Max Lucado Daily: Doing What Comes Naturally
My child's feelings are hurt. I tell her she's special. My child is afraid. I won't go to sleep until she is secure. I'm not a hero. I'm a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps. As a father, I can tell you those moments are the sweetest in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.
If I know that one of the privileges of a father is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me? Do I think he was just being poetic when he asked if the birds of the air and the grass of the field have a worry? And if they don't, do I think God will? Why don't I let my Father do for me what I'm more than willing to do for my children? Good question.
From The Applause of Heaven
A psalm of David.
1 Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
9 For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.
10 Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the godly;
they snarl at them in defiance.
13 But the Lord just laughs,
for he sees their day of judgment coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.
18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.
20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field—
they will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
22 Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,
but those he curses will die.
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
25 Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
26 The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
and you will live in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and he will never abandon the godly.
He will keep them safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will die.
29 The godly will possess the land
and will live there forever.
30 The godly offer good counsel;
they teach right from wrong.
31 They have made God’s law their own,
so they will never slip from his path.
32 The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
looking for an excuse to kill them.
33 But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.
34 Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen wicked and ruthless people
flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
36 But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
37 Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
38 But the rebellious will be destroyed;
they have no future.
39 The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.
Footnotes:
37 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each stanza begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 21, 2015
Read: 1 Kings 19:19-21
The Call of Elisha
19 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.”
21 So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.
INSIGHT:
It is often difficult to understand the significance of some events in Scripture without a knowledge of the cultural context. Today’s story of Elijah and Elisha is an example of this. Two elements that carry significance are the placing of the cloak on Elisha (19:19 niv) and the slaughtering of the oxen to feed the people (v. 21). The placing of the cloak represented a significant calling. A person could not simply choose to be Elijah’s apprentice; that person was chosen and it was a great honor. The slaughtering of the oxen, the burning of the plowing equipment, and the feeding of the people signified a deliberate leaving of Elisha’s former life to follow Elijah. It was a public statement of Elisha’s new identity. J.R. Hudberg
Continuing with Christ
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25
As a child, my favorite week of the summer was the one I spent at a Christian youth camp. At the end of the week, I’d sit elbow-to-elbow with friends in front of an enormous bonfire. There, we would share what we had learned about God and the Bible and sing. One song I still remember focused on deciding to follow Jesus. The chorus contained an important phrase: “no turning back.”
When Elisha decided to follow the prophet Elijah, Elisha did something incredible that made it difficult, impossible really, for him to return to his prior occupation of farming. After going home and having a farewell banquet, Elisha “took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them” (1 Kings 19:21). Leaving his way of life, he burned up his plowing equipment. He roasted the freshly butchered meat over the blaze and fed everyone present. Then “[Elisha] arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant” (v. 21).
Nothing compares to what we gain when we follow Jesus.
Giving ourselves to God, who deserves our devotion, often comes with a price. At times, it means making difficult decisions about relationships, finances, and living arrangements. However, nothing compares with what we gain when we continue on with Christ. Jesus said, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25).
Father, help me to see if there’s something You want me to leave behind to follow You completely.
Jesus is looking for fulltime followers.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, August 21, 2015
The Ministry of the Unnoticed
Blessed are the poor in spirit… —Matthew 5:3
The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. “Blessed are the poor in spirit….” This literally means, “Blessed are the paupers.” Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s strength of will or the beauty of his character— things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, “Make a decision for Jesus Christ,” places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, “Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom.” I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness— I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.
The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord. “He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.
Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz. into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 664 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 21, 2015
Approachable Royalty - #7465
Princess Diana was what they called the People's Princess. I think that's a fair name for her. She fascinated the masses. Her life with the Royal Family was well documented and well followed; still talked about. It began with the fairy tale romance where they didn't live happily ever after. And then her struggles being a Royal, and then the awful night in a tunnel in Paris when the princess died. And then there was the unexpected, unprecedented outpouring of love and respect for her.
She ushered in an era of new expectations for British royalty and how they should act. People suddenly wanted a Queen and a Prince who showed their feelings publicly. They loved Diana because she touched people that they thought royals never touched. She interacted face-to-face with the poor and the hurting. And when she was gone, people were almost demanding public tears from the Royal family. People today want a leader who feels, who understands, who cares.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Approachable Royalty."
There is something in the human heart that's drawn to someone who is very powerful but who cares very deeply. Our word for today from the Word of God is John 1:3 and it speaks of Jesus Christ as "the Word", because He embodies everything God wants to say to us.
It says, "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made." We're talking here about the One who created every atom, every galaxy, every person who's ever lived. Talk about Royalty! This is the Sovereign of the Universe. The one the "Hallelujah Chorus" calls (in the Bible's words; it just uses the Bible's words)"King of kings" "Lord of lords."
Now, John 1:14. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." Did He ever! You were probably born in a hospital. He chose to be born in a stable. You probably own at least a few things. His only possession at His death was a robe they gambled for. You probably have a roof over your head. Jesus was essentially homeless. This one the Bible calls "Savior", He lived your pain, your loneliness, the betrayal, the abuse, the attacks, the dying. How could the King of all kings be more approachable?
But maybe He hasn't seemed that way to you. Somehow, the experiences of your life have made you feel that God is far way, or mad at you or unconcerned. Maybe you've got the Heavenly Father confused with what your earthly father was like. Or you've settled for the coldness of religion instead of experiencing the warmth of a relationship with your Creator.
Jesus is not only approachable royalty, He is royalty who approaches you; who's been searching for you, reaching out to you with nail-pierced hands. There's a reason the King became one of us, because only one of us could die for us. And someone had to die for the sinning we've done or we would have to pay the awful death penalty that we deserve. That is what Jesus did, and that's how much He loves you.
All these years, there's been this hole in your heart that could only be filled by someone who was very powerful, powerful enough to conquer death; the someone who cares very much, enough to die for you. And now this Jesus is calling you. You could probably sense the tug in your heart. It's not me. That's Him. I can't go there. He's calling you to put your total trust in Him to be your Savior from your sin. To forgive what you've done and to heal what's been done to you.
Don't you want to start this relationship with the One you were created for? Well, tell Jesus that right now. And let us help you find your way to Him; to know that you belong to Him. Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com. Or you can text us at 442-244-WORD.
The King, the Savior has come very close to you so you could belong to Him forever. Would you reach for His hand while He's close?
Friday, August 21, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Psalm 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Clear Message
As long as Jesus is one of many options, He is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. As long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him because Jesus won't be taken half-heartedly.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn. . ." (Matthew 5:4). When you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then do as Jesus said to do. "Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). And he's waiting for you in the midst of the storm!
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 36
For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.[a]
They have no fear of God at all.
2 In their blind conceit,
they cannot see how wicked they really are.
3 Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.
They refuse to act wisely or do good.
4 They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.
Their actions are never good.
They make no attempt to turn from evil.
5 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
9 For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see.
10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
give justice to those with honest hearts.
11 Don’t let the proud trample me
or the wicked push me around.
12 Look! Those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down, never to rise again.
Footnotes:
36:1 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version, which read in his heart. Masoretic Text reads in my heart.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Read: Luke 10:30-37
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[a] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[b] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Footnotes:
10:32 Greek A Levite.
10:35 Greek two denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
INSIGHT:
Samaritans lived in the territory between Galilee (to the north) and Judea (to the south). Historically, they were Jews who, when conquered by the Assyrians, intermarried with their conquerors and lost their ethnic purity as Jews. For this reason Samaritans were despised by Jews who would not even travel through Samaria, choosing instead to travel around that land. This makes it stunning that Jesus would choose a hated Samaritan as the hero of this parable and an example of one who was a neighbor. Bill Crowder
After a battle with cancer, Marion Stroud went to be with her Savior on August 8, 2015. Since 2014 Marion has been writing devotional articles for Our Daily Bread which have touched the lives of readers around the world. Two of her popular books of prayers, Dear God, It’s Me and It’s Urgent and It’s Just You and Me, Lord were published by Discovery House. As an international author and writing mentor, Marion worked as a cross-cultural trainer for Media Associates International, helping writers produce books for their own culture. She has been an encourager and role model for writers for many years and will be mourned by hundreds of friends around the world. Marion is survived by her husband, Gordon, and their five children and sixteen grandchildren.
Who Is My Neighbor?
By Marion Stroud
Go and do likewise. Luke 10:37
Mary enjoyed her midweek church group meeting when she and several friends gathered to pray, worship, and discuss questions from the previous week’s sermon. This week they were going to talk about the difference between “going” to church and “being” the church in a hurting world. She was looking forward to seeing her friends and having a lively discussion.
As she picked up her car keys, the doorbell rang. “I’m so sorry to bother you,” said her neighbor Sue, “but are you free this morning?” Mary was about to say that she was going out when Sue continued, “I have to take my car to the repair shop. Normally I would walk or cycle home, but I’ve hurt my back and can’t do either at the moment.” Mary hesitated for a heartbeat and then smiled. “Of course,” she said.
Mary knew her neighbor only by sight. But as she drove her home, she learned about Sue’s husband’s battle with dementia and the utter exhaustion that being a caregiver can bring with it. She listened, sympathized, and promised to pray. She offered to help in any way she could.
Mary didn’t get to church that morning to talk about sharing her faith. Instead she took a little bit of Jesus’ love to her neighbor who was in a difficult situation.
Lord, help me to be ready at any time to be Your hands and feet to those in need.
Faith is seen in our actions.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Christ-Awareness
…and I will give you rest. —Matthew 11:28
Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don’t allow yourself to say, “Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I’m sure I must have this cleared up with them already.” Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.
A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.
If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest,” that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest— the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 20, 2015
The Mountains of Yesterday and the Mountains of Tomorrow - #7464
There's a spot in Vermont that our family has loved to visit for years. And God introduced us to some wonderful friends who made it possible for us to stay at the place they own. Even to get there is beautiful! First, we drive through the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. And then we enter the Champlain Valley of Vermont. And as we're leaving the one range of mountains we're looking at the next range; the scenic green mountains of Vermont.
Now, the inn we stay in is in the valley between the two. So when we arrive, we look West at those mountains we've just been through, and we look East at those mountains we plan to explore tomorrow. It's a great place to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mountains of Yesterday and the Mountains of Tomorrow."
We just visit that valley between those mountains. I believe God intends for us all to live in a valley like that. To see that kind of living in action, let's go to a dramatic example of the history of God's ancient people in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Chronicles 20.
Jehoshaphat is the Jewish king, and it says, "Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, 'A vast army is coming against you'." Well, frankly, this threat is overwhelming. But this godly king doesn't get overwhelmed. Maybe nervous and scared, but not overwhelmed. We find out how to live this way when we listen to some of his prayer to God.
"Oh Lord," he says, "Are you not the God who is in heaven? Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you. Oh Lord God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham? They have lived in it and they have built in it a sanctuary for your name."
Now, you know what he's doing? He's looking back at the mountains of yesterday: the walled cities, the barbaric tribes the Jews had to conquer, the taking of a Promised Land they didn't even have an inch of yet, and all the challenges of living since then and building an incredible temple to God. And Jehoshaphat is grateful to God for making all those mountains that once looked so big into monuments to His love, and His power, and His faithfulness.
