, General Breckenridge was in charge of some confederate troops. He was a former Vice President of the United States believe it or not; now a Confederate Commander. He ordered the students from Virginia Military Institute (VMI), to march three days and help resist the Union advance. They hadn't used students before to be in the army, but these were pretty desperate days. There were a lot of teenagers in that army. They said, "They'll hear from the institute today." You know what? They did. At a very decisive moment in the battle, these kids charged into the Union lines and drove them back. The South won the battle at New Market that day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Young People Leading the Charge."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2:17. A very exciting verse. God says that the greatest spirit outpouring in history will take place just before Jesus comes back. We could be getting close to it now. Here's what it says: "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all people." I want you to notice next who's in the lead in this great spiritual offensive. "Your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams."
Now, you know what this sounds like to me? Young people will be helping to lead the last great Holy Spirit movement, with the older generation sharing their vision and cheering them on. Now, if you're young, it's time for you to step up to spiritual responsibility. Haven't you been a taker long enough, drinking in all the Christian stuff? Isn't it time you became a giver? You've gone to the meetings long enough. You need to get a mission, not just go to a lot more meetings. You need to be making a difference.
It's time for some young people who will commit themselves to tell about Jesus to the people who need to know that in order to be in heaven with you. You need to get involved in some needs in your town. Don't make your life a "selfie" life. There's so many needs around. Go meet those needs in your town in Jesus' name. This isn't any time to be sitting around waiting for someone to entertain you in a concert or a retreat or conference or Christian meeting.
I mean, you'd be insulted if someone tried to get a baby sitter for you at your age, right? You're too old to be spiritually "baby-sat". So don't wait for an adult to get young people praying. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to plan an outreach. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to start a Christian club or to start a mission emphasis. You do it.
If you're older than young, like I am, be sure you're doing all you can to create a climate and to create a church where young people are valued, and trusted, and challenged. Over two-thirds of the people who ever come to Christ do it by the age of 18. The church has no more urgent priority mission than its' young people and the young people around your church who don't even know about Christ yet.
So, if you're tuned in to the General's final strategy, you're either going to be a young person on the front lines or an older person encouraging young people to be in spiritual leadership. The most important spiritual battles in history are shaping up right now, right before our eyes, and the outcome may very well be determined by young people leading that charge.
We want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the best way. Forget God’s way. We want to do things our way. And according Isaiah 53:6, that’s precisely our problem. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.”
Sheep are dumb. Ever see sheep tricks? Know anyone who has ever taught his sheep to roll over? No, sheep are just too dumb. Instead of “the Lord is my shepherd,” couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor than sheep? How about “The Lord is my commander in chief, and I am his warrior!”
When David, who was a warrior, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” And in so doing he proudly implied, “I am His sheep.”
From Traveling Light
Job 21
Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “Is my complaint directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not on them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.[c]
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;
let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind
when their allotted months come to an end?
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?
23 One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
24 well nourished in body,[d]
bones rich with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,
the tents where the wicked lived?’
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,
that they are delivered from[e] the day of wrath?
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[f] before them.
34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”
Job 21:13 Or in an instant
Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 4:20-27
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
Insight
The book of Proverbs had several contributing authors, but most of the wisdom found here was written by King Solomon. In the opening nine chapters, Solomon specifically instructs his son (and sometimes his sons) regarding the wisdom that would help him engage life in a meaningful way. Some of the themes of these chapters include the value of wisdom, the necessity of faith, the peril of deceitful women, and the danger of foolishness. Beginning in chapter 10, the book becomes a collection of general wise sayings.
Heart Matters
By Poh Fang Chia
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. —Proverbs 4:23
Our hearts pump at a rate of 70-75 beats per minute. Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back. A healthy heart can do amazing things. Conversely, if our heart malfunctions, our whole body shuts down.
The same could be said of our “spiritual heart.” In Scripture, the word heart represents the center of our emotions, thinking, and reasoning. It is the “command center” of our life.
So when we read, “Keep your heart with all diligence” (Prov. 4:23), it makes a lot of sense. But it’s difficult advice to keep. Life will always make demands upon our time and energy that cry out for immediate attention. By comparison, taking time to hear God’s Word and to do what it says may not shout quite so loudly. We may not notice the consequences of neglect right away, but over time it may give way to a spiritual heart attack.
I’m thankful God has given us His Word. We need His help not to neglect it, but to use it to align our hearts with His every day.
