Max Lucado Daily: A Valentine for My Daughters
The whirlwind of adolescent doubts and pressure was making regular runs through our house. So on Valentine's Day, 1997, I wrote the following for each of my daughters:
I have a special gift for you. My gift is warmth at night and sunlit afternoons, chuckles and giggles and happy Saturdays. Is there a store which sells laughter? A catalog that offers kisses? No. Such a treasure can't be bought. But it can be given. Your Valentine's Day gift is a promise, a promise that I will always love your mother. With God as my helper, I will never leave her. You'll never come home to find me gone. You'll never wake up and find that I have run away. You'll always have two parents. I will love your mother. I will honor your mother. I will cherish your mother. That is my promise. That is my gift.
Love dad!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 19
Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold
When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”
Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“‘Virgin Daughter Zion
despises you and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head as you flee.
22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers
you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
“With my many chariots
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest parts,
the finest of its forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign lands
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
25 “‘Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.
26 Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass sprouting on the roof,
scorched before it grows up.
27 “‘But I know where you are
and when you come and go
and how you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me
and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.’
29 “This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah:
“This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
“The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Footnotes:
2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 12, 2016
Read: John 8:39-47
“Our father is Abraham!” they declared.
“No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.[a] 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.”
They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
Footnotes:
8:39 Some manuscripts read if you are really the children of Abraham, follow his example.
INSIGHT:
John 8 is a chapter filled with conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel. In verses 1–11 the conflict is based on whether a woman caught in sin should be publicly executed or shown compassion. In verses 12–20 the point of friction focuses on whether Jesus is who He claims to be: the “Light of the world” and the Son of God. The religious leaders dispute Jesus’s claim that God is His Father, even accusing Him of being born illegitimately (v. 41). When Jesus says that He existed before Abraham was born (vv. 56–58), His antagonists respond by attempting to stone Him to death.
Undigested Knowledge
By Tim Gustafson
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. John 8:31
In his book on language, British diplomat Lancelot Oliphant (1881–1965) observed that many students give correct answers on tests but fail to put those lessons into practice. “Such undigested knowledge is of little use,” declared Oliphant.
Author Barnabas Piper noticed a parallel in his own life: “I thought I was close to God because I knew all the answers,” he said, “but I had fooled myself into thinking that was the same as relationship with Jesus.”
Faith is not accepting the fact of God but receiving the life of God.
At the temple one day, Jesus encountered people who thought they had all the right answers. They were proudly proclaiming their status as Abraham’s descendants yet refused to believe in God’s Son.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did” (John 8:39). And what was that? Abraham “believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Still, Jesus’ hearers refused to believe. “The only Father we have is God himself,” they said (John 8:41). Jesus replied, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (v. 47).
Piper recalls how things “fell apart” for him before he “encountered God’s grace and the person of Jesus in a profound way.” When we allow God’s truth to transform our lives, we gain much more than the right answer. We introduce the world to Jesus.
Father, thank You that You receive anyone who turns to You in faith.
Faith is not accepting the fact of God but of receiving the life of God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 12, 2016
Are You Listening to God?
They said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." —Exodus 20:19
We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us,…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. The Place of Help, 1051 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 12, 2016
The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From - #7590
When my friends tell me they have a headache, they don't always get a lot of sympathy. I usually just say, "You know, pain always attacks at the weakest point." They really appreciate that! That helps. Well, actually, we all have our favorite headache remedy – one or two of this pill or that and we wait for the relief as those pills race through our system. I know they do. I saw it on a commercial once.
Do you remember the twisted act of individual terrorism that happened in 1982 when relief was turned into tragedy? Someone managed to put poison in some pain relief capsules and there were a series of sudden deaths. The victims had taken this brand of pain reliever. I remember reading about a flight attendant in particular who arrived home after a trip with a serious headache. She reached for a couple pain relief capsules. I'm sure she thought they would make her feel better soon. Instead, she died from them.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Spiritual Cure You Can Die From."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 14:12. It is one of the most sobering, unsettling statements in the Bible. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." God's trying to warn us here that we can be on a spiritual road that feels right, that we really believe will give us what we've been hoping for, but it will lead us to death.
In 1997, just before Good Friday, America was stunned by the mass suicide of 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult. Then we saw some of the video testimonials made by those people just before they took their own lives. They talked about how at peace they were, how happy to be taking this next step – suicide. And we learned that these were not some religious freaks; they were bright, competent people. They believed very sincerely that they were graduating to something better.
But listen to Jesus, the Son of God. He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved" (John 10:9). And it is Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." If you're counting on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're not going to make it. Sincerity doesn't make what you believe in right. That flight attendant sincerely believed that pain reliever would help her. Peaceful feelings don't validate what you're counting on either. The people who died from those poisoned capsules were expecting relief. Instead they died.
Our hearts are incurably spiritual. We need a spiritual answer, and we know it. We're looking for something bigger than ourselves, something that can give us significance, that can conquer the darkness inside of us; that can take us to something better someday. Ultimately, we are looking for a savior who can make us what we could never otherwise be and take us to a heaven we could never otherwise go to.
And there is only one Savior. There's only one person who died the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done, and that is Jesus Christ on the cross. And no belief, no religion, even if it's all about Jesus, can get you to heaven when you die. Only the Savior can do that. You may be on a beautiful spiritual road that looks right and feels right. But like pain relievers that contained poison it may lead you to death.
But Jesus is reaching out to you right now, "the way, the truth, and the life" man. He's urging you to put all your faith in Him; to make the Savior your Savior. Isn't this the day to do that? Why would you risk another day without Him? Today you can say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
The information you need to be sure you belong to Him is right at our website. Just go to ANewStory.com. Can you remember that? Let your new story begin today. The days that are B.C. (before Christ) in your life end today. And days living with Jesus all the way into eternity can begin right now right where you are.
Jesus died so you don't have to. Don't risk depending on a remedy that cannot cure sin, because only the Savior can do that. He is what your heart's been longing for all this time.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Galatians 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: TRUE HUMILITY
True humility is not thinking lowly of yourself but thinking accurately of yourself. When Paul writes in Philippians 2:3 “Consider others better than yourselves,” he uses a verb that means to calculate. The word implies a conscious judgment resting on carefully weighed facts. To consider others better than yourself, then, is to say that you know your place. True humility is quick to applaud the success of others.
Paul says give each other more honor than you want for yourselves. Jesus is our example. Content to be known as a carpenter. Happy to be mistaken for the gardener. He served his followers by washing their feet. If Jesus is so willing to honor us, can we not do the same for others? Can we not regard others as more important than ourselves? Be quick to share the applause! That’s what love does!
From A Love Worth Giving
Galatians 4
Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles[a] of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.[b] 6 And because we[c] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”[d] 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.[e] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters,[f] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.
You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?
17 Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
Abraham’s Two Children
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.[g] 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia,[h] because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!”[i]
28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[j] 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
Footnotes:
4:3 Or powers; also in 4:9.
4:5 Greek sons; also in 4:6.
4:6a Greek you.
4:6b Abba is an Aramaic term for “father.”
4:7 Greek son; also in 4:7b.
4:12 Greek brothers; also in 4:28, 31.
4:22 See Gen 16:15; 21:2-3.
4:25 Greek And Hagar, which is Mount Sinai in Arabia, is now like Jerusalem; other manuscripts read And Mount Sinai in Arabia is now like Jerusalem.
4:27 Isa 54:1.
4:30 Gen 21:10.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[b] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Footnotes:
4:26 Ps 4:4.
4:30 Or has put his seal on you.
INSIGHT:
After we become followers of Christ, our lives are to be characterized by holiness and purity. We are to “put off [our] old self . . . and to put on the new self” (4:22, 24), which changes the way we communicate. Christians are to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” (v. 25); stop using unwholesome, foul, or abusive language (v. 29); and get rid of bitter, angry, harsh, slanderous, and malicious words (v. 31). Instead we are to speak graciously, using words that edify, build up, encourage, and benefit those who listen (v. 29).
Turn Off the Scoreboard
By Joe Stowell
Forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
At his son’s wedding reception, my friend Bob offered advice and encouragement to the newlyweds. In his speech he told of a football coach in a nearby town who, when his team lost a game, kept the losing score on the scoreboard all week to remind the team of their failure. While that may be a good football strategy, Bob wisely advised, it’s a terrible strategy in marriage. When your spouse upsets you or fails you in some way, don’t keep drawing attention to the failure. Turn off the scoreboard.
What great advice! Scripture is full of commands for us to love each other and overlook faults. We are reminded that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5) and that we should be ready to forgive one another “just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
God doesn't simply forgive when we repent; He removes our sin.