Then the king looks ahead at the mountain of tomorrow; this vast army coming. He says, "Oh Lord God, we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us." By the way, that feeling of powerlessness might be right where you are right now. "We do not know what to do (he says) but our eyes are upon You." Not the vast army. "Our eyes are upon You." And the Lord's word to his servant, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours but God's."
The king is now trusting God for the mountains of tomorrow. Right there is the picture of a victorious life of faith; a life in which nothing is really overwhelming. Living in the valley between what God has done and what God is going to do. To put it simply, God leads you in such a way that there is always something to thank Him for and always something to trust Him for. First, you've got to look back at the amazing works God has already done, and specifically thank Him for them. Your confidence grows as you remember all He's already done.
Then you look ahead and you see all those huge challenges in front of you. And you trust Him for those; the same God who brought you through all the mountains before. At a time when our ministry finances were looking pretty discouraging for an extended time, our bookkeeper reported to me another day of pretty limited income. And then, knowing better than anyone the pressures that we faced, he smiled and he said, "Another day to trust Him, huh?"
See, the battle is the Lord's. Those four words say it all about this day and about each tomorrow in your life. It's another day to trust Him. As you thank God for what He did in the mountains of yesterday and you trust God for what He is going to do in the mountains of tomorrow.
As long as Jesus is one of many options, He is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. As long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him because Jesus won't be taken half-heartedly.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn. . ." (Matthew 5:4). When you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then do as Jesus said to do. "Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). And he's waiting for you in the midst of the storm!
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 36
For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.[a]
They have no fear of God at all.
2 In their blind conceit,
they cannot see how wicked they really are.
3 Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.
They refuse to act wisely or do good.
4 They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.
Their actions are never good.
They make no attempt to turn from evil.
5 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
9 For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see.
10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
give justice to those with honest hearts.
11 Don’t let the proud trample me
or the wicked push me around.
12 Look! Those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down, never to rise again.
Footnotes:
36:1 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version, which read in his heart. Masoretic Text reads in my heart.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Read: Luke 10:30-37
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[a] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[b] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Footnotes:
10:32 Greek A Levite.
10:35 Greek two denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
INSIGHT:
Samaritans lived in the territory between Galilee (to the north) and Judea (to the south). Historically, they were Jews who, when conquered by the Assyrians, intermarried with their conquerors and lost their ethnic purity as Jews. For this reason Samaritans were despised by Jews who would not even travel through Samaria, choosing instead to travel around that land. This makes it stunning that Jesus would choose a hated Samaritan as the hero of this parable and an example of one who was a neighbor. Bill Crowder
After a battle with cancer, Marion Stroud went to be with her Savior on August 8, 2015. Since 2014 Marion has been writing devotional articles for Our Daily Bread which have touched the lives of readers around the world. Two of her popular books of prayers, Dear God, It’s Me and It’s Urgent and It’s Just You and Me, Lord were published by Discovery House. As an international author and writing mentor, Marion worked as a cross-cultural trainer for Media Associates International, helping writers produce books for their own culture. She has been an encourager and role model for writers for many years and will be mourned by hundreds of friends around the world. Marion is survived by her husband, Gordon, and their five children and sixteen grandchildren.
Who Is My Neighbor?
By Marion Stroud
Go and do likewise. Luke 10:37
Mary enjoyed her midweek church group meeting when she and several friends gathered to pray, worship, and discuss questions from the previous week’s sermon. This week they were going to talk about the difference between “going” to church and “being” the church in a hurting world. She was looking forward to seeing her friends and having a lively discussion.
As she picked up her car keys, the doorbell rang. “I’m so sorry to bother you,” said her neighbor Sue, “but are you free this morning?” Mary was about to say that she was going out when Sue continued, “I have to take my car to the repair shop. Normally I would walk or cycle home, but I’ve hurt my back and can’t do either at the moment.” Mary hesitated for a heartbeat and then smiled. “Of course,” she said.
Mary knew her neighbor only by sight. But as she drove her home, she learned about Sue’s husband’s battle with dementia and the utter exhaustion that being a caregiver can bring with it. She listened, sympathized, and promised to pray. She offered to help in any way she could.
Mary didn’t get to church that morning to talk about sharing her faith. Instead she took a little bit of Jesus’ love to her neighbor who was in a difficult situation.
Lord, help me to be ready at any time to be Your hands and feet to those in need.
Faith is seen in our actions.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Christ-Awareness
…and I will give you rest. —Matthew 11:28
Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don’t allow yourself to say, “Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I’m sure I must have this cleared up with them already.” Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.
A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.
If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest,” that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest— the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God’s Word. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 20, 2015
The Mountains of Yesterday and the Mountains of Tomorrow - #7464
There's a spot in Vermont that our family has loved to visit for years. And God introduced us to some wonderful friends who made it possible for us to stay at the place they own. Even to get there is beautiful! First, we drive through the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. And then we enter the Champlain Valley of Vermont. And as we're leaving the one range of mountains we're looking at the next range; the scenic green mountains of Vermont.
Now, the inn we stay in is in the valley between the two. So when we arrive, we look West at those mountains we've just been through, and we look East at those mountains we plan to explore tomorrow. It's a great place to be.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Mountains of Yesterday and the Mountains of Tomorrow."
We just visit that valley between those mountains. I believe God intends for us all to live in a valley like that. To see that kind of living in action, let's go to a dramatic example of the history of God's ancient people in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Chronicles 20.
Jehoshaphat is the Jewish king, and it says, "Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, 'A vast army is coming against you'." Well, frankly, this threat is overwhelming. But this godly king doesn't get overwhelmed. Maybe nervous and scared, but not overwhelmed. We find out how to live this way when we listen to some of his prayer to God.
"Oh Lord," he says, "Are you not the God who is in heaven? Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you. Oh Lord God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham? They have lived in it and they have built in it a sanctuary for your name."
Now, you know what he's doing? He's looking back at the mountains of yesterday: the walled cities, the barbaric tribes the Jews had to conquer, the taking of a Promised Land they didn't even have an inch of yet, and all the challenges of living since then and building an incredible temple to God. And Jehoshaphat is grateful to God for making all those mountains that once looked so big into monuments to His love, and His power, and His faithfulness.
Then the king looks ahead at the mountain of tomorrow; this vast army coming. He says, "Oh Lord God, we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us." By the way, that feeling of powerlessness might be right where you are right now. "We do not know what to do (he says) but our eyes are upon You." Not the vast army. "Our eyes are upon You." And the Lord's word to his servant, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours but God's."
The king is now trusting God for the mountains of tomorrow. Right there is the picture of a victorious life of faith; a life in which nothing is really overwhelming. Living in the valley between what God has done and what God is going to do. To put it simply, God leads you in such a way that there is always something to thank Him for and always something to trust Him for. First, you've got to look back at the amazing works God has already done, and specifically thank Him for them. Your confidence grows as you remember all He's already done.
Then you look ahead and you see all those huge challenges in front of you. And you trust Him for those; the same God who brought you through all the mountains before. At a time when our ministry finances were looking pretty discouraging for an extended time, our bookkeeper reported to me another day of pretty limited income. And then, knowing better than anyone the pressures that we faced, he smiled and he said, "Another day to trust Him, huh?"
See, the battle is the Lord's. Those four words say it all about this day and about each tomorrow in your life. It's another day to trust Him. As you thank God for what He did in the mountains of yesterday and you trust God for what He is going to do in the mountains of tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
John 11:30-57, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: The Two-Letter Word “IF”
The prison of pride is filled with self-made people, determined to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even if they land on their rear ends! To the prideful it doesn’t matter what they did or to whom they did it or where they’ll end up– it only matters that I did it my way. You’ve seen the prisoners. The alcoholic who won’t admit his drinking problem. The woman who refuses to talk to anyone about her fears. Perhaps to see such a person all you have to do is look in the mirror.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. . .” (1 John 1:9). The biggest word in Scripture just might be that two-letter one, IF. Justification…rationalization…comparison…these are tools of the jailbird. But Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn. . .” (Matthew 5:4). You see, true blessedness begins with deep sadness.
From The Applause of Heaven
John 11:30-57
Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him,[a] and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council[b] together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple[c] and our nation.”
49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time,[d] said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.
53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.
55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.
Footnotes:
11:33 Or he was angry in his spirit.
11:47 Greek the Sanhedrin.
11:48 Or our position; Greek reads our place.
11:49 Greek that year; also in 11:51.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Read: Exodus 31:1-11
Craftsmen: Bezalel and Oholiab
Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!
6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:
7 the Tabernacle;[a]
the Ark of the Covenant;[b]
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
8 the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
10 the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
11 the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.
The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”
Footnotes:
31:7a Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
31:7b Hebrew the Ark of the Testimony.
INSIGHT:
Not only did God give Moses the exact blueprint for the tabernacle (Ex. 25–30), He also provided all the craftsmen needed to build it (31:1-11). Bezalal (v. 2) and Aholiab (v. 6) were probably the leaders of these craftsmen (vv. 3-6) and are mentioned again in Exodus 35:31-35. Bezalal is said to be filled with “the Spirit of God” (31:3; 35:31). God divinely empowered these men to do things that were clearly beyond normal human ability. God said, “I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you” (31:6). Likewise, God has given every believer special abilities and skills to build up the church for His glory (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:11-15; 1 Peter 4:10-11). Sim Kay Tee
Reflecting God’s Glory
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1
The 12th-century Chinese artist Li Tang painted landscapes animated with people, birds, and water buffalo. Because of his genius with fine line sketches on silk, Li Tang is considered a master of Chinese landscape art. For centuries, artists from around the world have depicted what they see in God’s art gallery of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). The Bible tells us that our creativity as human beings comes from being made in the image of the Master Creator (Gen. 1:27).
God chose artists who worked with wood, gold, silver, bronze, and gems to create the furnishings, utensils, altars, and garments that were to be used when the ancient Israelites worshiped Him in the tabernacle (Ex. 31:1-11). These artistic renderings of spiritual realities prompted and guided the priests and the people in their worship of the Lord who had called them to be His people.
Through many types of artistic expression, we reflect the beauty of creation and honor the Creator and Redeemer of this marvelous world.
Lord of the universe, You are the Creator and have given us creative abilities. May we honor You through them.
We were created to bring God the glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Self-Awareness
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.
Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A Life Worth the Price - #7463
It's always moving when it comes Memorial Day and they have all these families of veterans and people who were lost in a war or a battle and all these very poignant stories on television and in the news. You know, Memorial Day and days like it, they're different when you're a veteran or the loved one of someone who died for America's freedom. Because every day is Memorial Day. Because freedom's price for you has a name, a face, an empty chair at the table.
During the Memorial Day observances this past Memorial Day, I heard some veterans and some families asking a haunting question. It's embodied in a statement that came from one combat veteran, a former Navy Seal, and a current TV commentator. It really touched me. He said: "It's important for veterans who fought to believe the sacrifice was worth it." The question especially arises when the ground that people bled and died to take is then later lost to the enemy.