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day. —Garrison
To keep spiritually fit, consult the Great Physician.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 05, 2014
Liberty and the Standards of Jesus
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . . —Galatians 5:1
A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand—”Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.
Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Young People Leading the Charge - #7127
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
It's really hard for me to drive by Civil War battlefields without stopping. I'm a history buff, and I like to stop at those things! Now, when I say Civil War, I might have to explain that to some of my friends, because if you grew up in the South, they say there was nothing civil about it. It was the War Between the States. At least that's what they taught my wife at her school. One of the battlefields that I've driven by a lot is in New Market, Virginia.
I've had cause to drive by there several times on other trips. I finally had the opportunity to stop and find out what went on there. It was a time of desperate days for the confederacy. It was 1864, and Ulysses S. Grant was making an all-out push to try to take the Shenandoah Valley, and then Richmond, the capitol of the confederacy. And the Union Army had failed to do that five times.
One part of the army was to move down the Shenandoah Valley, which is where New Market is. Now, General Breckenridge was in charge of some confederate troops. He was a former Vice President of the United States believe it or not; now a Confederate Commander. He ordered the students from Virginia Military Institute (VMI), to march three days and help resist the Union advance. They hadn't used students before to be in the army, but these were pretty desperate days. There were a lot of teenagers in that army. They said, "They'll hear from the institute today." You know what? They did. At a very decisive moment in the battle, these kids charged into the Union lines and drove them back. The South won the battle at New Market that day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Young People Leading the Charge."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2:17. A very exciting verse. God says that the greatest spirit outpouring in history will take place just before Jesus comes back. We could be getting close to it now. Here's what it says: "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all people." I want you to notice next who's in the lead in this great spiritual offensive. "Your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams."
Now, you know what this sounds like to me? Young people will be helping to lead the last great Holy Spirit movement, with the older generation sharing their vision and cheering them on. Now, if you're young, it's time for you to step up to spiritual responsibility. Haven't you been a taker long enough, drinking in all the Christian stuff? Isn't it time you became a giver? You've gone to the meetings long enough. You need to get a mission, not just go to a lot more meetings. You need to be making a difference.
It's time for some young people who will commit themselves to tell about Jesus to the people who need to know that in order to be in heaven with you. You need to get involved in some needs in your town. Don't make your life a "selfie" life. There's so many needs around. Go meet those needs in your town in Jesus' name. This isn't any time to be sitting around waiting for someone to entertain you in a concert or a retreat or conference or Christian meeting.
I mean, you'd be insulted if someone tried to get a baby sitter for you at your age, right? You're too old to be spiritually "baby-sat". So don't wait for an adult to get young people praying. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to plan an outreach. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to start a Christian club or to start a mission emphasis. You do it.
If you're older than young, like I am, be sure you're doing all you can to create a climate and to create a church where young people are valued, and trusted, and challenged. Over two-thirds of the people who ever come to Christ do it by the age of 18. The church has no more urgent priority mission than its' young people and the young people around your church who don't even know about Christ yet.
So, if you're tuned in to the General's final strategy, you're either going to be a young person on the front lines or an older person encouraging young people to be in spiritual leadership. The most important spiritual battles in history are shaping up right now, right before our eyes, and the outcome may very well be determined by young people leading that charge.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Job 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:
God—Our Shepherd
God, our Shepherd, doesn’t check the weather—He makes it! He doesn’t defy gravity—He created it. Jesus said, “God is Spirit.” He has no limitations. Unchanging. Uncaused. Ungoverned. Don’t we need this kind of shepherd?
You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god. A god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100-billion stars in our galaxy, and 100-billion galaxies in the universe. A God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain. And you have one. He is your shepherd!
From Traveling Light
Job 20
Zophar
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.
3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since mankind[a] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
6 Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.
10 His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16 He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.
23 When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows on him.
24 Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;
26 total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.
28 A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath.
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 9:23-26
This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[a] For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Footnotes:
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads
Insight
Circumcision was the external sign that the Israelites were God’s covenantal people (Gen. 17:10-14). But circumcision was not exclusive to them, for it was widely practiced in the ancient world, including among the Egyptian and Canaanite peoples (Jer. 9:26). Although the Jews knew it was a symbol of their covenant with God, few, if any, understood the need for a spiritual operation on the heart (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; Acts 7:51). A humble and obedient heart was what God wanted from His people (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 30:6; Jer. 9:24; Rom. 2:29). God warned that He would punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit (Jer. 9:25).