I am deeply grateful that God turns off the scoreboard when I fail. He doesn’t simply forgive when we repent; He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). With God, forgiveness means that our sin is out of sight and out of mind. May He give us grace to extend forgiveness to those around us.
Lord, thank You for not holding my sins against me and for granting me a second chance. Help me today to forgive others just as You have so freely forgiven me.
Forgive as God forgives you—don’t keep score.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3
Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).
Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.
“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Jesus-Way to Start Your Day - #7589
If you've listened to this program before, you might be familiar with the dog we had, Missy. She provided a wealth of stories for me throughout the years. She was our little, often spunky, black and white shiatsu. Oh, she wasn't always spunky, especially in the mornings. I'd often get up early before anyone else, and when I hit the kitchen there she was. A definitely "unspunky" Missy.
I usually found her sprawled out under this white desk we had in the kitchen. She was awake but that's about all. Her head and her eyes and her ears drooped and nothing I could say or do or offer could coax her out of her hiding place. But as soon as she heard any stirring upstairs where my youngest son was – her master – Missy suddenly came alive and she'd stand expectantly at the kitchen gate, wagging her tail.
Now, my day begins when the alarm goes off, but not Missy. No, her day began when she saw her master.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Jesus Way to Start Your Day."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the personal writings of a man God called the man after His own heart, David. Psalm 42:1-2 - "As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" See, David has this driving desire to get one on one time with God. It's like a thirst that demands to be quenched. It reminds me of that dog and what motivated her. She lived to be with her master. Her day didn't start until she had been with her master.
Now, we've been wired by our Heavenly Father to feel that same way about our relationship with Him. My day doesn't start until I've been with You, Master. If we really believe that then we've had a lot of days that have effectively never really gotten started. Right? We never really found time to meet with God did we? Actually, found time isn't how it works. We never really reserved time to be with our Master.
Now, what happens when you do get with Him? Well, David says later in this Psalm, "My tears have been my food day and night," and he says, "I pour out my soul." When you meet with God you empty out the real feelings in your soul, not so He can find out about them, He already knows, but so His power and love are turned loose on healing them.
And then there's hope for each new day. David says when he seeks the Lord (verse 5), "Why are you so downcast, O my soul?...Put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." You see, pain gets recycled into praise. When you meet with your Master the anxiety is replaced with peace as you remember how big He is compared to what you're worrying about. You discover the Lord's leading for this new day like a dog finding out where his master is going so he can follow. A master launch of your day takes you to the cross with yesterday's sin to receive the mercies that are new every morning. And so you get an early spiritual shower and you start the day clean.
Maybe you've had too many days where you have sunk emotionally, relationally, spiritually. You're basically sleep-walking through the day, or like Missy you're just moping around with nothing to get moving for. You've started your day with Snapchat, Twitter or Netflix, or with a stressful "to do" list in your head, with people other than your master.
Instead, start with Him, talk to Him, listen to Him first, review verses about Him, fill up on music and praise about Him. Load up on Jesus in the launching moments of your day and keep a reserved time in your morning schedule to sit down and just be with Jesus, letting him show you His perspective on that day with His word. And that time has got to be the most non-negotiable part of your schedule. The one time in your day that cannot be canceled. The one time nobody else can have.
After all, even a dog knows it isn't much of a day without your master. Time with Jesus is what really starts and what really energizes your day!
True humility is not thinking lowly of yourself but thinking accurately of yourself. When Paul writes in Philippians 2:3 “Consider others better than yourselves,” he uses a verb that means to calculate. The word implies a conscious judgment resting on carefully weighed facts. To consider others better than yourself, then, is to say that you know your place. True humility is quick to applaud the success of others.
Paul says give each other more honor than you want for yourselves. Jesus is our example. Content to be known as a carpenter. Happy to be mistaken for the gardener. He served his followers by washing their feet. If Jesus is so willing to honor us, can we not do the same for others? Can we not regard others as more important than ourselves? Be quick to share the applause! That’s what love does!
From A Love Worth Giving
Galatians 4
Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles[a] of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.[b] 6 And because we[c] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”[d] 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.[e] And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters,[f] I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.
You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?
17 Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
Abraham’s Two Children
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.[g] 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia,[h] because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!”[i]
28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[j] 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
Footnotes:
4:3 Or powers; also in 4:9.
4:5 Greek sons; also in 4:6.
4:6a Greek you.
4:6b Abba is an Aramaic term for “father.”
4:7 Greek son; also in 4:7b.
4:12 Greek brothers; also in 4:28, 31.
4:22 See Gen 16:15; 21:2-3.
4:25 Greek And Hagar, which is Mount Sinai in Arabia, is now like Jerusalem; other manuscripts read And Mount Sinai in Arabia is now like Jerusalem.
4:27 Isa 54:1.
4:30 Gen 21:10.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[b] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Footnotes:
4:26 Ps 4:4.
4:30 Or has put his seal on you.
INSIGHT:
After we become followers of Christ, our lives are to be characterized by holiness and purity. We are to “put off [our] old self . . . and to put on the new self” (4:22, 24), which changes the way we communicate. Christians are to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” (v. 25); stop using unwholesome, foul, or abusive language (v. 29); and get rid of bitter, angry, harsh, slanderous, and malicious words (v. 31). Instead we are to speak graciously, using words that edify, build up, encourage, and benefit those who listen (v. 29).
Turn Off the Scoreboard
By Joe Stowell
Forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
At his son’s wedding reception, my friend Bob offered advice and encouragement to the newlyweds. In his speech he told of a football coach in a nearby town who, when his team lost a game, kept the losing score on the scoreboard all week to remind the team of their failure. While that may be a good football strategy, Bob wisely advised, it’s a terrible strategy in marriage. When your spouse upsets you or fails you in some way, don’t keep drawing attention to the failure. Turn off the scoreboard.
What great advice! Scripture is full of commands for us to love each other and overlook faults. We are reminded that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5) and that we should be ready to forgive one another “just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
God doesn't simply forgive when we repent; He removes our sin.
I am deeply grateful that God turns off the scoreboard when I fail. He doesn’t simply forgive when we repent; He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). With God, forgiveness means that our sin is out of sight and out of mind. May He give us grace to extend forgiveness to those around us.
Lord, thank You for not holding my sins against me and for granting me a second chance. Help me today to forgive others just as You have so freely forgiven me.
Forgive as God forgives you—don’t keep score.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3
Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).
Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.
“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Jesus-Way to Start Your Day - #7589
If you've listened to this program before, you might be familiar with the dog we had, Missy. She provided a wealth of stories for me throughout the years. She was our little, often spunky, black and white shiatsu. Oh, she wasn't always spunky, especially in the mornings. I'd often get up early before anyone else, and when I hit the kitchen there she was. A definitely "unspunky" Missy.
I usually found her sprawled out under this white desk we had in the kitchen. She was awake but that's about all. Her head and her eyes and her ears drooped and nothing I could say or do or offer could coax her out of her hiding place. But as soon as she heard any stirring upstairs where my youngest son was – her master – Missy suddenly came alive and she'd stand expectantly at the kitchen gate, wagging her tail.
Now, my day begins when the alarm goes off, but not Missy. No, her day began when she saw her master.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Jesus Way to Start Your Day."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the personal writings of a man God called the man after His own heart, David. Psalm 42:1-2 - "As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" See, David has this driving desire to get one on one time with God. It's like a thirst that demands to be quenched. It reminds me of that dog and what motivated her. She lived to be with her master. Her day didn't start until she had been with her master.
Now, we've been wired by our Heavenly Father to feel that same way about our relationship with Him. My day doesn't start until I've been with You, Master. If we really believe that then we've had a lot of days that have effectively never really gotten started. Right? We never really found time to meet with God did we? Actually, found time isn't how it works. We never really reserved time to be with our Master.
Now, what happens when you do get with Him? Well, David says later in this Psalm, "My tears have been my food day and night," and he says, "I pour out my soul." When you meet with God you empty out the real feelings in your soul, not so He can find out about them, He already knows, but so His power and love are turned loose on healing them.
And then there's hope for each new day. David says when he seeks the Lord (verse 5), "Why are you so downcast, O my soul?...Put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." You see, pain gets recycled into praise. When you meet with your Master the anxiety is replaced with peace as you remember how big He is compared to what you're worrying about. You discover the Lord's leading for this new day like a dog finding out where his master is going so he can follow. A master launch of your day takes you to the cross with yesterday's sin to receive the mercies that are new every morning. And so you get an early spiritual shower and you start the day clean.