"Was the sacrifice worth it?" Whatever the battle, whatever the war, that's what the warrior wants to know.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Life Worth the Price."
As I sat in church recently, a sobering thought hit me. It's one I haven't been able to shake. Does Jesus look at me and ask that question, "Was the sacrifice worth it?"
He didn't risk His life. He gave His life. He came here knowing that He alone could pay the price for the sin of the world – for my sin. "The righteous for the unrighteous." That's the way the Bible says it. Nothing could break His heart more than to see the ground He died to liberate in our lives being lost to the enemy. Like us continuing to hang onto the junk that He bled to deliver us from.
In our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:24 it says, "He personally carried our sins in His own body on the cross, so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right." Does He now say to us, "I died so you wouldn't have to do that anymore"?
Sin is so much more than breaking rules. It's really about breaking Jesus' heart. Like when His blood-bought child fills their heart with pornographic fantasies. Or uses their body – the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (the Bible calls it) – for the very sexual sins He died for. "You are not your own (the Bible says); you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
It's got to wound Him again when we wound others that He died for with our runaway mouth. Or we just keep lying. Or we abandon our marriage vows. Or succumb to pride, bitterness, unforgiveness, or so many other dark impulses unworthy of His life's sacrifice. The Bible says, "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ" (Philippians 1:27).
I guess the most hurtful way we can dishonor the blood-sacrifice of Jesus is to think that there's some other way we can get rid of our sin or get into heaven. Like being good, or being religious. Listen, if there was any other way my spiritual death penalty could have been paid, Jesus would never have endured the agony of the cross. Why would He do that if there was another way?
Our faith in anything else to make our peace with God says, "Jesus, what You did on the cross was not enough. I'm going to do something." To honor the unspeakable blood sacrifice of God's only Son is to abandon any other hope but Him. And then to drop the junk that killed Him. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever had your Jesus moment when you've put the life He died for, paid for with His blood, in His hands? If you've never done that, maybe He's talking to you today about this being your day. If you want to do that, I hope you'll go to our website and let me meet you there and help you know how to begin this relationship. It's ANewStory.com. If you want to talk with someone, text us at 442-244-WORD.
He looks at me. He looks at you, and then He looks at the nail prints in His hands and He asks: "Was the sacrifice worth it?"
The prison of pride is filled with self-made people, determined to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even if they land on their rear ends! To the prideful it doesn’t matter what they did or to whom they did it or where they’ll end up– it only matters that I did it my way. You’ve seen the prisoners. The alcoholic who won’t admit his drinking problem. The woman who refuses to talk to anyone about her fears. Perhaps to see such a person all you have to do is look in the mirror.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. . .” (1 John 1:9). The biggest word in Scripture just might be that two-letter one, IF. Justification…rationalization…comparison…these are tools of the jailbird. But Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn. . .” (Matthew 5:4). You see, true blessedness begins with deep sadness.
From The Applause of Heaven
John 11:30-57
Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him,[a] and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council[b] together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple[c] and our nation.”
49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time,[d] said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.
53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.
55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.
Footnotes:
11:33 Or he was angry in his spirit.
11:47 Greek the Sanhedrin.
11:48 Or our position; Greek reads our place.
11:49 Greek that year; also in 11:51.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Read: Exodus 31:1-11
Craftsmen: Bezalel and Oholiab
Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!
6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:
7 the Tabernacle;[a]
the Ark of the Covenant;[b]
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
8 the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
10 the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
11 the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.
The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”
Footnotes:
31:7a Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
31:7b Hebrew the Ark of the Testimony.
INSIGHT:
Not only did God give Moses the exact blueprint for the tabernacle (Ex. 25–30), He also provided all the craftsmen needed to build it (31:1-11). Bezalal (v. 2) and Aholiab (v. 6) were probably the leaders of these craftsmen (vv. 3-6) and are mentioned again in Exodus 35:31-35. Bezalal is said to be filled with “the Spirit of God” (31:3; 35:31). God divinely empowered these men to do things that were clearly beyond normal human ability. God said, “I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you” (31:6). Likewise, God has given every believer special abilities and skills to build up the church for His glory (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:11-15; 1 Peter 4:10-11). Sim Kay Tee
Reflecting God’s Glory
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1
The 12th-century Chinese artist Li Tang painted landscapes animated with people, birds, and water buffalo. Because of his genius with fine line sketches on silk, Li Tang is considered a master of Chinese landscape art. For centuries, artists from around the world have depicted what they see in God’s art gallery of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). The Bible tells us that our creativity as human beings comes from being made in the image of the Master Creator (Gen. 1:27).
God chose artists who worked with wood, gold, silver, bronze, and gems to create the furnishings, utensils, altars, and garments that were to be used when the ancient Israelites worshiped Him in the tabernacle (Ex. 31:1-11). These artistic renderings of spiritual realities prompted and guided the priests and the people in their worship of the Lord who had called them to be His people.
Through many types of artistic expression, we reflect the beauty of creation and honor the Creator and Redeemer of this marvelous world.
Lord of the universe, You are the Creator and have given us creative abilities. May we honor You through them.
We were created to bring God the glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Self-Awareness
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.
Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart. Bringing Sons Unto Glory, 231 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A Life Worth the Price - #7463
It's always moving when it comes Memorial Day and they have all these families of veterans and people who were lost in a war or a battle and all these very poignant stories on television and in the news. You know, Memorial Day and days like it, they're different when you're a veteran or the loved one of someone who died for America's freedom. Because every day is Memorial Day. Because freedom's price for you has a name, a face, an empty chair at the table.
During the Memorial Day observances this past Memorial Day, I heard some veterans and some families asking a haunting question. It's embodied in a statement that came from one combat veteran, a former Navy Seal, and a current TV commentator. It really touched me. He said: "It's important for veterans who fought to believe the sacrifice was worth it." The question especially arises when the ground that people bled and died to take is then later lost to the enemy.
"Was the sacrifice worth it?" Whatever the battle, whatever the war, that's what the warrior wants to know.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Life Worth the Price."
As I sat in church recently, a sobering thought hit me. It's one I haven't been able to shake. Does Jesus look at me and ask that question, "Was the sacrifice worth it?"
He didn't risk His life. He gave His life. He came here knowing that He alone could pay the price for the sin of the world – for my sin. "The righteous for the unrighteous." That's the way the Bible says it. Nothing could break His heart more than to see the ground He died to liberate in our lives being lost to the enemy. Like us continuing to hang onto the junk that He bled to deliver us from.
In our word for today from the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:24 it says, "He personally carried our sins in His own body on the cross, so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right." Does He now say to us, "I died so you wouldn't have to do that anymore"?
Sin is so much more than breaking rules. It's really about breaking Jesus' heart. Like when His blood-bought child fills their heart with pornographic fantasies. Or uses their body – the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (the Bible calls it) – for the very sexual sins He died for. "You are not your own (the Bible says); you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
It's got to wound Him again when we wound others that He died for with our runaway mouth. Or we just keep lying. Or we abandon our marriage vows. Or succumb to pride, bitterness, unforgiveness, or so many other dark impulses unworthy of His life's sacrifice. The Bible says, "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ" (Philippians 1:27).
I guess the most hurtful way we can dishonor the blood-sacrifice of Jesus is to think that there's some other way we can get rid of our sin or get into heaven. Like being good, or being religious. Listen, if there was any other way my spiritual death penalty could have been paid, Jesus would never have endured the agony of the cross. Why would He do that if there was another way?
Our faith in anything else to make our peace with God says, "Jesus, what You did on the cross was not enough. I'm going to do something." To honor the unspeakable blood sacrifice of God's only Son is to abandon any other hope but Him. And then to drop the junk that killed Him. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever had your Jesus moment when you've put the life He died for, paid for with His blood, in His hands? If you've never done that, maybe He's talking to you today about this being your day. If you want to do that, I hope you'll go to our website and let me meet you there and help you know how to begin this relationship. It's ANewStory.com. If you want to talk with someone, text us at 442-244-WORD.
He looks at me. He looks at you, and then He looks at the nail prints in His hands and He asks: "Was the sacrifice worth it?"
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Psalm 35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Twice Imprisoned
My friend, Anibal was guilty. Period. I met him in Brazil. I also met my friend Daniel who had given Anibal a Bible. And he took me with him to tell Anibal about Jesus. We centered on the cross. We talked about guilt, and forgiveness. His heart was touched as we discussed heaven, a hope no executioner could take from him. But as we discussed conversion, Anibal's face hardened. He had never backed down before any man, and he wasn't about to do it now.
"Don't you want to go to heaven?" I asked. "Sure," he grunted. But the eyes that met mine weren't tear-filled- they were the eyes of an angry prisoner. Twice imprisoned. Once because of murder, and once because of stubbornness. Jesus said, Blessed are those who know they're in trouble and have enough sense to admit it (Matthew 5:5). Anibal didn't want to…but my prayer is that we will.
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 35
A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor, and take up your shield.
Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
3 Lift up your spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Let me hear you say,
“I will give you victory!”
4 Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me;
turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
5 Blow them away like chaff in the wind—
a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
6 Make their path dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me.
I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let sudden ruin come upon them!
Let them be caught in the trap they set for me!
Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be glad because he rescues me.
10 With every bone in my body I will praise him:
“Lord, who can compare with you?
Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
11 Malicious witnesses testify against me.
They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good.
I am sick with despair.
13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
I denied myself by fasting for them,
but my prayers returned unanswered.
14 I was sad, as though they were my friends or family,
as if I were grieving for my own mother.
15 But they are glad now that I am in trouble;
they gleefully join together against me.
I am attacked by people I don’t even know;
they slander me constantly.
16 They mock me and call me names;
they snarl at me.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
Rescue me from their fierce attacks.
Protect my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly.
I will praise you before all the people.
19 Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat.
Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.
20 They don’t talk of peace;
they plot against innocent people who mind their own business.
21 They shout, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we saw him do it!”
22 O Lord, you know all about this.
Do not stay silent.
Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
23 Wake up! Rise to my defense!
Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
24 Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice.
Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
25 Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted!
Now we will eat him alive!”
26 May those who rejoice at my troubles
be humiliated and disgraced.
May those who triumph over me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense.
Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord,
who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”
28 Then I will proclaim your justice,
and I will praise you all day long.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Read: Philippians 2:1-11
Have the Attitude of Christ
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Footnotes:
2:6 Or Being in the form of God.
2:7a Greek he emptied himself.
2:7b Or the form of a slave.
2:7c Some English translations put this phrase in verse 8.
