Max Lucado Daily: THE PERFECT PLACE
Several years ago I spent a week speaking at a church in California—and had incredible hosts. All my meals were at a different house. But after a few meals I noticed all we ate was salad! No meat, no dessert—just salad. At first I thought it was a California thing. But when I finally asked, the answer was, “We were told you eat nothing but salads!” Well, I quickly corrected them! The hosts meant well, but their information was bad! I’m happy to say we corrected the problem and enjoyed some good meat!
I’m even happier to say Jesus won’t make the same mistake with you! He is preparing the perfect place, the perfect meal! He says, “I have a prepared place for you!” (John 14:2). Trust the promises of Christ! He knows exactly what you need.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 71
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
7 I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
12 Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 04, 2016
Read: James 1:2-4
Faith and Endurance
Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Footnotes:
1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19.
INSIGHT:
James saw himself as a servant of Christ (James 1:1), even though he was Christ’s half-brother (Matt. 13:55). He did not come to faith until after Jesus’s resurrection (John 7:3–5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:7) and eventually became a leader in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). In writing this letter to Jewish believers who had been scattered because of persecution, he focuses on Jewish thinking and values: It is highly practical, intensely candid, and wisdom-oriented. Because of its practical application, it has been referred to as the “Proverbs” of the New Testament.
For His Time
By David Roper
My times are in your hands. Psalm 31:15
When South African pastor Andrew Murray was visiting England in 1895, he began to suffer pain from a previous back injury. While he was recuperating, his hostess told him of a woman who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any counsel for her. Murray said, “Give her this paper which I have been writing for my own [encouragement]. It may be that she will find it helpful.” This is what Murray wrote:
“In time of trouble say:
God will keep us by His love. By His grace, we can rest in Him.
First—God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest.
Next—He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.
Then—He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
Last—In His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows.
I am here—by God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.”
We want the instant solution, the quick fix, but some things cannot be disposed of so readily; they can only be accepted. God will keep us by His love. By His grace, we can rest in Him.
Dear Lord, it’s hard to endure times of illness and suffering. Comfort me and help me to trust You.
When God permits suffering, He also provides comfort.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 04, 2016
Is This True of Me?
None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself… —Acts 20:24
It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.
What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray. So Send I You, 1325 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 04, 2016
Verbal Overkill - #7605
I'll never forget the summer we heard the story about the moonshiner. We were on vacation and we'd just made some new friends, Bill and Darlene. They lived on this beautiful farm. But not always. When they first moved to the south, they lived in a fairly primitive cabin along a river.
Darlene shared that one of their neighbors was a classic moonshiner. He had invited them over for a dinner a number of times and Darlene said they finally ran out of excuses. When they arrived for the dinner, the moonshiner told Bill, "Go pick out what chicken you want for dinner out there on the front porch." Well, Bill did and the moonshiner shot it down dead right there. Then they all went inside and the moonshiner and his wife cleaned and prepared it right in front of their guests.
After dinner the moonshiner was sitting in his rocking chair in the living room talking with Bill. Bill noticed some large holes along the floor of the cabin and he asked how they got there. The moonshiner said, "Well, we got mice. I decided I'd stay up late and I'd just sit here in my rocking chair. I'd see one and I'd pull out my gun and I'd shoot it."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Verbal Overkill."
Wouldn't you say that the moonshiner was guilty of a little overkill? So are we; except we don't do it with a gun, we do it with our mouth. Which leads us to one of the wisest prayers David ever prayed I think. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It comes from Psalm 141:3, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Guard my mouth, Lord, watch my lips. It's something you would do with a dangerous criminal or a wild animal, something that could do a lot of damage like your mouth.
Proverbs 12:18 says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." You ever had any of those reckless words? The problem is when we get angry or frustrated, we tend to start shooting verbally – sometimes at, shall we say, mice; things that don't really merit all that fire power?
Anger is one primary area in which we really tend to overkill. We fire away with killer sarcasm, or a killer put-down, or a killer line just to vent our frustration or to get our way or to win. We leave huge holes that are there long after the incident or the issues are remembered. Oh we may win a little, but we lose a lot with reckless, sword-like words.
Nagging – that's another form of verbal overkill especially when someone you love is doing something you don't like or they're doing something you're afraid will hurt them. Husbands get nagged, wives, children, parents; and nagging can become a way of life. We just keep shooting all the time until that person just becomes immune to our words, immune to our concerns. We're always firing at them.
That's why we need to learn to choose our battlegrounds. Don't fight every battle. Ask yourself, "Does this battle really, really matter?" Save your ammunition for the battles that really matter – parents especially. Man, we're noted for nagging about every little thing and then finding ourselves unheard when a really significant issue comes along. You shut people down with the verbal overkill of nagging.
We need to make the prayer of David our prayer. I know I do. "Lord, guard my mouth. Watch my lips." Our angry words, our insensitive words, our nagging words are always trying to get out, and we've got to always be guarding them with the power of Jesus Christ. The alternative is big holes that last a long time because we shot at too many mice. Save your ammunition for the battles that really count.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Psalm 67 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Has Ample Space
Some of the saddest words on earth are: We don't have room for you!
Sorry, I don't have room for you on the team.
I don't have room for you in my heart.
We don't have room for your type in here.
Jesus was still in Mary's womb when the innkeeper said, We don't have room for you. When the religious leaders accused him of blasphemy saying, We don't have room for a self-proclaimed Messiah! Even today Jesus goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. But more often than not he hears the words of the Bethlehem innkeeper…. sorry, too crowded. I don't have room for you.