Maybe you've had too many days where you have sunk emotionally, relationally, spiritually. You're basically sleep-walking through the day, or like Missy you're just moping around with nothing to get moving for. You've started your day with Snapchat, Twitter or Netflix, or with a stressful "to do" list in your head, with people other than your master.
Instead, start with Him, talk to Him, listen to Him first, review verses about Him, fill up on music and praise about Him. Load up on Jesus in the launching moments of your day and keep a reserved time in your morning schedule to sit down and just be with Jesus, letting him show you His perspective on that day with His word. And that time has got to be the most non-negotiable part of your schedule. The one time in your day that cannot be canceled. The one time nobody else can have.
After all, even a dog knows it isn't much of a day without your master. Time with Jesus is what really starts and what really energizes your day!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
2 Kings 18, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Love Worth Giving
Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for a company of killers. I wouldn't do it, but Christ did! If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? Christ did. He humbled himself. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that's what love does. It puts the beloved before itself. He loves you that much, and because he loves you, you are of prime importance to him.
Want to love others as God has loved you? Come thirsty. Drink deeply of God's love for you. Ask him to fill your heart with a love worth giving!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 18
Hezekiah Rules Judah
In the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to rule. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He took away the high places. He broke down the holy pillars used in worship and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the brass snake that Moses had made. For until those days the people of Israel burned special perfume to it. It was called Nehushtan. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah before him or after him. 6 For he held to the Lord and did not stop following Him. He kept His Laws which the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him. Hezekiah did well in every place he went. He turned against the king of Assyria and did not work for him. 8 He destroyed the Philistines as far as Gaza and its land, from the smallest town to the strongest city.
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Elah’s son Hoshea king of Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria came to fight against Samaria. His army gathered around it. 10 At the end of three years they took the city. Samaria was taken by Assyria in the sixth year of Hezekiah and the ninth year of King Hoshea of Israel. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried the people of Israel away against their will to Assyria. He had them live in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 12 Because the people of Israel did not obey the voice of the Lord their God. They sinned against His agreement and even all that the Lord’s servant Moses told them. They would not listen or obey.
The Assyrians Want to Take Jerusalem
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and fought against all the strong cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; leave me. I will pay whatever you ask.” So the king of Assyria had Hezekiah king of Judah pay him silver weighing as much as 300 men, and gold weighing as much as thirty men. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the store-rooms of the king’s house. 16 Then he cut the gold off the doors of the Lord’s house. He cut the gold from the sides of the door which King Hezekiah of Judah had covered with gold. And he gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rab-saris and Rabshakeh with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. They came and stood by the ditch of the upper pool, which is on the road to the fuller’s field. 18 When they called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah the son of Asaph came out to them. Eliakim was the head of the house. Shebnah was the writer, and Joah wrote down the things of the nation. 19 Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king of Assyria says. “What is this strength of heart that you have? 20 You say with empty words, ‘I have wisdom and strength for war.’ On whom do you trust, that you have turned against me? 21 Look, you are trusting now in Egypt. It is a walking stick like a piece of broken river-grass. It will cut into a man’s hand if he rests on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 You might tell me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ But is it not He Whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away? And has he not said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 Come now, make an agreement with my ruler the king of Assyria. And I will give you 2,000 horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them. 24 How can you fight back one captain among the least of my ruler’s servants, when you trust Egypt for war-wagons and horsemen? 25 Have I come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah. The people on the wall might hear it.” 27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my ruler sent me to speak these words to your ruler and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall? They are sure to suffer with you, eating and drinking their own body waste.” 28 Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, “Hear the word of the great king of Assyria. 29 The king says, ‘Do not let Hezekiah lie to you. For he will not be able to save you from my power. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will save us for sure. And this city will not be given to the king of Assyria.” 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says, “Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat of his own vine and fig tree. And every one of you will drink the water of his own well. 32 Then I will come and take you away to a land like your own land. It is a land of grain and new wine. It is a land of bread and grape-fields and olive trees and honey. There you will live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he lies to you, saying, “The Lord will save us.” 33 Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my power? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have saved their land from my power? So how should the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?’” 36 But the people were quiet. They did not answer him a word. For Hezekiah had told them, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was the head of the house, and Shebna the writer, and Joah the son of Asaph who wrote down the things of the nation, came to Hezekiah. They came with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Read: Colossians 1:15-20
Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. 16 Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. 17 Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. 18 Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. 19 God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. 20 Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace.
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage—packed with significant theological morsels—the word all stands out. In these six short verses Paul uses it seven times, and he uses a similar word in verse 18—everything. Paul underscores Jesus’s supremacy. He is the Source (v. 16) and Sustainer (v. 17) of everything.
Jesus Over Everything
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
He is before all things. Colossians 1:17
My friend’s son decided to wear a sports jersey over his school clothing one day. He wanted to show support for his favorite team that would be playing an important game later that night. Before leaving home, he put something on over his sports jersey—it was a chain with a pendant that read, “Jesus.” His simple action illustrated a deeper truth: Jesus deserves first place over everything in our lives.
Jesus is above and over all. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Jesus is supreme over all creation (vv. 15-16). He is “the head of the body, the church” (v. 18). Because of this, He should have first place in all things.
Jesus deserves the best of our time, energy, and affection.
When we give Jesus the highest place of honor in each area of our lives, this truth becomes visible to those around us. At work, are we laboring first for God or only to please our employer? (3:23). How do God’s standards show up in the way we treat others? (vv. 12-14). Do we put Him first as we live our lives and pursue our favorite pastimes?
When Jesus is our greatest influence in all of life, He will have His rightful place in our hearts.
Dear Jesus, You deserve the best of my time, energy, and affection. I crown You King of my heart and Lord over everything I do.
How can you put God first in your life today?
Put Jesus first.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Your Clever Disguise - #7588
A pastor I know was meeting one of the ladies from his large church one day, and he asked her, "What do you do?" Her answer was classic. She said, "Well, Pastor, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ cleverly disguised as a machine operator!" I love that!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Clever Disguise."
Now there is a Christian who knows who she is and why she is where she is. She's there to be Jesus' personal representative to other machine operators! Who is a lost machine operator most likely to listen to about a relationship with Jesus Christ? All right, another machine operator! A lost mom is most likely to listen to another mom, a student to a student, a computer programmer to another computer programmer, a guy at the gym to another guy at the gym, a cancer survivor to another cancer survivor. Everybody's got a tribe. People listen to somebody from their tribe.
This strategy of sending someone who lives where the unreached people live is at least 2000 years old. In our word for today from the Word of God in John chapter 4, Jesus is on a mission to reach the people of Samaria. So, how does He go about it? They didn't really like Jewish guys there. There's lot of walls to tear down.
Well, He reaches one of their own. He reaches a Samaritan woman at the well, who is notorious in her village, apparently, for her promiscuity. By the end of Jesus' visit, the Bible says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him." Why? Well, you ready for the answer? It says, "Because of the woman's testimony." (John 4:39). It doesn't say it was because of Jesus' sermon, but because of the testimony of a new disciple of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as their neighbor.
It's one reason why Jesus came into your life one day; to send you back to your neighborhood, your workplace, your school, your tribe, to introduce people like you to Him. You're His chosen link between the people in your world and Him. How are you doing at bringing those folks together with Jesus?
The best person to tell folks who do what you do, live where you live, and face what you face about Jesus is you. In a post-Christian culture like ours, most lost people don't ever plan to go to a religious meeting to hear a religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place. They will only be rescued spiritually if someone takes the Good News about Jesus where they are! And who is already where they are? You are.
The woman Jesus sent back to her village could have said, as you may, "Oh, man! My past! I'm so messed up. I'm so far from perfect." Isn't it something Jesus sends flawed ambassadors to be living examples of His great grace? This woman could have said, as you may, "Oh, but I'm not trained." Training is good. Our ministry is constantly in the business of equipping someone like you to represent Him. But your ultimate credentials are what Jesus has done in your life and your love for that lost person.
Your message is the same as that of this Samaritan woman. She simply said to her fellow villagers, "Come, see a Man!" (John 4:29). Not a religion – a man. Your message is a person; not your religion, not your beliefs, not your rules. It's all about Jesus! You're taking someone you know in one hand. You're taking Jesus in the other hand, and you are prayerfully bringing them together forever!
What a place God has entrusted to you, divinely positioned so you can take some people to heaven with you. Where you live, what you do; it's all just your clever disguise!
Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for a company of killers. I wouldn't do it, but Christ did! If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? Christ did. He humbled himself. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that's what love does. It puts the beloved before itself. He loves you that much, and because he loves you, you are of prime importance to him.