INSIGHT:
The words that Paul penned to the Philippian church while he was under house arrest are some of the most challenging. There is so much in this short letter that goes against our natural inclinations. From prison, Paul encouraged the Philippian believers to “make his joy complete” (2:2 niv). Paul is joyful while in prison because of his faith in Christ, and he encouraged the believers to add to his joy by looking out for one another and counting others as more important than themselves. Paul then uses Jesus as the example of this kind of selflessness. In taking on humanity, Jesus gave up everything that was rightfully His to come to our rescue. J.R. Hudberg
Under Siege
By David McCasland
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:4
During the Bosnian War (1992–1996), more than 10,000 people—civilians and soldiers—were killed in the city of Sarajevo as gunfire and mortar rounds rained down from the surrounding hills. Steven Galloway’s gripping novel The Cellist of Sarajevo unfolds there, during the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. The book follows three fictional characters who must decide if they will become completely self-absorbed in their struggle to survive, or will somehow rise above their numbing circumstances to consider others during a time of great adversity.
From a prison in Rome, Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi, saying: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). Paul cited Jesus as the great example of a selfless focus on others: “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, . . . made Himself of no reputation . . . humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (vv. 5-8). Rather than seeking sympathy from others, Jesus gave all He had to rescue us from the tyranny of sin.
Our continuing challenge as followers of Jesus is to see through His eyes and respond to the needs of others in His strength, even in our own difficult times.
Are you going through something hard right now? What can you still do for another?
Embracing God’s love for us is the key to loving others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow?
August 18, 2015
When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, “If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions.”
“Sell all that you have…” (Luke 18:22). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought— in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult— it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.
I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus— not love for Jesus Himself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
What no Religion Can Do For You - #7462
Jennifer and Courtney were three-year-old twins. And they were excited about preschool. In fact, they were so excited they got up in the middle of the night in their Omaha, Nebraska home and walked out of the house to make the six-block walk to school. Well all this while, their parents were sound asleep. You say, "Oh, isn't that cute?" No! See, snow was everywhere that night and the temperature was nine below zero. The girls were reported missing at 4:04 a.m. after family members awoke to find this light on and the door open.
Two police officers started driving the route to school, hoping that they'd find the girls before it was too late. At one point, their squad car was stopped by the ice on a steep hill. They were stopped right in front of this alley, which they decided to investigate. And there they found these little foot prints, then three tan boots no bigger than the palm of the officer's hand. And finally they found barefoot Courtney wearing an open coat and kneeling beside her sister Jennifer, who was face down in the snow wearing socks but no coat. Even though Jennifer was near death when they found her, both the girls miraculously survived. If someone hadn't come looking for them though, they would have died.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What No Religion Can Do For You."
Two little girls were lost and dying, and they wouldn't have made it back home themselves. Their only hope was for someone to look for them and find them. It's always that way for someone who's lost, including you and me. See, lost is actually a word in the Bible that's used to describe our spiritual condition. It's because, as the Bible says, "Each of us has wandered away from God like sheep."
We're created to have our life revolve around our Creator. But we've all decided to have it revolve around ourselves instead. And that wandering has taken us away from the home we were made for; a personal love relationship with the One who made us. We're lost. We're away and ultimately dying. If you're honest with yourself right now, maybe the word lost pretty much describes how you're feeling.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 19:10, is awfully good news. Speaking of Jesus it says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus is
God come looking for you; a lost child that He loves very much. Notice He did exactly what those police officers did for those lost little girls – seeking/saving. Those girls had nothing to do with their own rescue. Their only hope was a rescuer coming for them and saving them, like you and me.
Here's the simple fact: you cannot find God. God has to find you, and that's pretty radical. It means that all our religious efforts to get to God, whatever your religion, all our self-improvement will not get us home to a God whose standard is perfection. A lost child doesn't find himself. He or she gets found by the rescuer. All our spirituality, all our ceremonies, all our services, all our attempts to complete ourselves by finding God through spiritual searching or exercises still leave us lost.
According to the Bible, we are that little girl, hopelessly lost, face down in the snow about to die spiritually. And Jesus is that policeman coming to where we are to rescue us. But this rescue involves eternal death, the price tag for our sin. This rescue cost the Rescuer his life, as Jesus died on that cross, taking all the punishment and the hell that you and I deserve. And the Rescuer comes right now to where you are to bring you home from your "lostness."
Your role is to put yourself totally in the hands of Jesus, the only one who paid the price to bring you back. You're finally home when you tell Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin.
If you're ready to trust Jesus Christ to be your Savior, go to our website and check out there how to be sure you've begun your relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Or you can talk with us. Text us at 442-244-WORD.
You'll never find your Creator. You're lost, but He has found you at the cost of His life. Now, let Him bring you home before it's too late.
My friend, Anibal was guilty. Period. I met him in Brazil. I also met my friend Daniel who had given Anibal a Bible. And he took me with him to tell Anibal about Jesus. We centered on the cross. We talked about guilt, and forgiveness. His heart was touched as we discussed heaven, a hope no executioner could take from him. But as we discussed conversion, Anibal's face hardened. He had never backed down before any man, and he wasn't about to do it now.
"Don't you want to go to heaven?" I asked. "Sure," he grunted. But the eyes that met mine weren't tear-filled- they were the eyes of an angry prisoner. Twice imprisoned. Once because of murder, and once because of stubbornness. Jesus said, Blessed are those who know they're in trouble and have enough sense to admit it (Matthew 5:5). Anibal didn't want to…but my prayer is that we will.
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 35
A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor, and take up your shield.
Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
3 Lift up your spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Let me hear you say,
“I will give you victory!”
4 Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me;
turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
5 Blow them away like chaff in the wind—
a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
6 Make their path dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me.
I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let sudden ruin come upon them!
Let them be caught in the trap they set for me!
Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be glad because he rescues me.
10 With every bone in my body I will praise him:
“Lord, who can compare with you?
Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
11 Malicious witnesses testify against me.
They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good.
I am sick with despair.
13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
I denied myself by fasting for them,
but my prayers returned unanswered.
14 I was sad, as though they were my friends or family,
as if I were grieving for my own mother.
15 But they are glad now that I am in trouble;
they gleefully join together against me.
I am attacked by people I don’t even know;
they slander me constantly.
16 They mock me and call me names;
they snarl at me.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
Rescue me from their fierce attacks.
Protect my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly.
I will praise you before all the people.
19 Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat.
Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.
20 They don’t talk of peace;
they plot against innocent people who mind their own business.
21 They shout, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we saw him do it!”
22 O Lord, you know all about this.
Do not stay silent.
Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
23 Wake up! Rise to my defense!
Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
24 Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice.
Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
25 Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted!
Now we will eat him alive!”
26 May those who rejoice at my troubles
be humiliated and disgraced.
May those who triumph over me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense.
Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord,
who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”
28 Then I will proclaim your justice,
and I will praise you all day long.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Read: Philippians 2:1-11
Have the Attitude of Christ
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Footnotes:
2:6 Or Being in the form of God.
2:7a Greek he emptied himself.
2:7b Or the form of a slave.
2:7c Some English translations put this phrase in verse 8.
INSIGHT:
The words that Paul penned to the Philippian church while he was under house arrest are some of the most challenging. There is so much in this short letter that goes against our natural inclinations. From prison, Paul encouraged the Philippian believers to “make his joy complete” (2:2 niv). Paul is joyful while in prison because of his faith in Christ, and he encouraged the believers to add to his joy by looking out for one another and counting others as more important than themselves. Paul then uses Jesus as the example of this kind of selflessness. In taking on humanity, Jesus gave up everything that was rightfully His to come to our rescue. J.R. Hudberg
Under Siege
By David McCasland
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:4
During the Bosnian War (1992–1996), more than 10,000 people—civilians and soldiers—were killed in the city of Sarajevo as gunfire and mortar rounds rained down from the surrounding hills. Steven Galloway’s gripping novel The Cellist of Sarajevo unfolds there, during the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. The book follows three fictional characters who must decide if they will become completely self-absorbed in their struggle to survive, or will somehow rise above their numbing circumstances to consider others during a time of great adversity.
From a prison in Rome, Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi, saying: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). Paul cited Jesus as the great example of a selfless focus on others: “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, . . . made Himself of no reputation . . . humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (vv. 5-8). Rather than seeking sympathy from others, Jesus gave all He had to rescue us from the tyranny of sin.
Our continuing challenge as followers of Jesus is to see through His eyes and respond to the needs of others in His strength, even in our own difficult times.
Are you going through something hard right now? What can you still do for another?
Embracing God’s love for us is the key to loving others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow?
August 18, 2015
When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, “If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions.”
“Sell all that you have…” (Luke 18:22). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought— in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult— it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.
I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus— not love for Jesus Himself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
What no Religion Can Do For You - #7462
Jennifer and Courtney were three-year-old twins. And they were excited about preschool. In fact, they were so excited they got up in the middle of the night in their Omaha, Nebraska home and walked out of the house to make the six-block walk to school. Well all this while, their parents were sound asleep. You say, "Oh, isn't that cute?" No! See, snow was everywhere that night and the temperature was nine below zero. The girls were reported missing at 4:04 a.m. after family members awoke to find this light on and the door open.
Two police officers started driving the route to school, hoping that they'd find the girls before it was too late. At one point, their squad car was stopped by the ice on a steep hill. They were stopped right in front of this alley, which they decided to investigate. And there they found these little foot prints, then three tan boots no bigger than the palm of the officer's hand. And finally they found barefoot Courtney wearing an open coat and kneeling beside her sister Jennifer, who was face down in the snow wearing socks but no coat. Even though Jennifer was near death when they found her, both the girls miraculously survived. If someone hadn't come looking for them though, they would have died.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What No Religion Can Do For You."
Two little girls were lost and dying, and they wouldn't have made it back home themselves. Their only hope was for someone to look for them and find them. It's always that way for someone who's lost, including you and me. See, lost is actually a word in the Bible that's used to describe our spiritual condition. It's because, as the Bible says, "Each of us has wandered away from God like sheep."
We're created to have our life revolve around our Creator. But we've all decided to have it revolve around ourselves instead. And that wandering has taken us away from the home we were made for; a personal love relationship with the One who made us. We're lost. We're away and ultimately dying. If you're honest with yourself right now, maybe the word lost pretty much describes how you're feeling.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 19:10, is awfully good news. Speaking of Jesus it says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus is
God come looking for you; a lost child that He loves very much. Notice He did exactly what those police officers did for those lost little girls – seeking/saving. Those girls had nothing to do with their own rescue. Their only hope was a rescuer coming for them and saving them, like you and me.
Here's the simple fact: you cannot find God. God has to find you, and that's pretty radical. It means that all our religious efforts to get to God, whatever your religion, all our self-improvement will not get us home to a God whose standard is perfection. A lost child doesn't find himself. He or she gets found by the rescuer. All our spirituality, all our ceremonies, all our services, all our attempts to complete ourselves by finding God through spiritual searching or exercises still leave us lost.
According to the Bible, we are that little girl, hopelessly lost, face down in the snow about to die spiritually. And Jesus is that policeman coming to where we are to rescue us. But this rescue involves eternal death, the price tag for our sin. This rescue cost the Rescuer his life, as Jesus died on that cross, taking all the punishment and the hell that you and I deserve. And the Rescuer comes right now to where you are to bring you home from your "lostness."
Your role is to put yourself totally in the hands of Jesus, the only one who paid the price to bring you back. You're finally home when you tell Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin.