Who Gets The Credit?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me. —Jeremiah 9:24
Chris Langan has an IQ higher than Albert Einstein’s. Moustafa Ismail has 31-inch biceps and can lift 600 pounds. Bill Gates is estimated to be worth billions. Those who have extraordinary abilities or possessions might be tempted to think more highly of themselves than they should. But we don’t have to be wildly smart, strong, or wealthy to want to take credit for our achievements. Any size of accomplishment carries with it this question: Who will get the credit?
During a time of judgment, God spoke to the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah. He said: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches” (Jer. 9:23). Rather, “Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me” (v.24). God wanted His people to prize Him and His excellence above anything else.
If we allow praise to inflate our self-image, we’re forgetting that “every good gift . . . comes down from the Father” (James 1:17). It’s better to give God the glory—not only because it protects our hearts from pride but also because He rightfully deserves it. He is God, the One “who does great things . . . marvelous things without number” (Job 5:9).
Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action;
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word. —Whiddington
We were created to give God the glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 05, 2014
Judgment and the Love of God
The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God . . . —1 Peter 4:17
The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.
If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Four Lessons From the Search for the Missing Plane - #7126
Monday, May 5, 2014
Where is Malaysia Air 370 and its 239 passengers? That question obsessed people around the world and in the news for day after day after day. I can't remember a time when so many nations (I think there were 26 at some point) mounted such a huge search-and-rescue effort across such a wide swath of the world. It was incredible. Why?
Well, to search for and, if possible, try to save the people who were lost.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Lessons From the Search for the Missing Plane."
As I was watching the unfolding news...and praying at that time, God seemed to say to me, "There's something else I want you to see here, Ron." Suddenly I was hearing in my heart the words of Jesus. He said, "I've come to seek and to save what is lost" (Luke 19:10).
Then it hit me. Jesus has launched a search-and-rescue force from every corner of the globe to seek and save hijacked lives heading for an unthinkable destination. His worldwide rescue force is His Church; His people from "every nation, tribe...and language" (Revelation 7:9).
As ships and planes and computers were searching for that missing plane, they were looking by "grids." In other words, each one had its own assigned stretch of ocean or land to cover. That's like the rescue forces of Christ. Each of us who follows Christ has our assigned "grid." And it's the spiritually dying people who are in our own circle of influence. There's so much ground to cover; so many eternities in the balance. The only way every unbeliever is going to have a chance at Jesus is if every believer is a rescuer.
Now our word for today from the Word of God asks these haunting questions in Romans 10:14. "How can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?" The life-saving mission of my Jesus compels me to consider those questions in light of the people I know. "How can __________ hear about Him (in my case) unless Ron tells them?"
Neighbors. Coworkers. Facebook friends. Family. Social acquaintances. They're the "grid" where the Great Rescuer has assigned me and you to "seek and to save." And the desperate search that dominated our headlines for that missing plane has a lot to teach us about our rescue assignment from Jesus.
1. Seek them - We can't expect those who are lost to show up where we are. We have to go where they are, taking that eternity-changing news of Jesus outside the walls of the church. Showing up with Jesus at the office, the gym, the club, the store, the game, and the hospital.
2. Deploy every means possible. They put out ships and planes and computers to find the missing plane - every conceivable tool for the mission. We who know the eternal stakes of our life-saving mission can do no less. Social networks. Websites. Acts of kindness. Fervent prayer. Intentional relationships. Paul said, "That by all possible means, I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:23).
3. Work together - The Malaysian Air search depended on people from different backgrounds coming together for a cause larger than their differences. Our failure to do so as the rescue force of Jesus is costing lives.
4. Time is lives - That's what a Chinese official said about delays in that search. You know, that must echo God's heart as His rescuers focus on themselves while lost people just keep slipping away into an awful eternity.
I answer and you answer to the Final Orders of Jesus - as does every child of God. "Go and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere" (Mark 16:15, NLT). It's the passion of His heart. It must be mine.
God—Our Shepherd
God, our Shepherd, doesn’t check the weather—He makes it! He doesn’t defy gravity—He created it. Jesus said, “God is Spirit.” He has no limitations. Unchanging. Uncaused. Ungoverned. Don’t we need this kind of shepherd?
You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god. A god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100-billion stars in our galaxy, and 100-billion galaxies in the universe. A God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain. And you have one. He is your shepherd!
From Traveling Light
Job 20
Zophar
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.
3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since mankind[a] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
6 Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.
10 His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16 He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.
23 When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows on him.
24 Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;
26 total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.