Want to love others as God has loved you? Come thirsty. Drink deeply of God's love for you. Ask him to fill your heart with a love worth giving!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 18
Hezekiah Rules Judah
In the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to rule. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He took away the high places. He broke down the holy pillars used in worship and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the brass snake that Moses had made. For until those days the people of Israel burned special perfume to it. It was called Nehushtan. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah before him or after him. 6 For he held to the Lord and did not stop following Him. He kept His Laws which the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him. Hezekiah did well in every place he went. He turned against the king of Assyria and did not work for him. 8 He destroyed the Philistines as far as Gaza and its land, from the smallest town to the strongest city.
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Elah’s son Hoshea king of Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria came to fight against Samaria. His army gathered around it. 10 At the end of three years they took the city. Samaria was taken by Assyria in the sixth year of Hezekiah and the ninth year of King Hoshea of Israel. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried the people of Israel away against their will to Assyria. He had them live in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 12 Because the people of Israel did not obey the voice of the Lord their God. They sinned against His agreement and even all that the Lord’s servant Moses told them. They would not listen or obey.
The Assyrians Want to Take Jerusalem
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and fought against all the strong cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; leave me. I will pay whatever you ask.” So the king of Assyria had Hezekiah king of Judah pay him silver weighing as much as 300 men, and gold weighing as much as thirty men. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the store-rooms of the king’s house. 16 Then he cut the gold off the doors of the Lord’s house. He cut the gold from the sides of the door which King Hezekiah of Judah had covered with gold. And he gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rab-saris and Rabshakeh with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. They came and stood by the ditch of the upper pool, which is on the road to the fuller’s field. 18 When they called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah the son of Asaph came out to them. Eliakim was the head of the house. Shebnah was the writer, and Joah wrote down the things of the nation. 19 Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king of Assyria says. “What is this strength of heart that you have? 20 You say with empty words, ‘I have wisdom and strength for war.’ On whom do you trust, that you have turned against me? 21 Look, you are trusting now in Egypt. It is a walking stick like a piece of broken river-grass. It will cut into a man’s hand if he rests on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 You might tell me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ But is it not He Whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away? And has he not said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 Come now, make an agreement with my ruler the king of Assyria. And I will give you 2,000 horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them. 24 How can you fight back one captain among the least of my ruler’s servants, when you trust Egypt for war-wagons and horsemen? 25 Have I come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah. The people on the wall might hear it.” 27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my ruler sent me to speak these words to your ruler and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall? They are sure to suffer with you, eating and drinking their own body waste.” 28 Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, “Hear the word of the great king of Assyria. 29 The king says, ‘Do not let Hezekiah lie to you. For he will not be able to save you from my power. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will save us for sure. And this city will not be given to the king of Assyria.” 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says, “Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat of his own vine and fig tree. And every one of you will drink the water of his own well. 32 Then I will come and take you away to a land like your own land. It is a land of grain and new wine. It is a land of bread and grape-fields and olive trees and honey. There you will live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he lies to you, saying, “The Lord will save us.” 33 Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my power? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have saved their land from my power? So how should the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?’” 36 But the people were quiet. They did not answer him a word. For Hezekiah had told them, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was the head of the house, and Shebna the writer, and Joah the son of Asaph who wrote down the things of the nation, came to Hezekiah. They came with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Read: Colossians 1:15-20
Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. 16 Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. 17 Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. 18 Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. 19 God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. 20 Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace.
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage—packed with significant theological morsels—the word all stands out. In these six short verses Paul uses it seven times, and he uses a similar word in verse 18—everything. Paul underscores Jesus’s supremacy. He is the Source (v. 16) and Sustainer (v. 17) of everything.
Jesus Over Everything
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
He is before all things. Colossians 1:17
My friend’s son decided to wear a sports jersey over his school clothing one day. He wanted to show support for his favorite team that would be playing an important game later that night. Before leaving home, he put something on over his sports jersey—it was a chain with a pendant that read, “Jesus.” His simple action illustrated a deeper truth: Jesus deserves first place over everything in our lives.
Jesus is above and over all. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Jesus is supreme over all creation (vv. 15-16). He is “the head of the body, the church” (v. 18). Because of this, He should have first place in all things.
Jesus deserves the best of our time, energy, and affection.
When we give Jesus the highest place of honor in each area of our lives, this truth becomes visible to those around us. At work, are we laboring first for God or only to please our employer? (3:23). How do God’s standards show up in the way we treat others? (vv. 12-14). Do we put Him first as we live our lives and pursue our favorite pastimes?
When Jesus is our greatest influence in all of life, He will have His rightful place in our hearts.
Dear Jesus, You deserve the best of my time, energy, and affection. I crown You King of my heart and Lord over everything I do.
How can you put God first in your life today?
Put Jesus first.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Your Clever Disguise - #7588
A pastor I know was meeting one of the ladies from his large church one day, and he asked her, "What do you do?" Her answer was classic. She said, "Well, Pastor, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ cleverly disguised as a machine operator!" I love that!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Clever Disguise."
Now there is a Christian who knows who she is and why she is where she is. She's there to be Jesus' personal representative to other machine operators! Who is a lost machine operator most likely to listen to about a relationship with Jesus Christ? All right, another machine operator! A lost mom is most likely to listen to another mom, a student to a student, a computer programmer to another computer programmer, a guy at the gym to another guy at the gym, a cancer survivor to another cancer survivor. Everybody's got a tribe. People listen to somebody from their tribe.
This strategy of sending someone who lives where the unreached people live is at least 2000 years old. In our word for today from the Word of God in John chapter 4, Jesus is on a mission to reach the people of Samaria. So, how does He go about it? They didn't really like Jewish guys there. There's lot of walls to tear down.
Well, He reaches one of their own. He reaches a Samaritan woman at the well, who is notorious in her village, apparently, for her promiscuity. By the end of Jesus' visit, the Bible says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him." Why? Well, you ready for the answer? It says, "Because of the woman's testimony." (John 4:39). It doesn't say it was because of Jesus' sermon, but because of the testimony of a new disciple of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as their neighbor.
It's one reason why Jesus came into your life one day; to send you back to your neighborhood, your workplace, your school, your tribe, to introduce people like you to Him. You're His chosen link between the people in your world and Him. How are you doing at bringing those folks together with Jesus?
The best person to tell folks who do what you do, live where you live, and face what you face about Jesus is you. In a post-Christian culture like ours, most lost people don't ever plan to go to a religious meeting to hear a religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place. They will only be rescued spiritually if someone takes the Good News about Jesus where they are! And who is already where they are? You are.
The woman Jesus sent back to her village could have said, as you may, "Oh, man! My past! I'm so messed up. I'm so far from perfect." Isn't it something Jesus sends flawed ambassadors to be living examples of His great grace? This woman could have said, as you may, "Oh, but I'm not trained." Training is good. Our ministry is constantly in the business of equipping someone like you to represent Him. But your ultimate credentials are what Jesus has done in your life and your love for that lost person.
Your message is the same as that of this Samaritan woman. She simply said to her fellow villagers, "Come, see a Man!" (John 4:29). Not a religion – a man. Your message is a person; not your religion, not your beliefs, not your rules. It's all about Jesus! You're taking someone you know in one hand. You're taking Jesus in the other hand, and you are prayerfully bringing them together forever!
What a place God has entrusted to you, divinely positioned so you can take some people to heaven with you. Where you live, what you do; it's all just your clever disguise!
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
2 Kings 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Pecking Orders
Pecking orders are a part of life. Ranking systems can clarify our roles. The problem with pecking orders isn't the order. The problem is with the pecking! A friend who grew up on a farm told me he saw their chickens attacking a sick newborn. His mother explained, "That's what chickens do. When one is really sick, the rest peck it to death."
Such barnyard mentality may fly on the farm but not in God's kingdom. In Matthew 23:6, Jesus is critical of the Pharisees who love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. In this passage, Jesus blasts the top birds of the church, those who spread their plumes of robes, titles, and choice seats. Jesus won't stand for it. Jesus has no room for pecking orders in his kingdom!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 17
Hoshea Last King of Israel
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
Israel Exiled Because of Sin
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[b] 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
Samaria Resettled
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. 26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
Footnotes:
2 Kings 17:4 So is probably an abbreviation for Osorkon.
2 Kings 17:12 Exodus 20:4,5
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Read: John 4:31-34
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.
INSIGHT:
The Samaritans were descendants of the people of Israel who had been left behind when the Assyrians took the northern kingdom into captivity in the seventh century bc. These Jewish people had intermarried with the Assyrian occupying force and surrounding tribal people, which meant that according to Jewish ceremonial laws their descendants were no longer ethnically pure. As a result, Samaritans were viewed as inferior, making them outcasts from Jewish worship and life. Jesus’s act of reaching out to this Samaritan woman is a wonderful reminder that grace, mercy, and hope do not know ethnic boundaries. Our God loves all people everywhere, and we should also love all people regardless of ethnic differences.