If you're ready to trust Jesus Christ to be your Savior, go to our website and check out there how to be sure you've begun your relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Or you can talk with us. Text us at 442-244-WORD.
You'll never find your Creator. You're lost, but He has found you at the cost of His life. Now, let Him bring you home before it's too late.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Psalm 31 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A New Name
Show a man his failures without Jesus, and the result will be found in the roadside gutter. Give a man religion without reminding him of his filth, and the result will be arrogance in a three-piece suit. But get the two in the same heart—get sin to meet Savior and Savior to meet sin—and the result just might be another Pharisee turned preacher who sets the world on fire.
Saul to Paul. The apostle Paul never took a course in missions. He never read a book on church growth. He was just inspired by the Holy Spirit and punch-drunk on the love that makes the impossible possible: salvation. He called on Jesus’ name—and His name only. He got a new name and, even more, a new life. May the same happen again.
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 31
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right.
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.
6 I hate those who worship worthless idols.
I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
for you have seen my troubles,
and you care about the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to my enemies
but have set me in a safe place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress.
Tears blur my eyes.
My body and soul are withering away.
10 I am dying from grief;
my years are shortened by sadness.
Sin has drained my strength;
I am wasting away from within.
11 I am scorned by all my enemies
and despised by my neighbors—
even my friends are afraid to come near me.
When they see me on the street,
they run the other way.
12 I am ignored as if I were dead,
as if I were a broken pot.
13 I have heard the many rumors about me,
and I am surrounded by terror.
My enemies conspire against me,
plotting to take my life.
14 But I am trusting you, O Lord,
saying, “You are my God!”
15 My future is in your hands.
Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
16 Let your favor shine on your servant.
In your unfailing love, rescue me.
17 Don’t let me be disgraced, O Lord,
for I call out to you for help.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them lie silent in the grave.[a]
18 Silence their lying lips—
those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.
19 How great is the goodness
you have stored up for those who fear you.
You lavish it on those who come to you for protection,
blessing them before the watching world.
20 You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from those who conspire against them.
You shelter them in your presence,
far from accusing tongues.
21 Praise the Lord,
for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
22 In panic I cried out,
“I am cut off from the Lord!”
But you heard my cry for mercy
and answered my call for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you godly ones!
For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,
but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
24 So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord!
Footnotes:
31:17 Hebrew in Sheol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 17, 2015
Read: John 6:22-34
Jesus, the Bread of Life
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man[a] can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[b]”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
Footnotes:
6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.
Baking with Jess
By Tim Gustafson
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life. John 6:27
One morning as Lilia prepared for work, her 4-year-old daughter Jess set to work too. The family had purchased a conveyor toaster, and the concept of cycling bread through the small countertop oven fascinated Jess. Minutes later, Lilia discovered a loaf and a half of toast piled on the counter. “I’m a very good baker!” Jess declared.
It’s no miracle that an inquisitive girl could turn bread into toast. But when Jesus transformed a boy’s five loaves and two fish into a meal for thousands, the crowd on the hillside recognized the miraculous nature of the event and wanted to make Him king (see John 6:1-15).
Jesus is our Bread of Life.
Jesus’ kingdom, of course, is “not of this world” (John 18:36), and so He slipped away. When the crowd found Him the next day, Christ identified a flaw in their motives: “You seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (6:26). They mistakenly thought “King” Jesus would give them full stomachs and national freedom. But Jesus counseled them, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (v. 27).
An earthbound view will cause us to treat Jesus as a means to an end. He is, in fact, our Bread of Life.
Lord, our cares and worries can keep us from a genuine relationship with You. May we see You as our very food and not only as our divine problem-solver.
Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. Jesus
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Are You Discouraged or Devoted?
August 17, 2015
…Jesus…said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:22-23
Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all. Jesus says a tremendous amount to us that we listen to, but do not actually hear. And once we do hear Him, His words are harsh and unyielding.
Jesus did not show the least concern that this rich young ruler should do what He told him, nor did Jesus make any attempt to keep this man with Him. He simply said to him, “Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me.” Our Lord never pleaded with him; He never tried to lure him— He simply spoke the strictest words that human ears have ever heard, and then left him alone.
Have I ever heard Jesus say something difficult and unyielding to me? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened— not something I can explain for the sake of others, but something I have heard Him say directly to me? This man understood what Jesus said. He heard it clearly, realizing the full impact of its meaning, and it broke his heart. He did not go away as a defiant person, but as one who was sorrowful and discouraged. He had come to Jesus on fire with zeal and determination, but the words of Jesus simply froze him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion to Jesus, they produced heartbreaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, but let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly well that once His word is truly heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. What is so terrible is that some of us prevent His words from bearing fruit in our present life. I wonder what we will say when we finally make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain— He will never throw our past failures back in our faces.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 17, 2015
The Invisible Victim - #7461
Senior year in college! Somehow our son had maneuvered himself into a coveted on-campus house for his senior year. The guys had their stuff and their whole universe there. Not necessarily an orderly universe. He told me that one day he and several other guys were talking about a student leader who was a friend of theirs. Let's call him Marty. Now, think of the atmosphere of college guys in a room together. Yeah, well our son was reviewing some of the dumb things (at least in his opinion) that Marty had done in his leadership choices.
And as he was finishing this little barbeque, someone drifted into the room from the kitchen. They were right next door. You want to guess who it was? Marty, with his cup of coffee in his hand. He was right next door making himself some coffee the whole time, no doubt listening to this critical review of his leadership. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Our son felt about an inch tall when he realized Marty had heard him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Invisible Victim."
If you've ever hurt someone that you didn't realize you were hurting, you know how bad it feels when you finally wake up. It's funny! Just like in a college gab session, what you're doing doesn't bother you until suddenly you realize who you've been hurting. That could be something you need to be thinking about right now.
Our word for today from the Word of God: Genesis 39. It's about Joseph. He's a Jewish young man who has been taken as a slave to the land of Egypt. He's purchased by a powerful general named Potiphar and he rises to a position of state manager. The Bible picks up the story with a powerful temptation that suddenly confronts Joseph and then his powerful response.
Here's what it says, "Joseph was well-built and handsome. And after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, 'Come to bed with me.' But he refused. 'With me in charge (he told her) my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you're his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God.'"
Now, Joseph resists this incredibly attractive temptation. Why? He says, "I can't do this to God." Not to Potiphar, not to Potiphar's wife, not to his religious upbringing. No, he says, "If I do this, I know who I'm going to be hurting. I'm going to be hurting God."
Flipside, King David, who said, "Yes" to a sexual temptation that scarred his life from that night on. He had sex with another man's wife, and then conspired to have that man, his friend, killed. His agony over this sin is recorded in Psalm 51 where he says, "My sin is always before me." He says, "God, against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Bottom line is: ultimately he has not sinned against Bathsheba's husband or Bathsheba, or the rules. He said, "God, I did this against you, didn't I?"
Right now you may be involved in something you know is wrong. It's a compromise, it's rebellion, it's a detour, it's wrong. You say, "Well, I don't think it's hurting anyone." Oh, yes it is. When Jesus' right-hand man denied Him, the Bible says that Peter went out and wept bitterly over it. But only after Jesus, on His way to His trial, turned and in the Bible's words, looked straight at Peter. And suddenly Peter realized that he wasn't just breaking the rules. He was breaking his Savior's heart. And so are you with that sin of yours.
This isn't about rebelling against your parents, or your church, or your upbringing, or your breaking some religious rules. This is about breaking the heart of Jesus, who gave His life for you so you wouldn't have to do that kind of junk. Please hear this! You're doing it to Jesus. The One who loves you most knows what you're doing and it really hurts.
Do you keep doing it when you know it is breaking your Savior's heart?
Show a man his failures without Jesus, and the result will be found in the roadside gutter. Give a man religion without reminding him of his filth, and the result will be arrogance in a three-piece suit. But get the two in the same heart—get sin to meet Savior and Savior to meet sin—and the result just might be another Pharisee turned preacher who sets the world on fire.
Saul to Paul. The apostle Paul never took a course in missions. He never read a book on church growth. He was just inspired by the Holy Spirit and punch-drunk on the love that makes the impossible possible: salvation. He called on Jesus’ name—and His name only. He got a new name and, even more, a new life. May the same happen again.
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 31
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right.
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.
6 I hate those who worship worthless idols.
I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
for you have seen my troubles,
and you care about the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to my enemies
but have set me in a safe place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress.
Tears blur my eyes.
My body and soul are withering away.
10 I am dying from grief;
my years are shortened by sadness.
Sin has drained my strength;
I am wasting away from within.
11 I am scorned by all my enemies
and despised by my neighbors—
even my friends are afraid to come near me.
When they see me on the street,
they run the other way.
12 I am ignored as if I were dead,
as if I were a broken pot.
13 I have heard the many rumors about me,
and I am surrounded by terror.
My enemies conspire against me,
plotting to take my life.
14 But I am trusting you, O Lord,
saying, “You are my God!”
15 My future is in your hands.
Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
16 Let your favor shine on your servant.
In your unfailing love, rescue me.
17 Don’t let me be disgraced, O Lord,
for I call out to you for help.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them lie silent in the grave.[a]
18 Silence their lying lips—
those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.
19 How great is the goodness
you have stored up for those who fear you.
You lavish it on those who come to you for protection,
blessing them before the watching world.
20 You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from those who conspire against them.
You shelter them in your presence,
far from accusing tongues.
21 Praise the Lord,
for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
22 In panic I cried out,
“I am cut off from the Lord!”
But you heard my cry for mercy
and answered my call for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you godly ones!
For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,
but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
24 So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord!
Footnotes:
31:17 Hebrew in Sheol.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 17, 2015
Read: John 6:22-34
Jesus, the Bread of Life
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man[a] can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[b]”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
Footnotes:
6:27 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
6:31 Exod 16:4; Ps 78:24.
Baking with Jess
By Tim Gustafson
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life. John 6:27
One morning as Lilia prepared for work, her 4-year-old daughter Jess set to work too. The family had purchased a conveyor toaster, and the concept of cycling bread through the small countertop oven fascinated Jess. Minutes later, Lilia discovered a loaf and a half of toast piled on the counter. “I’m a very good baker!” Jess declared.
It’s no miracle that an inquisitive girl could turn bread into toast. But when Jesus transformed a boy’s five loaves and two fish into a meal for thousands, the crowd on the hillside recognized the miraculous nature of the event and wanted to make Him king (see John 6:1-15).
Jesus is our Bread of Life.
Jesus’ kingdom, of course, is “not of this world” (John 18:36), and so He slipped away. When the crowd found Him the next day, Christ identified a flaw in their motives: “You seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (6:26). They mistakenly thought “King” Jesus would give them full stomachs and national freedom. But Jesus counseled them, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (v. 27).
An earthbound view will cause us to treat Jesus as a means to an end. He is, in fact, our Bread of Life.
Lord, our cares and worries can keep us from a genuine relationship with You. May we see You as our very food and not only as our divine problem-solver.
Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. Jesus
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Are You Discouraged or Devoted?