28 A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath.
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Jeremiah 9:23-26
This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[a] For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Footnotes:
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads
Insight
Circumcision was the external sign that the Israelites were God’s covenantal people (Gen. 17:10-14). But circumcision was not exclusive to them, for it was widely practiced in the ancient world, including among the Egyptian and Canaanite peoples (Jer. 9:26). Although the Jews knew it was a symbol of their covenant with God, few, if any, understood the need for a spiritual operation on the heart (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; Acts 7:51). A humble and obedient heart was what God wanted from His people (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 30:6; Jer. 9:24; Rom. 2:29). God warned that He would punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit (Jer. 9:25).
Who Gets The Credit?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me. —Jeremiah 9:24
Chris Langan has an IQ higher than Albert Einstein’s. Moustafa Ismail has 31-inch biceps and can lift 600 pounds. Bill Gates is estimated to be worth billions. Those who have extraordinary abilities or possessions might be tempted to think more highly of themselves than they should. But we don’t have to be wildly smart, strong, or wealthy to want to take credit for our achievements. Any size of accomplishment carries with it this question: Who will get the credit?
During a time of judgment, God spoke to the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah. He said: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches” (Jer. 9:23). Rather, “Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me” (v.24). God wanted His people to prize Him and His excellence above anything else.
If we allow praise to inflate our self-image, we’re forgetting that “every good gift . . . comes down from the Father” (James 1:17). It’s better to give God the glory—not only because it protects our hearts from pride but also because He rightfully deserves it. He is God, the One “who does great things . . . marvelous things without number” (Job 5:9).
Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action;
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word. —Whiddington
We were created to give God the glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 05, 2014
Judgment and the Love of God
The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God . . . —1 Peter 4:17
The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.
If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Four Lessons From the Search for the Missing Plane - #7126
Monday, May 5, 2014
Where is Malaysia Air 370 and its 239 passengers? That question obsessed people around the world and in the news for day after day after day. I can't remember a time when so many nations (I think there were 26 at some point) mounted such a huge search-and-rescue effort across such a wide swath of the world. It was incredible. Why?
Well, to search for and, if possible, try to save the people who were lost.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Lessons From the Search for the Missing Plane."
As I was watching the unfolding news...and praying at that time, God seemed to say to me, "There's something else I want you to see here, Ron." Suddenly I was hearing in my heart the words of Jesus. He said, "I've come to seek and to save what is lost" (Luke 19:10).
Then it hit me. Jesus has launched a search-and-rescue force from every corner of the globe to seek and save hijacked lives heading for an unthinkable destination. His worldwide rescue force is His Church; His people from "every nation, tribe...and language" (Revelation 7:9).
As ships and planes and computers were searching for that missing plane, they were looking by "grids." In other words, each one had its own assigned stretch of ocean or land to cover. That's like the rescue forces of Christ. Each of us who follows Christ has our assigned "grid." And it's the spiritually dying people who are in our own circle of influence. There's so much ground to cover; so many eternities in the balance. The only way every unbeliever is going to have a chance at Jesus is if every believer is a rescuer.
Now our word for today from the Word of God asks these haunting questions in Romans 10:14. "How can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?" The life-saving mission of my Jesus compels me to consider those questions in light of the people I know. "How can __________ hear about Him (in my case) unless Ron tells them?"
Neighbors. Coworkers. Facebook friends. Family. Social acquaintances. They're the "grid" where the Great Rescuer has assigned me and you to "seek and to save." And the desperate search that dominated our headlines for that missing plane has a lot to teach us about our rescue assignment from Jesus.
1. Seek them - We can't expect those who are lost to show up where we are. We have to go where they are, taking that eternity-changing news of Jesus outside the walls of the church. Showing up with Jesus at the office, the gym, the club, the store, the game, and the hospital.
2. Deploy every means possible. They put out ships and planes and computers to find the missing plane - every conceivable tool for the mission. We who know the eternal stakes of our life-saving mission can do no less. Social networks. Websites. Acts of kindness. Fervent prayer. Intentional relationships. Paul said, "That by all possible means, I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:23).
3. Work together - The Malaysian Air search depended on people from different backgrounds coming together for a cause larger than their differences. Our failure to do so as the rescue force of Jesus is costing lives.
4. Time is lives - That's what a Chinese official said about delays in that search. You know, that must echo God's heart as His rescuers focus on themselves while lost people just keep slipping away into an awful eternity.
I answer and you answer to the Final Orders of Jesus - as does every child of God. "Go and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere" (Mark 16:15, NLT). It's the passion of His heart. It must be mine.
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