Secret Menu
By Mart DeHaan
I have food to eat that you know nothing about. John 4:32
Meat Mountain is a super-sandwich layered with six kinds of meat. Stacked with chicken tenders, three strips of bacon, two cheeses, and much more, it looks like it should be a restaurant’s featured item.
But Meat Mountain isn’t on any restaurant’s published menu. The sandwich represents a trend in off-menu items known only by social media or word of mouth. It seems that competition is driving fast-food restaurants to offer a secret menu to in-the-know customers.
Jesus invites all of us to trust Him to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.
When Jesus told His disciples that He had “food” they knew nothing about, it must have seemed like a secret menu to them (John 4:32). He sensed their confusion and explained that His food was to do the will of His Father and to finish the work given to Him (v. 34).
Jesus had just spoken to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well about living water she had never heard of. As they talked, He revealed a supernatural understanding of her unquenched thirst for life. When He disclosed who He was, she left her water pot behind and ran to ask her neighbors, “Could this be the Messiah?” (v. 29).
What was once a secret can now be offered to everyone. Jesus invites all of us to trust His ability to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. As we do, we discover how to live not just by our physical appetites but by the soul-satisfying Spirit of our God.
Father, we praise You for revealing Your truth to us. Help us live each day in the power of Your Spirit.
Only Christ the Living Bread can satisfy the world’s spiritual hunger.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.
Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Your Dark Days - and a Hero's Message - #7587
"Active shooter in Colorado Springs." When I got that news alert, I turned to a news channel right away. I've got friends in that city.
After a violent five-hour siege, the gunman surrendered. And the tragic count of dead and wounded began to become clear, but so did the heroism in the middle of that fear and violence. Like Garrett Swasey, one of the first officers on the scene rushing to save lives. He lost his. His courage and sacrifice are a bright light in the dark sky of that tragic afternoon. Selfless love when evil seemed so strong.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Dark Days - and a Hero's Message."
Garrett Swasey was a real three-dimensional guy, a former ice dancing champion, a great husband and dad, a pastor, a dedicated police officer; a man who lived his last day like he lived every day. As a friend said, "always putting other people's lives before his own." That friend explained why. He said, "He believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. That's what he lived for."
Apparently, it's also what made him willing to die to save others. His friend said, "Here's a man who loves Christ, and he'd be willing to go in and lay down his life, because that's what Christ has done for us." You know, we've got a lot to learn from a true hero like this.
First, ultimately, there are two categories that really matter. Don't we deal with most people as if they're a category: young, old, black, white, brown, rich, poor, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, gay, straight, Christian, homeless, cop or whatever? Except God didn't make any categories. He only made people created in His image.
That day during the shooting, Garrett Swasey saw only two categories: safe and endangered. That's what God sees, too. Spiritually safe described this way, "He who has the Son (Jesus) has life." Spiritually endangered. "The Bible says in that same verse, "He who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). Those who have trusted the One who died for their sins as the Rescuer from their sins and those who have not.
As one of those who chose to be rescued, I know what I must do. I have to see the spiritually endangered people around me and go in for the rescue so they can have the chance I had – to live forever.
Secondly, I think we learn from the heroes of that day, forgiven people have no choice but to forgive. "Forgive as the Lord forgave you," the Bible says in Colossians 3:13. Garrett Swasey's friend said, "There's forgiveness in the cross of Christ. And that's what Garrett would want for us, to forgive this man." That's the man who shot him. That's what the loved ones of those Charleston church shooting victims did, amazing the nation. That's what Jesus did for the ones who crucified Him, "Father, forgive them."
Third lesson here, our only hope is a rescuer. Actually, the Rescuer. In our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 1:4, God's book reveals that "Jesus gave His life for our sins...to rescue us from this evil world we live in." I want to tell you, that's the sacrifice that has blown my mind. That is the love that has captured my heart.
I hope you will open up to that love today, because He went to that cross for you as much as He did for me; paying for the sins that have separated you from God, and will forever unless He forgives them. And He can do that based on what He did on the cross.
I'd love the have you know for sure you belong to Him. And I'm going to invite you to our website where I think we can help you make sure you've begun your relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Remember that. Please check it out.
None of us has to die. The Rescuer has come.
Pecking orders are a part of life. Ranking systems can clarify our roles. The problem with pecking orders isn't the order. The problem is with the pecking! A friend who grew up on a farm told me he saw their chickens attacking a sick newborn. His mother explained, "That's what chickens do. When one is really sick, the rest peck it to death."
Such barnyard mentality may fly on the farm but not in God's kingdom. In Matthew 23:6, Jesus is critical of the Pharisees who love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. In this passage, Jesus blasts the top birds of the church, those who spread their plumes of robes, titles, and choice seats. Jesus won't stand for it. Jesus has no room for pecking orders in his kingdom!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 17
Hoshea Last King of Israel
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
Israel Exiled Because of Sin
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[b] 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
Samaria Resettled
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. 26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
Footnotes:
2 Kings 17:4 So is probably an abbreviation for Osorkon.
2 Kings 17:12 Exodus 20:4,5
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Read: John 4:31-34
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.
INSIGHT:
The Samaritans were descendants of the people of Israel who had been left behind when the Assyrians took the northern kingdom into captivity in the seventh century bc. These Jewish people had intermarried with the Assyrian occupying force and surrounding tribal people, which meant that according to Jewish ceremonial laws their descendants were no longer ethnically pure. As a result, Samaritans were viewed as inferior, making them outcasts from Jewish worship and life. Jesus’s act of reaching out to this Samaritan woman is a wonderful reminder that grace, mercy, and hope do not know ethnic boundaries. Our God loves all people everywhere, and we should also love all people regardless of ethnic differences.
Secret Menu
By Mart DeHaan
I have food to eat that you know nothing about. John 4:32
Meat Mountain is a super-sandwich layered with six kinds of meat. Stacked with chicken tenders, three strips of bacon, two cheeses, and much more, it looks like it should be a restaurant’s featured item.
But Meat Mountain isn’t on any restaurant’s published menu. The sandwich represents a trend in off-menu items known only by social media or word of mouth. It seems that competition is driving fast-food restaurants to offer a secret menu to in-the-know customers.
Jesus invites all of us to trust Him to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.
When Jesus told His disciples that He had “food” they knew nothing about, it must have seemed like a secret menu to them (John 4:32). He sensed their confusion and explained that His food was to do the will of His Father and to finish the work given to Him (v. 34).
Jesus had just spoken to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well about living water she had never heard of. As they talked, He revealed a supernatural understanding of her unquenched thirst for life. When He disclosed who He was, she left her water pot behind and ran to ask her neighbors, “Could this be the Messiah?” (v. 29).
What was once a secret can now be offered to everyone. Jesus invites all of us to trust His ability to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. As we do, we discover how to live not just by our physical appetites but by the soul-satisfying Spirit of our God.
Father, we praise You for revealing Your truth to us. Help us live each day in the power of Your Spirit.
Only Christ the Living Bread can satisfy the world’s spiritual hunger.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28
Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.
Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Your Dark Days - and a Hero's Message - #7587
"Active shooter in Colorado Springs." When I got that news alert, I turned to a news channel right away. I've got friends in that city.
After a violent five-hour siege, the gunman surrendered. And the tragic count of dead and wounded began to become clear, but so did the heroism in the middle of that fear and violence. Like Garrett Swasey, one of the first officers on the scene rushing to save lives. He lost his. His courage and sacrifice are a bright light in the dark sky of that tragic afternoon. Selfless love when evil seemed so strong.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Dark Days - and a Hero's Message."
Garrett Swasey was a real three-dimensional guy, a former ice dancing champion, a great husband and dad, a pastor, a dedicated police officer; a man who lived his last day like he lived every day. As a friend said, "always putting other people's lives before his own." That friend explained why. He said, "He believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. That's what he lived for."
Apparently, it's also what made him willing to die to save others. His friend said, "Here's a man who loves Christ, and he'd be willing to go in and lay down his life, because that's what Christ has done for us." You know, we've got a lot to learn from a true hero like this.
 |
| Garrett Swasey |
That day during the shooting, Garrett Swasey saw only two categories: safe and endangered. That's what God sees, too. Spiritually safe described this way, "He who has the Son (Jesus) has life." Spiritually endangered. "The Bible says in that same verse, "He who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). Those who have trusted the One who died for their sins as the Rescuer from their sins and those who have not.