August 17, 2015
…Jesus…said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:22-23
Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all. Jesus says a tremendous amount to us that we listen to, but do not actually hear. And once we do hear Him, His words are harsh and unyielding.
Jesus did not show the least concern that this rich young ruler should do what He told him, nor did Jesus make any attempt to keep this man with Him. He simply said to him, “Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me.” Our Lord never pleaded with him; He never tried to lure him— He simply spoke the strictest words that human ears have ever heard, and then left him alone.
Have I ever heard Jesus say something difficult and unyielding to me? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened— not something I can explain for the sake of others, but something I have heard Him say directly to me? This man understood what Jesus said. He heard it clearly, realizing the full impact of its meaning, and it broke his heart. He did not go away as a defiant person, but as one who was sorrowful and discouraged. He had come to Jesus on fire with zeal and determination, but the words of Jesus simply froze him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion to Jesus, they produced heartbreaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, but let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly well that once His word is truly heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. What is so terrible is that some of us prevent His words from bearing fruit in our present life. I wonder what we will say when we finally make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain— He will never throw our past failures back in our faces.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 17, 2015
The Invisible Victim - #7461
Senior year in college! Somehow our son had maneuvered himself into a coveted on-campus house for his senior year. The guys had their stuff and their whole universe there. Not necessarily an orderly universe. He told me that one day he and several other guys were talking about a student leader who was a friend of theirs. Let's call him Marty. Now, think of the atmosphere of college guys in a room together. Yeah, well our son was reviewing some of the dumb things (at least in his opinion) that Marty had done in his leadership choices.
And as he was finishing this little barbeque, someone drifted into the room from the kitchen. They were right next door. You want to guess who it was? Marty, with his cup of coffee in his hand. He was right next door making himself some coffee the whole time, no doubt listening to this critical review of his leadership. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Our son felt about an inch tall when he realized Marty had heard him.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Invisible Victim."
If you've ever hurt someone that you didn't realize you were hurting, you know how bad it feels when you finally wake up. It's funny! Just like in a college gab session, what you're doing doesn't bother you until suddenly you realize who you've been hurting. That could be something you need to be thinking about right now.
Our word for today from the Word of God: Genesis 39. It's about Joseph. He's a Jewish young man who has been taken as a slave to the land of Egypt. He's purchased by a powerful general named Potiphar and he rises to a position of state manager. The Bible picks up the story with a powerful temptation that suddenly confronts Joseph and then his powerful response.
Here's what it says, "Joseph was well-built and handsome. And after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, 'Come to bed with me.' But he refused. 'With me in charge (he told her) my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you're his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God.'"
Now, Joseph resists this incredibly attractive temptation. Why? He says, "I can't do this to God." Not to Potiphar, not to Potiphar's wife, not to his religious upbringing. No, he says, "If I do this, I know who I'm going to be hurting. I'm going to be hurting God."
Flipside, King David, who said, "Yes" to a sexual temptation that scarred his life from that night on. He had sex with another man's wife, and then conspired to have that man, his friend, killed. His agony over this sin is recorded in Psalm 51 where he says, "My sin is always before me." He says, "God, against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Bottom line is: ultimately he has not sinned against Bathsheba's husband or Bathsheba, or the rules. He said, "God, I did this against you, didn't I?"
Right now you may be involved in something you know is wrong. It's a compromise, it's rebellion, it's a detour, it's wrong. You say, "Well, I don't think it's hurting anyone." Oh, yes it is. When Jesus' right-hand man denied Him, the Bible says that Peter went out and wept bitterly over it. But only after Jesus, on His way to His trial, turned and in the Bible's words, looked straight at Peter. And suddenly Peter realized that he wasn't just breaking the rules. He was breaking his Savior's heart. And so are you with that sin of yours.
This isn't about rebelling against your parents, or your church, or your upbringing, or your breaking some religious rules. This is about breaking the heart of Jesus, who gave His life for you so you wouldn't have to do that kind of junk. Please hear this! You're doing it to Jesus. The One who loves you most knows what you're doing and it really hurts.
Do you keep doing it when you know it is breaking your Savior's heart?
Sunday, August 16, 2015
John 11:1-29 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:Don’t Give Up
The next time you lack the will to go on, seek healthy counsel! You won’t want to. Slumping people love slumping people. We love those who commiserate and avoid those who correct. Yet correction and direction are what we need when we’re tired.
I discovered the importance of healthy counsel in a half-Ironman triathlon. After the 1.2 mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1 mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me. He said, “This stinks. This is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.”
I said, “Good-bye!” I knew if I listened too long, I’d start agreeing with him. I caught up with a sixty-six-year-old grandmother who said, “You’ll finish this—stay in there!”
Which of the two describes the counsel you seek? Proverbs 15:22 says: “Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed!”
Don’t give up. And get some good advice!
From Facing Your Giants
John 11:1-29
The Raising of Lazarus
11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.[a] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people[b] in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”
17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles[d] down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him.
Footnotes:
11:2 This incident is recorded in chapter 12.
11:8 Greek Jewish people; also in 11:19, 31, 33, 36, 45, 54.
11:16 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
11:18 Greek was about 15 stadia [about 2.8 kilometers].
11:25 Some manuscripts do not include and the life.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Read: Isaiah 25:1-9
Praise for Judgment and Salvation
25 O Lord, I will honor and praise your name,
for you are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
You planned them long ago,
and now you have accomplished them.
2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.
Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.
Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear
and will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory;
ruthless nations will fear you.
4 But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
are like a storm beating against a wall,
5 or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.
6 In Jerusalem,[a] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
8 He will swallow up death forever!
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
against his land and people.
The Lord has spoken!
9 In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
Footnotes:
25:6 Hebrew On this mountain; also in 25:10.
INSIGHT:
Isaiah 25 opens with a call to worship and praise God. Interestingly, the motivation behind this praise is God’s work of judgment and destruction. Normally we praise Him for His rescue and salvation, but here praise is offered for acts of judgment. Bill Crowder
Silent Helper
By Julie Ackerman Link
I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things. Isaiah 25:1
The discovery of penicillin revolutionized health care. Prior to the 1940s, bacterial infections were often fatal. Since then, penicillin has saved countless lives by killing harmful bacteria. The men who recognized its potential and developed it for widespread use won a Nobel Prize in 1945.
Long before the discovery of penicillin, other silent killers were at work saving lives by destroying bacteria. These silent killers are white blood cells. These hard workers are God’s way of protecting us from disease. No one knows how many invasions they have stopped or how many lives they have saved. They receive little recognition for all the good they do.
The Lord gets similar treatment. He often gets blamed when something goes wrong, but He seldom gets credit for all the things that go right. Every day people get up, get dressed, drive to work or school or the grocery store, and return safely to their families. No one knows how many times God has protected us from harm. But when there is a tragedy, we ask, “Where was God?”
When I consider all the wonderful things that God does silently on my behalf each day (Isa. 25:1), I see that my list of praises is much longer than my list of petitions.
In what ways does God’s goodness undergird your life? What are you thanking Him for today?
God keeps giving us reasons to praise Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Does He Know Me…?
August 16, 2015
He calls his own…by name… —John 10:3
When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus….Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ ” (John 20:16).
When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29). Have I been doubting something about Jesus— maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). But Thomas doubted, saying, “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).
Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him— a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. Biblical Ethics, 99 R
The next time you lack the will to go on, seek healthy counsel! You won’t want to. Slumping people love slumping people. We love those who commiserate and avoid those who correct. Yet correction and direction are what we need when we’re tired.
I discovered the importance of healthy counsel in a half-Ironman triathlon. After the 1.2 mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1 mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me. He said, “This stinks. This is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.”
I said, “Good-bye!” I knew if I listened too long, I’d start agreeing with him. I caught up with a sixty-six-year-old grandmother who said, “You’ll finish this—stay in there!”
Which of the two describes the counsel you seek? Proverbs 15:22 says: “Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed!”
Don’t give up. And get some good advice!
From Facing Your Giants
John 11:1-29
The Raising of Lazarus
11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.[a] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people[b] in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”
17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles[d] down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him.
Footnotes:
11:2 This incident is recorded in chapter 12.
11:8 Greek Jewish people; also in 11:19, 31, 33, 36, 45, 54.
11:16 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
11:18 Greek was about 15 stadia [about 2.8 kilometers].
11:25 Some manuscripts do not include and the life.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Read: Isaiah 25:1-9
Praise for Judgment and Salvation
25 O Lord, I will honor and praise your name,
for you are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
You planned them long ago,
and now you have accomplished them.
2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.
Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.
Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear
and will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory;
ruthless nations will fear you.
4 But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
are like a storm beating against a wall,
5 or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.
6 In Jerusalem,[a] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
8 He will swallow up death forever!
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
against his land and people.
The Lord has spoken!
9 In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
Footnotes:
25:6 Hebrew On this mountain; also in 25:10.
INSIGHT:
Isaiah 25 opens with a call to worship and praise God. Interestingly, the motivation behind this praise is God’s work of judgment and destruction. Normally we praise Him for His rescue and salvation, but here praise is offered for acts of judgment. Bill Crowder
Silent Helper
By Julie Ackerman Link
I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things. Isaiah 25:1
The discovery of penicillin revolutionized health care. Prior to the 1940s, bacterial infections were often fatal. Since then, penicillin has saved countless lives by killing harmful bacteria. The men who recognized its potential and developed it for widespread use won a Nobel Prize in 1945.
Long before the discovery of penicillin, other silent killers were at work saving lives by destroying bacteria. These silent killers are white blood cells. These hard workers are God’s way of protecting us from disease. No one knows how many invasions they have stopped or how many lives they have saved. They receive little recognition for all the good they do.
The Lord gets similar treatment. He often gets blamed when something goes wrong, but He seldom gets credit for all the things that go right. Every day people get up, get dressed, drive to work or school or the grocery store, and return safely to their families. No one knows how many times God has protected us from harm. But when there is a tragedy, we ask, “Where was God?”
When I consider all the wonderful things that God does silently on my behalf each day (Isa. 25:1), I see that my list of praises is much longer than my list of petitions.
In what ways does God’s goodness undergird your life? What are you thanking Him for today?
God keeps giving us reasons to praise Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Does He Know Me…?
August 16, 2015
He calls his own…by name… —John 10:3
When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. “…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus….Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ ” (John 20:14, 16). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. “She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ ” (John 20:16).
When I have stubbornly doubted? (see John 20:24-29). Have I been doubting something about Jesus— maybe an experience to which others testify, but which I have not yet experienced? The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25). But Thomas doubted, saying, “Unless I see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches will come we never know, but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “Thomas…said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28).
When I have selfishly denied Him? (see John 21:15-17). Peter denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75), and yet after His resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored Peter in private, and then He restored him publicly before the others. And Peter said to Him, “Lord…You know that I love You” (John 21:17).
Do I have a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one true sign of discipleship is intimate oneness with Him— a knowledge of Jesus that nothing can shake.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. Biblical Ethics, 99 R
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Psalm 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Doubt Storms
Sometimes I wonder…how can our world get so chaotic? And I sometimes wonder why so many hearts have to hurt? Do you ever get doubt storms? Do you have turbulent days when the enemy is too big, and the answers too few? Every so often a storm will come, and I'll look up into the blackening sky and say, "God, a little light, please?"
The light came for Jesus' disciples. A figure came to them walking on the water. It wasn't what they expected. Maybe they were listening for a divine proclamation to still the storm. One thing is for sure, they were not looking for Jesus to come walking on the water. "It's a ghost,' they said and cried out in fear." And since Jesus came in a way they didn't expect, they almost missed seeing the answer to their prayers. And unless we look and listen closely, we risk making the same mistake!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings[b];
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon[c] leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks[d]
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.
Footnotes:
29:1 Hebrew you sons of God.
29:6 Hebrew Sirion, another name for Mount Hermon.
29:9 Or causes the deer to writhe in labor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Read: Romans 15:1-7
Living to Please Others
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”[a] 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Footnotes:
15:3 Greek who insult you have fallen on me. Ps 69:9.
INSIGHT:
In Romans 14:1–15:7 Paul addressed a conflict between “strong” believers and “weak” believers that threatened the unity of the Roman church. The dispute was not over any core doctrines, but over some Old Testament laws (Rom. 14:1-6). The “strong”—or mature in faith—were those who believed that Christians no longer needed to observe these laws (vv. 2,15). Paul asked the mature believers not to despise the less mature, and the weak not to condemn the strong (v. 3). He called for tolerance and acceptance of each other’s convictions and practices. In today’s passage he lays the responsibility on the mature to be sensitive to the convictions of those weaker in faith and to help build them up (15:1-2). Sim Kay Tee
The Waving Girl
By Bill Crowder
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. —Romans 15:7 niv
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a familiar sight greeted ships as they pulled into the port of Savannah, Georgia. That sight was Florence Martus, “The Waving Girl.” For 44 years, Florence greeted the great ships from around the world, waving a handkerchief by day or a lantern by night. Today, a statue of Florence and her faithful dog stands in Savannah’s Morrell Park, permanently welcoming incoming vessels.
There is something in a warm welcome that speaks of acceptance. In Romans 15:7, Paul urged his readers: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (niv). Paul had in view our treatment of each other as followers of Christ, for in verses 5-6 he challenged us to live in harmony with one another. The key is to have “the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (niv).
Our acceptance of our fellow believers in Christ demonstrates more than just our love for each other—it reflects the great love of the One who has permanently welcomed us into His family.
Father, give me a heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please give us, together, a heart for one another, so that we will love and honor You in all we do.
Share this prayer from our Facebook page with your friends. facebook.com/ourdailybread
The closer Christians get to Christ, the closer they get to one another.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Evidence of the New Birth
August 15, 2015
You must be born again. —John 3:7
The answer to Nicodemus’ question, “How can a man be born when he is old?” is: Only when he is willing to die to everything in his life, including his rights, his virtues, and his religion, and becomes willing to receive into himself a new life that he has never before experienced (John 3:4). This new life exhibits itself in our conscious repentance and through our unconscious holiness.
“But as many as received Him…” (John 1:12). Is my knowledge of Jesus the result of my own internal spiritual perception, or is it only what I have learned through listening to others? Is there something in my life that unites me with the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior? My spiritual history must have as its underlying foundation a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. To be born again means that I see Jesus.
“…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ” (John 3:3). Am I seeking only for the evidence of God’s kingdom, or am I actually recognizing His absolute sovereign control? The new birth gives me a new power of vision by which I begin to discern God’s control. His sovereignty was there all the time, but with God being true to His nature, I could not see it until I received His very nature myself.
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin…” (1 John 3:9). Am I seeking to stop sinning or have I actually stopped? To be born of God means that I have His supernatural power to stop sinning. The Bible never asks, “Should a Christian sin?” The Bible emphatically states that a Christian must not sin. The work of the new birth is being effective in us when we do not commit sin. It is not merely that we have the power not to sin, but that we have actually stopped sinning. Yet 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin— it simply means that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to sin.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R
Sometimes I wonder…how can our world get so chaotic? And I sometimes wonder why so many hearts have to hurt? Do you ever get doubt storms? Do you have turbulent days when the enemy is too big, and the answers too few? Every so often a storm will come, and I'll look up into the blackening sky and say, "God, a little light, please?"
The light came for Jesus' disciples. A figure came to them walking on the water. It wasn't what they expected. Maybe they were listening for a divine proclamation to still the storm. One thing is for sure, they were not looking for Jesus to come walking on the water. "It's a ghost,' they said and cried out in fear." And since Jesus came in a way they didn't expect, they almost missed seeing the answer to their prayers. And unless we look and listen closely, we risk making the same mistake!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings[b];
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon[c] leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks[d]
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.
Footnotes:
29:1 Hebrew you sons of God.
29:6 Hebrew Sirion, another name for Mount Hermon.
29:9 Or causes the deer to writhe in labor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Read: Romans 15:1-7
Living to Please Others
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”[a] 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Footnotes:
15:3 Greek who insult you have fallen on me. Ps 69:9.
INSIGHT:
In Romans 14:1–15:7 Paul addressed a conflict between “strong” believers and “weak” believers that threatened the unity of the Roman church. The dispute was not over any core doctrines, but over some Old Testament laws (Rom. 14:1-6). The “strong”—or mature in faith—were those who believed that Christians no longer needed to observe these laws (vv. 2,15). Paul asked the mature believers not to despise the less mature, and the weak not to condemn the strong (v. 3). He called for tolerance and acceptance of each other’s convictions and practices. In today’s passage he lays the responsibility on the mature to be sensitive to the convictions of those weaker in faith and to help build them up (15:1-2). Sim Kay Tee
The Waving Girl
By Bill Crowder
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. —Romans 15:7 niv
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a familiar sight greeted ships as they pulled into the port of Savannah, Georgia. That sight was Florence Martus, “The Waving Girl.” For 44 years, Florence greeted the great ships from around the world, waving a handkerchief by day or a lantern by night. Today, a statue of Florence and her faithful dog stands in Savannah’s Morrell Park, permanently welcoming incoming vessels.
There is something in a warm welcome that speaks of acceptance. In Romans 15:7, Paul urged his readers: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (niv). Paul had in view our treatment of each other as followers of Christ, for in verses 5-6 he challenged us to live in harmony with one another. The key is to have “the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (niv).
Our acceptance of our fellow believers in Christ demonstrates more than just our love for each other—it reflects the great love of the One who has permanently welcomed us into His family.
Father, give me a heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please give us, together, a heart for one another, so that we will love and honor You in all we do.
Share this prayer from our Facebook page with your friends. facebook.com/ourdailybread
The closer Christians get to Christ, the closer they get to one another.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Evidence of the New Birth
August 15, 2015
You must be born again. —John 3:7
The answer to Nicodemus’ question, “How can a man be born when he is old?” is: Only when he is willing to die to everything in his life, including his rights, his virtues, and his religion, and becomes willing to receive into himself a new life that he has never before experienced (John 3:4). This new life exhibits itself in our conscious repentance and through our unconscious holiness.
“But as many as received Him…” (John 1:12). Is my knowledge of Jesus the result of my own internal spiritual perception, or is it only what I have learned through listening to others? Is there something in my life that unites me with the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior? My spiritual history must have as its underlying foundation a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. To be born again means that I see Jesus.
“…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ” (John 3:3). Am I seeking only for the evidence of God’s kingdom, or am I actually recognizing His absolute sovereign control? The new birth gives me a new power of vision by which I begin to discern God’s control. His sovereignty was there all the time, but with God being true to His nature, I could not see it until I received His very nature myself.
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin…” (1 John 3:9). Am I seeking to stop sinning or have I actually stopped? To be born of God means that I have His supernatural power to stop sinning. The Bible never asks, “Should a Christian sin?” The Bible emphatically states that a Christian must not sin. The work of the new birth is being effective in us when we do not commit sin. It is not merely that we have the power not to sin, but that we have actually stopped sinning. Yet 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin— it simply means that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to sin.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R
Friday, August 14, 2015
Psalm 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God Has Done It
The rich young ruler. He's rich, powerful. Just ask him. He knows where he's going. But today he has a question. Calling on this carpenter's son for help must be awkward. "Teacher," he asks, "what good thing must I do to get eternal life" (Matthew 19:16)? How much do I need to invest to be certain of my return?
Jesus' answer is intended to make the young man wince. "Obey the commandments."
"Hey," he grins, I've obeyed all of these."
Jesus gets to the point. "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions, give to the poor and you'll have treasures in heaven" (Matthew 19:21). The statement leaves the young man distraught. It wasn't the money that hindered the rich man-it was the self-sufficiency. God does for his children what they can't do for themselves. This was the message of Paul: "For what the law was powerless to do-God did" (Romans 8:3).
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 28
A psalm of David.
1 I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
I might as well give up and die.
2 Listen to my prayer for mercy
as I cry out to you for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked—
with those who do evil—
those who speak friendly words to their neighbors
while planning evil in their hearts.
4 Give them the punishment they so richly deserve!
Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness.
Pay them back for all their evil deeds!
Give them a taste of what they have done to others.
5 They care nothing for what the Lord has done
or for what his hands have made.
So he will tear them down,
and they will never be rebuilt!
6 Praise the Lord!
For he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The Lord gives his people strength.
He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.
9 Save your people!
Bless Israel, your special possession.[a]
Lead them like a shepherd,
and carry them in your arms forever.
Footnotes:
28:9 Hebrew Bless your inheritance
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 14, 2015
Read: John 9:1-7
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Footnotes:
9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
INSIGHT:
In comparison to the other gospels, the gospel of John is sparse in recording Jesus’ miracles. John records only seven miracles, but he does so for a specific purpose. In John 20:30-31 he writes: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Several of the miracles that John recorded pair with a significant statement about Jesus’ identity. After He fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish (6:1-13), He claimed to be “the bread of life” (v. 35). He said He was the “light of the world” (8:12) and then healed the man born blind (ch. 9). People believed in Jesus as the Messiah in response to His miracles (6:14; 9:38). J.R. Hudberg
Einstein and Jesus
By Mart DeHaan
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.” —John 8:12
We remember Albert Einstein for more than his disheveled hair, big eyes, and witty charm. We know him as the genius and physicist who changed the way we see the world. His famous formula of E=mc2 revolutionized scientific thought and brought us into the nuclear age. Through his “Special Theory of Relativity” he reasoned that since everything in the universe is in motion, all knowledge is a matter of perspective. He believed that the speed of light is the only constant by which we can measure space, time, or physical mass.
Long before Einstein, Jesus talked about the role of light in understanding our world, but from a different perspective. To support His claim to be the Light of the World (John 8:12), Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth (9:6). When the Pharisees accused Christ of being a sinner, this grateful man said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (v. 25).
Jesus can change our perspective on everything.
While Einstein’s ideas would later be proven difficult to test, Jesus’ claims can be tested. We can spend time with Jesus in the Gospels. We can invite Him into our daily routine. We can see for ourselves that He can change our perspective on everything.