As one of those who chose to be rescued, I know what I must do. I have to see the spiritually endangered people around me and go in for the rescue so they can have the chance I had – to live forever.
Secondly, I think we learn from the heroes of that day, forgiven people have no choice but to forgive. "Forgive as the Lord forgave you," the Bible says in Colossians 3:13. Garrett Swasey's friend said, "There's forgiveness in the cross of Christ. And that's what Garrett would want for us, to forgive this man." That's the man who shot him. That's what the loved ones of those Charleston church shooting victims did, amazing the nation. That's what Jesus did for the ones who crucified Him, "Father, forgive them."
Third lesson here, our only hope is a rescuer. Actually, the Rescuer. In our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 1:4, God's book reveals that "Jesus gave His life for our sins...to rescue us from this evil world we live in." I want to tell you, that's the sacrifice that has blown my mind. That is the love that has captured my heart.
I hope you will open up to that love today, because He went to that cross for you as much as He did for me; paying for the sins that have separated you from God, and will forever unless He forgives them. And He can do that based on what He did on the cross.
I'd love the have you know for sure you belong to Him. And I'm going to invite you to our website where I think we can help you make sure you've begun your relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Remember that. Please check it out.
None of us has to die. The Rescuer has come.
Monday, February 8, 2016
2 Kings 16, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily:The Work is His
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:4, "Love does not envy!" A number of years ago I learned of a new church across town. A friend came to me with this report: The church is great. It's bursting at the seams-the largest one in town. A more spiritual Max would have rejoiced. A more mature Max would have thanked God. But the Max who heard the report did not act mature or spiritual. He acted jealous. Rather than celebrate God's work, I was obsessed with my own. I wanted our church to be the biggest. Sickening!
In a profound moment of conviction, God let me know that the church is his church, not mine. The work is his work, not mine. And my life is his life, not mine. My job was not to question him, but to trust him. The cure for jealousy? Trust!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 16
Ahaz Rules in Judah
Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire.[h] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom[i] recovered the town of Elath for Edom.[j] He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites[k] to live there, as they do to this day.
7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal.[l] Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.
10 King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. 11 Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. 13 He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.
14 Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. 15 He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar[m] for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” 16 Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. 18 In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,[n] as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.
19 The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.
Footnotes:
16:3 Or even making his son pass through the fire.
16:6a As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Rezin king of Aram.
16:6b As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Aram.
16:6c As in Greek version, Latin Vulgate, and an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text; the other alternate reads Arameans.
16:7 Hebrew your son.
16:15 Hebrew the great altar.
16:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 08, 2016
Read: Galatians 5:13-26
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit’s Power
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Footnotes:
5:14 Lev 19:18.
INSIGHT:
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes fourteen references to the Holy Spirit. Believers receive the Holy Spirit through faith the moment they believe (3:2–3, 5, 14). Believers are born of the Spirit (4:29), which qualifies them to call God “Abba, Father” (4:6). In today’s passage Paul warns that the flesh continues to resist the indwelling Spirit (5:17), but the key to victory is to walk in (or by) the Spirit (vv. 16, 25). Only in this way can a believer overcome the limitations of the flesh and live in a way that pleases God.
Can’t Take It Back
By Anne Cetas
The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
I couldn't take my actions back. A woman had parked her car and blocked my way of getting to the gas pump. She hopped out to drop off some recycling items, and I didn't feel like waiting, so I honked my horn at her. Irritated, I put my car in reverse and drove around another way. I immediately felt bad about being impatient and unwilling to wait 30 seconds (at the most) for her to move. I apologized to God. Yes, she should have parked in the designated area, but I could have spread kindness and patience instead of harshness. Unfortunately it was too late to apologize to her—she was gone.
Many of the Proverbs challenge us to think about how to respond when people get in the way of our plans. There’s the one that says, “Fools show their annoyance at once” (Prov. 12:16). And “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel” (20:3). Then there’s this one that goes straight to the heart: “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (29:11).
As we cooperate with God and depend on Him, He produces the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Growing in patience and kindness seems pretty difficult sometimes. But the apostle Paul says it is the work of God, the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23). As we cooperate with Him and depend on Him, He produces that fruit in us. Please change us, Lord.
Make me a gentle person, Lord. One who doesn’t quickly react in frustration to every annoyance that comes my way. Give me a spirit of self-control and patience.
To study more about the fruit of the Spirit, read the Discovery Series booklet Live Free by Constantine Campbell.
God tests our patience to enlarge our hearts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 08, 2016
The Cost of Sanctification
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 08, 2016
Stepping Where God's Shown You the Light - #7586
It was one of those ministry trips where I had to take my office with me. I had my files and I had my computer. I was going to three different cities so I had to be prepared for everything. In other words, I had a lot of luggage. There was this one garment bag that I used often and I always ended up stuffing it to the gills! I actually introduced my bag to airline agents as Big Bertha. Yeah, I named my suitcase.
One day, I was loaded down with heavy luggage as I was paying my hotel bill. I looked over at the door that I was going to be using to leave the hotel and there was a problem. There was no handle on that door. I had this heavy load and a door with no apparent way to open it. Is that a problem? Well, of course not. You know what happened. As I walked toward that door, wow, it opened all by itself.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stepping Where God's Shown You the Light."
Our word for today from the Word of God; we're in Joshua 3 where the Jews are about to cross into their Promise Land. But they are facing a flooded Jordan River and they're wondering how in the world they are ever going to get across when God gives these instructions in verse 8, "Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river." Now, this is a roaring, flooded stream. "As soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot on the Jordan. Its waters flowing downstream (God said) will be cut off and stand up in a heap." That's what happened!
Verse 15, "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during Harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing." Now when did the water's part? It said, "...as soon as their feet touched the water's edge."
I might have tried to negotiate this one, "I'll tell you what, Lord. How about you part the waters and I'll start walking in." He says, "No. You start walking in and I'll part the waters." Sounds like my automatic door at the hotel. It looked like I could hurt myself if I just kept walking toward that door. I couldn't see any way it would open, so I could have stood there with Bertha, my suitcase, all afternoon waiting for an opening. But the door opened as I was walking toward it – by faith you might say.
Now, that's the Lord's way of directing your whole life. We, of course, want to know how every door might open. We want to know how every need will be met, every obstacle will be removed, and the Lord says, "Just start walking." So meanwhile, we just stand still waiting for the waters to part or until we've had a lot of our questions answered, till it looks safe. And many people have lost God's plan for their lives that way over and over again.
God is asking you to walk by faith, not by sight. Maybe you're insisting on walking by sight. The waters are never going to part for you at this rate. God's primary way of showing you the next step is His Word. You can't separate God's will from God's Word.
David prayed, "Direct my footsteps according to your word." That means your destiny is tied to whether or not you are faithfully having your time with Jesus through what He wrote to you in the Bible. But it's not just reading the words, it's asking the Lord to show you through those words what specific things He wants to touch in your life that day.
And as you obey that, you take a step in the direction of His larger will for you. His macro will for your life is made up of a thousand micro wills; a thousand daily obediences to something God says He wants to touch in your life. God will combine scripture with His prayer leading, with His Godly counsel and with circumstantial confirmation to shine light on the next step He wants you to take. Take it and He'll show you the next one. You will end up being the right person in the right place at the right time. How does it work? Take a step, see a step.
Right now you need to be taking steps in the direction God seems to be leading before the waters part. That's the way to walk in His good and pleasing and perfect will, even if it looks risky, unconventional, and uncertain.
Like walking toward a door with no handle, it's a door that opens as you walk toward it.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:4, "Love does not envy!" A number of years ago I learned of a new church across town. A friend came to me with this report: The church is great. It's bursting at the seams-the largest one in town. A more spiritual Max would have rejoiced. A more mature Max would have thanked God. But the Max who heard the report did not act mature or spiritual. He acted jealous. Rather than celebrate God's work, I was obsessed with my own. I wanted our church to be the biggest. Sickening!
In a profound moment of conviction, God let me know that the church is his church, not mine. The work is his work, not mine. And my life is his life, not mine. My job was not to question him, but to trust him. The cure for jealousy? Trust!
From A Love Worth Giving
2 Kings 16
Ahaz Rules in Judah
Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire.[h] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom[i] recovered the town of Elath for Edom.[j] He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites[k] to live there, as they do to this day.
7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal.[l] Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.
10 King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. 11 Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. 13 He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.
14 Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. 15 He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar[m] for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” 16 Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. 18 In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,[n] as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.
19 The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.
Footnotes:
16:3 Or even making his son pass through the fire.
16:6a As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Rezin king of Aram.