Lord Jesus, You are the one constant in this chaotic world. Thank You for being the one true Light that the darkness can never extinguish.
Only as we walk in Christ’s light can we live in His love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Discipline of the Lord
August 14, 2015
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. —Hebrews 12:5
It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”
“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.
“…nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” We begin to pout, become irritated with God, and then say, “Oh well, I can’t help it. I prayed and things didn’t turn out right anyway. So I’m simply going to give up on everything.” Just think what would happen if we acted like this in any other area of our lives!
Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. Not Knowing Whither, 888 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 14, 2015
Do You Know What Time It Is? - #7460
Slang words are sometimes difficult to understand. Not so much the words themselves, but their meaning. There are some pretty cool slang words out there. For instance, when I just used the word cool, I wasn't talking about the temperature. If a young person today looked at me and said 'Totes!' they're not talking about a tote that you carry things in.
And just because someone may have asked you, 'Do you know what time it is, man?' That doesn't mean they really want to know the time. I remember in a stretch of time there in New York City that people were basically saying, 'Man, you're out of it. You don't get it do you? You know what time it is? You don't know what's happening.' They're saying, 'You really don't have it all figured out yet, man.'
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about 'Do You Know What Time It Is?'
Our word for today from the Word of God comes out of Matthew 24. The disciples wanted to know what time it was. They said to Jesus, 'Tell us when this will happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming at the end of the age?' And then Jesus began to give them some of the ways to be able to see what time it is on God's clock. 'Many will come in My name' he said, 'claiming 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many.'
Now, let me give you five ways that He kind of let us know that the time is here. First, Jesus said there will be lots of 'christs.' Now, it's pretty commonplace to believe that we are our own god, we're our own creator. There's plenty of spiritual options out there. And then Jesus said, 'You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.' So it is going to be a world full of war and combat and danger erupting all over the place. Sounds like the evening news.
Thirdly, we'll know that it's coming down to D-Day on God's clock because there's going to be a lot of natural disasters. He said, 'There'll be famines and earthquakes in various places.' In the book of Luke He adds the word pestilences. We've certainly seen our share of frightening diseases and immunity to antibiotics, so we've got whole new things that we can't fight. There's plenty of famines and earthquakes. Check the news.
The book of Revelation says a third of the human race will be killed by something that looks like fire and brimstone. How could early Christians have ever imagined that happening? What - spears, bows and arrow? We know fire and brimstone that could kill a third of the human race don't we? And then two more compound events to Jesus' coming. There has to be an Israel. There hasn't been one for very long, and today they are a nation.
Then it says, 'Every eye will see some of the events that take place.' Well, how in the world could every eye on earth see one event happen? Satellites? It's happening all the time. We see things going on all over the world.
It's amazing the kind of countdown time you and I are living in. I don't know when Jesus is coming back. I would certainly not even attempt to name a time. The Bible says not to do that. But I can say that the world looks more today like the world Jesus said He would come back to than it's probably ever looked before. It's kind of like that ball coming down on that building in Times Square on New Years Eve - 3, 2, 1. I don't know, maybe Jesus is almost here. And He says that at that time, people will in two groups.
The first group of people is the colder. The Bible says, '...because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold.' He's talking about His own people. They'll make sin everyday stuff, they'll fit in and they'll do nothing. You might be in that group.
The second group of people know what time it is, and they're going to become bolder. It says '...they're going to spread the Gospel of the kingdom as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.' These are the people who are going for broke. They see what time it is on the clock! They're going to clean the junk out of their lives. They're going to get other people ready for Jesus.
Lots of christs, lots of wars, lots of natural disasters, lots of disease, lots of mega weapons. Sounds like the world we're living in right now. It's later than it's ever been before on God's clock. I can tell you that. It's time to live boldly; to go public for Christ; to be 'all in', to attack the sin that we've been flirting with, because sometime soon our Lord may show up. Keep your eye on the clock. Do you know what time it is?
The rich young ruler. He's rich, powerful. Just ask him. He knows where he's going. But today he has a question. Calling on this carpenter's son for help must be awkward. "Teacher," he asks, "what good thing must I do to get eternal life" (Matthew 19:16)? How much do I need to invest to be certain of my return?
Jesus' answer is intended to make the young man wince. "Obey the commandments."
"Hey," he grins, I've obeyed all of these."
Jesus gets to the point. "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions, give to the poor and you'll have treasures in heaven" (Matthew 19:21). The statement leaves the young man distraught. It wasn't the money that hindered the rich man-it was the self-sufficiency. God does for his children what they can't do for themselves. This was the message of Paul: "For what the law was powerless to do-God did" (Romans 8:3).
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 28
A psalm of David.
1 I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
I might as well give up and die.
2 Listen to my prayer for mercy
as I cry out to you for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked—
with those who do evil—
those who speak friendly words to their neighbors
while planning evil in their hearts.
4 Give them the punishment they so richly deserve!
Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness.
Pay them back for all their evil deeds!
Give them a taste of what they have done to others.
5 They care nothing for what the Lord has done
or for what his hands have made.
So he will tear them down,
and they will never be rebuilt!
6 Praise the Lord!
For he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The Lord gives his people strength.
He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.
9 Save your people!
Bless Israel, your special possession.[a]
Lead them like a shepherd,
and carry them in your arms forever.
Footnotes:
28:9 Hebrew Bless your inheritance
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, August 14, 2015
Read: John 9:1-7
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Footnotes:
9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
INSIGHT:
In comparison to the other gospels, the gospel of John is sparse in recording Jesus’ miracles. John records only seven miracles, but he does so for a specific purpose. In John 20:30-31 he writes: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Several of the miracles that John recorded pair with a significant statement about Jesus’ identity. After He fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish (6:1-13), He claimed to be “the bread of life” (v. 35). He said He was the “light of the world” (8:12) and then healed the man born blind (ch. 9). People believed in Jesus as the Messiah in response to His miracles (6:14; 9:38). J.R. Hudberg
Einstein and Jesus
By Mart DeHaan
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.” —John 8:12
We remember Albert Einstein for more than his disheveled hair, big eyes, and witty charm. We know him as the genius and physicist who changed the way we see the world. His famous formula of E=mc2 revolutionized scientific thought and brought us into the nuclear age. Through his “Special Theory of Relativity” he reasoned that since everything in the universe is in motion, all knowledge is a matter of perspective. He believed that the speed of light is the only constant by which we can measure space, time, or physical mass.
Long before Einstein, Jesus talked about the role of light in understanding our world, but from a different perspective. To support His claim to be the Light of the World (John 8:12), Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth (9:6). When the Pharisees accused Christ of being a sinner, this grateful man said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (v. 25).
Jesus can change our perspective on everything.
While Einstein’s ideas would later be proven difficult to test, Jesus’ claims can be tested. We can spend time with Jesus in the Gospels. We can invite Him into our daily routine. We can see for ourselves that He can change our perspective on everything.
Lord Jesus, You are the one constant in this chaotic world. Thank You for being the one true Light that the darkness can never extinguish.
Only as we walk in Christ’s light can we live in His love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
The Discipline of the Lord
August 14, 2015
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. —Hebrews 12:5
It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”
“Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and do not despise Him when He says to you, in effect, “Don’t be blind on this point anymore— you are not as far along spiritually as you thought you were. Until now I have not been able to reveal this to you, but I’m revealing it to you right now.” When the Lord disciplines you like that, let Him have His way with you. Allow Him to put you into a right-standing relationship before God.
“…nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” We begin to pout, become irritated with God, and then say, “Oh well, I can’t help it. I prayed and things didn’t turn out right anyway. So I’m simply going to give up on everything.” Just think what would happen if we acted like this in any other area of our lives!
Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. Not Knowing Whither, 888 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, August 14, 2015
Do You Know What Time It Is? - #7460
Slang words are sometimes difficult to understand. Not so much the words themselves, but their meaning. There are some pretty cool slang words out there. For instance, when I just used the word cool, I wasn't talking about the temperature. If a young person today looked at me and said 'Totes!' they're not talking about a tote that you carry things in.
And just because someone may have asked you, 'Do you know what time it is, man?' That doesn't mean they really want to know the time. I remember in a stretch of time there in New York City that people were basically saying, 'Man, you're out of it. You don't get it do you? You know what time it is? You don't know what's happening.' They're saying, 'You really don't have it all figured out yet, man.'
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about 'Do You Know What Time It Is?'
Our word for today from the Word of God comes out of Matthew 24. The disciples wanted to know what time it was. They said to Jesus, 'Tell us when this will happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming at the end of the age?' And then Jesus began to give them some of the ways to be able to see what time it is on God's clock. 'Many will come in My name' he said, 'claiming 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many.'
Now, let me give you five ways that He kind of let us know that the time is here. First, Jesus said there will be lots of 'christs.' Now, it's pretty commonplace to believe that we are our own god, we're our own creator. There's plenty of spiritual options out there. And then Jesus said, 'You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.' So it is going to be a world full of war and combat and danger erupting all over the place. Sounds like the evening news.
Thirdly, we'll know that it's coming down to D-Day on God's clock because there's going to be a lot of natural disasters. He said, 'There'll be famines and earthquakes in various places.' In the book of Luke He adds the word pestilences. We've certainly seen our share of frightening diseases and immunity to antibiotics, so we've got whole new things that we can't fight. There's plenty of famines and earthquakes. Check the news.
The book of Revelation says a third of the human race will be killed by something that looks like fire and brimstone. How could early Christians have ever imagined that happening? What - spears, bows and arrow? We know fire and brimstone that could kill a third of the human race don't we? And then two more compound events to Jesus' coming. There has to be an Israel. There hasn't been one for very long, and today they are a nation.
Then it says, 'Every eye will see some of the events that take place.' Well, how in the world could every eye on earth see one event happen? Satellites? It's happening all the time. We see things going on all over the world.
It's amazing the kind of countdown time you and I are living in. I don't know when Jesus is coming back. I would certainly not even attempt to name a time. The Bible says not to do that. But I can say that the world looks more today like the world Jesus said He would come back to than it's probably ever looked before. It's kind of like that ball coming down on that building in Times Square on New Years Eve - 3, 2, 1. I don't know, maybe Jesus is almost here. And He says that at that time, people will in two groups.
The first group of people is the colder. The Bible says, '...because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold.' He's talking about His own people. They'll make sin everyday stuff, they'll fit in and they'll do nothing. You might be in that group.
The second group of people know what time it is, and they're going to become bolder. It says '...they're going to spread the Gospel of the kingdom as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.' These are the people who are going for broke. They see what time it is on the clock! They're going to clean the junk out of their lives. They're going to get other people ready for Jesus.
Lots of christs, lots of wars, lots of natural disasters, lots of disease, lots of mega weapons. Sounds like the world we're living in right now. It's later than it's ever been before on God's clock. I can tell you that. It's time to live boldly; to go public for Christ; to be 'all in', to attack the sin that we've been flirting with, because sometime soon our Lord may show up. Keep your eye on the clock. Do you know what time it is?
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