16:6b As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Aram.
16:6c As in Greek version, Latin Vulgate, and an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text; the other alternate reads Arameans.
16:7 Hebrew your son.
16:15 Hebrew the great altar.
16:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 08, 2016
Read: Galatians 5:13-26
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit’s Power
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Footnotes:
5:14 Lev 19:18.
INSIGHT:
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes fourteen references to the Holy Spirit. Believers receive the Holy Spirit through faith the moment they believe (3:2–3, 5, 14). Believers are born of the Spirit (4:29), which qualifies them to call God “Abba, Father” (4:6). In today’s passage Paul warns that the flesh continues to resist the indwelling Spirit (5:17), but the key to victory is to walk in (or by) the Spirit (vv. 16, 25). Only in this way can a believer overcome the limitations of the flesh and live in a way that pleases God.
Can’t Take It Back
By Anne Cetas
The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
I couldn't take my actions back. A woman had parked her car and blocked my way of getting to the gas pump. She hopped out to drop off some recycling items, and I didn't feel like waiting, so I honked my horn at her. Irritated, I put my car in reverse and drove around another way. I immediately felt bad about being impatient and unwilling to wait 30 seconds (at the most) for her to move. I apologized to God. Yes, she should have parked in the designated area, but I could have spread kindness and patience instead of harshness. Unfortunately it was too late to apologize to her—she was gone.
Many of the Proverbs challenge us to think about how to respond when people get in the way of our plans. There’s the one that says, “Fools show their annoyance at once” (Prov. 12:16). And “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel” (20:3). Then there’s this one that goes straight to the heart: “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (29:11).
As we cooperate with God and depend on Him, He produces the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Growing in patience and kindness seems pretty difficult sometimes. But the apostle Paul says it is the work of God, the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23). As we cooperate with Him and depend on Him, He produces that fruit in us. Please change us, Lord.
Make me a gentle person, Lord. One who doesn’t quickly react in frustration to every annoyance that comes my way. Give me a spirit of self-control and patience.
To study more about the fruit of the Spirit, read the Discovery Series booklet Live Free by Constantine Campbell.
God tests our patience to enlarge our hearts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 08, 2016
The Cost of Sanctification
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1465 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 08, 2016
Stepping Where God's Shown You the Light - #7586
It was one of those ministry trips where I had to take my office with me. I had my files and I had my computer. I was going to three different cities so I had to be prepared for everything. In other words, I had a lot of luggage. There was this one garment bag that I used often and I always ended up stuffing it to the gills! I actually introduced my bag to airline agents as Big Bertha. Yeah, I named my suitcase.
One day, I was loaded down with heavy luggage as I was paying my hotel bill. I looked over at the door that I was going to be using to leave the hotel and there was a problem. There was no handle on that door. I had this heavy load and a door with no apparent way to open it. Is that a problem? Well, of course not. You know what happened. As I walked toward that door, wow, it opened all by itself.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stepping Where God's Shown You the Light."
Our word for today from the Word of God; we're in Joshua 3 where the Jews are about to cross into their Promise Land. But they are facing a flooded Jordan River and they're wondering how in the world they are ever going to get across when God gives these instructions in verse 8, "Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river." Now, this is a roaring, flooded stream. "As soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot on the Jordan. Its waters flowing downstream (God said) will be cut off and stand up in a heap." That's what happened!
Verse 15, "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during Harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing." Now when did the water's part? It said, "...as soon as their feet touched the water's edge."
I might have tried to negotiate this one, "I'll tell you what, Lord. How about you part the waters and I'll start walking in." He says, "No. You start walking in and I'll part the waters." Sounds like my automatic door at the hotel. It looked like I could hurt myself if I just kept walking toward that door. I couldn't see any way it would open, so I could have stood there with Bertha, my suitcase, all afternoon waiting for an opening. But the door opened as I was walking toward it – by faith you might say.
Now, that's the Lord's way of directing your whole life. We, of course, want to know how every door might open. We want to know how every need will be met, every obstacle will be removed, and the Lord says, "Just start walking." So meanwhile, we just stand still waiting for the waters to part or until we've had a lot of our questions answered, till it looks safe. And many people have lost God's plan for their lives that way over and over again.
God is asking you to walk by faith, not by sight. Maybe you're insisting on walking by sight. The waters are never going to part for you at this rate. God's primary way of showing you the next step is His Word. You can't separate God's will from God's Word.
David prayed, "Direct my footsteps according to your word." That means your destiny is tied to whether or not you are faithfully having your time with Jesus through what He wrote to you in the Bible. But it's not just reading the words, it's asking the Lord to show you through those words what specific things He wants to touch in your life that day.
And as you obey that, you take a step in the direction of His larger will for you. His macro will for your life is made up of a thousand micro wills; a thousand daily obediences to something God says He wants to touch in your life. God will combine scripture with His prayer leading, with His Godly counsel and with circumstantial confirmation to shine light on the next step He wants you to take. Take it and He'll show you the next one. You will end up being the right person in the right place at the right time. How does it work? Take a step, see a step.
Right now you need to be taking steps in the direction God seems to be leading before the waters part. That's the way to walk in His good and pleasing and perfect will, even if it looks risky, unconventional, and uncertain.
Like walking toward a door with no handle, it's a door that opens as you walk toward it.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
2 Kings 15, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Remember the Sabbath Day
Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”
What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?
From And The Angels Were Silent
2 Kings 15
Azariah King of Judah
In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah[a] son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy[b] until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.[c] Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
Zechariah King of Israel
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people,[d] assassinated him and succeeded him as king. 11 The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 12 So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”[e]
Shallum King of Israel
13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month. 14 Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
15 The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
16 At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
Menahem King of Israel
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. 18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
19 Then Pul[f] king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents[g] of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. 20 Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels[h] of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.
21 As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 22 Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
Pekahiah King of Israel
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25 One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
26 The other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
Pekah King of Israel
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
31 As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Jotham King of Judah
32 In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 34 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. 35 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord.
36 As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 37 (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) 38 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.
Footnotes:
2 Kings 15:1 Also called Uzziah; also in verses 6, 7, 8, 17, 23 and 27
2 Kings 15:5 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
2 Kings 15:5 Or in a house where he was relieved of responsibilities
2 Kings 15:10 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts in Ibleam
2 Kings 15:12 2 Kings 10:30
2 Kings 15:19 Also called Tiglath-Pileser
2 Kings 15:19 That is, about 38 tons or about 34 metric tons
2 Kings 15:20 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 07, 2016
Read: John 16:28-33
Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”
29 Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”
31 Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage, Jesus’s words span a wide timeframe—past, present, and future. To reassure His disciples of His source of authority and the truth of His mission, Jesus says in verse 28 that He “came from the Father” (past tense) and is now “going back to the Father” (present tense). Then in verse 33, Jesus cautions them that they “will have trouble” (future tense). But then He refers to the future with such certainty that He uses the past tense—“I have overcome the world.” Despite having yet to be arrested, tried, crucified, resurrected, and ascended back to the Father, Jesus gives His disciples a concrete source of hope—He has overcome the world.
The Factory of Sadness
By Bill Crowder
[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Revelation 21:4
As a lifelong Cleveland Browns football fan, I grew up knowing my share of disappointment. Despite being one of only four teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl championship game, the Browns have a loyal fan base that sticks with the team year in and year out. But because the fans usually end up disappointed, many of them now refer to the home stadium as the “Factory of Sadness.”
The broken world we live in can be a “factory of sadness” too. There seems to be an endless supply of heartache and disappointment, whether from our own choices or things beyond our control.
The follower of Christ has hope—not only in the life to come but for this very day.
Yet the follower of Christ has hope—not only in the life to come but for this very day. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Notice that without minimizing the struggles or sadness we may experience, Christ counters them with His promises of peace, joy, and ultimate victory.
Great peace is available in Christ, and it’s more than enough to help us navigate whatever life throws at us.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. Horatio G. Spafford
Our hope and peace are found in Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 07, 2016
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”
What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?
From And The Angels Were Silent
2 Kings 15
Azariah King of Judah
In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah[a] son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy[b] until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.[c] Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
Zechariah King of Israel
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people,[d] assassinated him and succeeded him as king. 11 The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 12 So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”[e]
Shallum King of Israel
13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month. 14 Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
15 The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
16 At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
Menahem King of Israel
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. 18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
19 Then Pul[f] king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents[g] of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. 20 Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels[h] of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.
21 As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 22 Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
Pekahiah King of Israel
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25 One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
26 The other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
Pekah King of Israel
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
31 As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Jotham King of Judah
32 In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 34 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. 35 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord.
36 As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 37 (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) 38 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.
Footnotes:
2 Kings 15:1 Also called Uzziah; also in verses 6, 7, 8, 17, 23 and 27
2 Kings 15:5 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
2 Kings 15:5 Or in a house where he was relieved of responsibilities
2 Kings 15:10 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts in Ibleam
2 Kings 15:12 2 Kings 10:30
2 Kings 15:19 Also called Tiglath-Pileser
2 Kings 15:19 That is, about 38 tons or about 34 metric tons
2 Kings 15:20 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 07, 2016
Read: John 16:28-33
Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”
29 Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”
31 Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage, Jesus’s words span a wide timeframe—past, present, and future. To reassure His disciples of His source of authority and the truth of His mission, Jesus says in verse 28 that He “came from the Father” (past tense) and is now “going back to the Father” (present tense). Then in verse 33, Jesus cautions them that they “will have trouble” (future tense). But then He refers to the future with such certainty that He uses the past tense—“I have overcome the world.” Despite having yet to be arrested, tried, crucified, resurrected, and ascended back to the Father, Jesus gives His disciples a concrete source of hope—He has overcome the world.
The Factory of Sadness
By Bill Crowder
[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Revelation 21:4
As a lifelong Cleveland Browns football fan, I grew up knowing my share of disappointment. Despite being one of only four teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl championship game, the Browns have a loyal fan base that sticks with the team year in and year out. But because the fans usually end up disappointed, many of them now refer to the home stadium as the “Factory of Sadness.”
The broken world we live in can be a “factory of sadness” too. There seems to be an endless supply of heartache and disappointment, whether from our own choices or things beyond our control.
The follower of Christ has hope—not only in the life to come but for this very day.
Yet the follower of Christ has hope—not only in the life to come but for this very day. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Notice that without minimizing the struggles or sadness we may experience, Christ counters them with His promises of peace, joy, and ultimate victory.
Great peace is available in Christ, and it’s more than enough to help us navigate whatever life throws at us.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. Horatio G. Spafford
Our hope and peace are found in Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 07, 2016
Spiritual Dejection
We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21
Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.
We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Galatians 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Worry is Anti-Trust
What would parents do without worry? It almost seems as if it's in the job description. "Parents Wanted. Must be able to perform sleepless nights and meaningless pacing, wringing their hands and biting their nails."
In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Worry has no positive side effects. In fact, it subtracts moments from your life in heart stress and rising blood pressure.
Worry is anti-trust. If you're worried, you don't trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, "I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life." Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let him babysit your babies when you're not around. He's pretty good at it!
From Max on Life
Galatians 3
The Law and Faith in Christ
Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced[a] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[b] 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”[c] 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”[d] 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[e] 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”[f]
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[g] 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised[h] Holy Spirit through faith.
The Law and God’s Promise
15 Dear brothers and sisters,[i] here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child.[j] And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,[k]” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?[l] Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
God’s Children through Faith
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
26 For you are all children[m] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.[n] 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile,[o] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children[p] of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Footnotes:
3:4 Or Have you suffered.
3:6 Gen 15:6.
3:8 Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18.
3:10 Deut 27:26.
3:11 Hab 2:4.
3:12 Lev 18:5.
3:13 Deut 21:23 (Greek version).
3:14 Some manuscripts read the blessing of the.
3:15 Greek Brothers.
3:16a Greek seed; also in 3:16c, 19. See notes on Gen 12:7 and 13:15.
3:16b Greek seeds.
3:21 Some manuscripts read and the promises?
3:26 Greek sons.
3:27 Greek have put on Christ.
3:28 Greek Jew or Greek.
3:29 Greek seed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Read: Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Footnotes:
22:2 Or twelve kinds of fruit.
INSIGHT:
In this description of our eternal home, what will be absent from that place is as important as what will be present. Notice that in verse 3 we are told that there will be no more curse, and verse 5 adds that there will be no more night. The curse of sin will no longer be present because sin and its consequences will be removed forever. There will be no more night or darkness because we will dwell perfectly and eternally in God’s wonderful light. No more curse and no more darkness. Our eternal home will clearly be a marvelous place!
What Will Be
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
No longer will there be any curse. Revelation 22:3
You and I have something in common. We live in a mixed-up, tarnished world and we have never known anything different. Adam and Eve, however, could remember what life was like before the curse. They could recall the world as God intended it to be—free of death, hardship, and pain (Gen. 3:16-19). In pre-fall Eden, hunger, unemployment, and illness did not exist. No one questioned God’s creative power or His plan for human relationships.
The world we have inherited resembles God’s perfect garden only slightly. To quote C. S. Lewis, “This is a good world gone wrong, but [it] still retains the memory of what ought to have been.” Fortunately, the cloudy memory of what the earth should have been is also a prophetic glimpse into eternity. There, just as Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, believers will see His face and serve Him directly. There will be nothing between God and us. “No longer will there be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). There will be no sin, no fear, and no shame.
God promises us eternal life in Heaven with Him.
The past and its consequences may cast a shadow on today, but a believer’s destiny carries the promise of something better—life in a place as perfect as Eden.
Dear God, help me to remember that even though this world does not measure up to Your original design there is much to enjoy and much to do for You and others. Thank You for the promise of life with You in a perfect setting.
One day God will put everything right.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)
I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6
Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?
Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
What would parents do without worry? It almost seems as if it's in the job description. "Parents Wanted. Must be able to perform sleepless nights and meaningless pacing, wringing their hands and biting their nails."
In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Worry has no positive side effects. In fact, it subtracts moments from your life in heart stress and rising blood pressure.
Worry is anti-trust. If you're worried, you don't trust something: your kids, their friends, strangers, the church, even God. Can He take care of your children? Certainly. Jesus says, "I tell you, stop being anxious and worried about your life." Pretty blunt. Stop it! Easier said than done, huh? Worry tests your trust, so hand your children to God and let him babysit your babies when you're not around. He's pretty good at it!
From Max on Life
Galatians 3
The Law and Faith in Christ
Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced[a] so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[b] 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”[c] 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”[d] 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[e] 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”[f]
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[g] 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised[h] Holy Spirit through faith.
The Law and God’s Promise
15 Dear brothers and sisters,[i] here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child.[j] And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,[k]” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?[l] Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
God’s Children through Faith
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
26 For you are all children[m] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.[n] 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile,[o] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children[p] of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Footnotes:
3:4 Or Have you suffered.
3:6 Gen 15:6.
3:8 Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18.
3:10 Deut 27:26.
3:11 Hab 2:4.
3:12 Lev 18:5.
3:13 Deut 21:23 (Greek version).
3:14 Some manuscripts read the blessing of the.
3:15 Greek Brothers.
3:16a Greek seed; also in 3:16c, 19. See notes on Gen 12:7 and 13:15.
3:16b Greek seeds.
3:21 Some manuscripts read and the promises?
3:26 Greek sons.
3:27 Greek have put on Christ.
3:28 Greek Jew or Greek.
3:29 Greek seed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Read: Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Footnotes:
22:2 Or twelve kinds of fruit.
INSIGHT:
In this description of our eternal home, what will be absent from that place is as important as what will be present. Notice that in verse 3 we are told that there will be no more curse, and verse 5 adds that there will be no more night. The curse of sin will no longer be present because sin and its consequences will be removed forever. There will be no more night or darkness because we will dwell perfectly and eternally in God’s wonderful light. No more curse and no more darkness. Our eternal home will clearly be a marvelous place!
What Will Be
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
No longer will there be any curse. Revelation 22:3
You and I have something in common. We live in a mixed-up, tarnished world and we have never known anything different. Adam and Eve, however, could remember what life was like before the curse. They could recall the world as God intended it to be—free of death, hardship, and pain (Gen. 3:16-19). In pre-fall Eden, hunger, unemployment, and illness did not exist. No one questioned God’s creative power or His plan for human relationships.
The world we have inherited resembles God’s perfect garden only slightly. To quote C. S. Lewis, “This is a good world gone wrong, but [it] still retains the memory of what ought to have been.” Fortunately, the cloudy memory of what the earth should have been is also a prophetic glimpse into eternity. There, just as Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, believers will see His face and serve Him directly. There will be nothing between God and us. “No longer will there be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). There will be no sin, no fear, and no shame.
God promises us eternal life in Heaven with Him.
The past and its consequences may cast a shadow on today, but a believer’s destiny carries the promise of something better—life in a place as perfect as Eden.
Dear God, help me to remember that even though this world does not measure up to Your original design there is much to enjoy and much to do for You and others. Thank You for the promise of life with You in a perfect setting.
One day God will put everything right.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)
I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6
Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?
Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. Not Knowing Whither, 867 L
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