But Jesus says I have ample space for you! His words in John 14:2, "Trust in me. In my Father's house are many rooms." We make room for him in our hearts, and he makes room for us in his house!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—[b]
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Footnotes:
Psalm 67:1 In Hebrew texts 67:1-7 is numbered 67:2-8.
Psalm 67:1 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 4.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 03, 2016
Read: Psalm 145:1-13
A psalm of praise of David.
I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.
10 All of your works will thank you, Lord,
and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises;
he is gracious in all he does.[b]
Footnotes:
145 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse (including 13b) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
145:13 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek and Syriac versions; the Masoretic Text lacks the final two lines of this verse.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the final collection of psalms penned by David (Pss. 138–145). It celebrates God as the sovereign King (vv. 1-3, 10–13) and speaks of His majesty, generosity, and greatness—His “mighty acts,” “awesome works,” and “great deeds” (vv. 4–6). David also highlights God’s goodness: He is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love”; “trustworthy in all he promises”; and “righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (vv. 7,8,13,17).
Grandma’s Recipe
By Poh Fang Chia
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. Deuteronomy 32:7
Many families have a secret recipe, a special way of cooking a dish that makes it especially savory. For us Hakkas (my Chinese ethnic group), we have a traditional dish called abacus beads, named for its beadlike appearance. Really, you have to try it!
Of course Grandma had the best recipe. Each Chinese New Year at the family reunion dinner we would tell ourselves, “We should really learn how to cook this.” But we never got around to asking Grandma. Now she is no longer with us, and her secret recipe is gone with her.
God has designed us to enjoy family and community and to benefit from each other.
We miss Grandma, and it’s sad to lose her recipe. It would be far more tragic if we were to fail to preserve the legacy of faith entrusted to us. God intends that every generation share with the next generation about the mighty acts of God. “One generation commends [God’s] works to another,” said the psalmist (Ps. 145:4), echoing Moses’ earlier instructions to “remember the days of old . . . . Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you” (Deut. 32:7).
As we share our stories of how we received salvation and the ways the Lord has helped us face challenges, we encourage each other and honor Him. He designed us to enjoy family and community and to benefit from each other.
Is there someone from a different age group with whom you can share your faith journey? How about asking someone from an older generation to share their story with you. What might you learn?
Share your story at ourdailybread.org/story. While there check out stories of God at work in lives of people around the world.
What we teach our children today will influence tomorrow’s world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 03, 2016
His Commission to Us
Feed My sheep. —John 21:17
This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 03, 2016
United We Stand - #7604
Well, it was a sight many of us never expected to see in our lifetime. And, man, in the times in which we live how we'd love to see something like it again, except for what caused it. Here were the members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats standing together, singing "God Bless America" with all their hearts. What a moment!
Of course you know what it took. It took the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, to bring them together like that. I remember seeing similar scenes of the leaders of both parties emerging from White House meetings with the President, speaking in one voice basically; the combined Senate and House responding in total unity to the President's address to Congress. An unprecedented bipartisanship that left most of us totally amazed. Suddenly, it seemed as if our leaders had discovered an identity that transcended Republican or Democrat. Suddenly, we were all just Americans.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "United We Stand."
The followers of Jesus Christ have something to learn from what happened among America's national leaders those years ago after the terrorist attacks. Indeed, as a nation, as the Church of Jesus Christ, "united we stand". I know you remember the rest of that, right? "Divided we fall."
America's leaders were united by a common enemy who took lives indiscriminately. We have such an enemy – the one the Bible calls the "thief" who "comes to steal, to kill, and destroy" (John 10:10) – Satan himself. America's leaders were united by the recognition that suddenly they had a war to win. The followers of Jesus are faced with no less a challenge – to win a war against our enemy and save the lives he's determined to take with him to hell.
The common enemy and the war to win caused people in leadership to suddenly realize they had an identity higher than the partisan labels that usually defined them. They had a transcendent identity called "American". How then can we who know Christ, whose cause has stakes that are eternal; how can we continue to be divided by our denominational and theological and even racial labels? We, of all people, have a transcendent identity – we're Christians! We're followers of Jesus! We've been to the same cross and the same empty tomb to have our sins forgiven, we worship the same Christ, and we'll be together in the same heaven. How can we allow ourselves to be divided? Yes, we must be uncompromising with God's Word, but we've got to recognize a spiritual brother and sister and stand with them, not against them.
Philippians 1:27, our word for today from the Word of God, challenges us to "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." What kind of living is that? What kind of living brings credit to the Good News about Jesus? Here we go: "Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." Honestly now, does that describe how God's people are working where you live? Even in your own church or in your ministry? Standing firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel? If not, why not? Have we allowed our distinctives, our denomination, our pride, our competitiveness, our turf to keep us from joining hands to rescue the dying people all around us? That's unworthy of the Gospel!
Let's not waste any more bullets shooting at our own army. Let's remember that turf doesn't matter when people are dying; that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. The enemy is too powerful, the hour is too late, and the stakes are just too high for us to continue to work in our own separate worlds. United, the army of Christ is unstoppable. Divided, we're just helping our enemy. United we stand!
Some of the saddest words on earth are: We don't have room for you!
Sorry, I don't have room for you on the team.
I don't have room for you in my heart.
We don't have room for your type in here.
Jesus was still in Mary's womb when the innkeeper said, We don't have room for you. When the religious leaders accused him of blasphemy saying, We don't have room for a self-proclaimed Messiah! Even today Jesus goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter. But more often than not he hears the words of the Bethlehem innkeeper…. sorry, too crowded. I don't have room for you.
But Jesus says I have ample space for you! His words in John 14:2, "Trust in me. In my Father's house are many rooms." We make room for him in our hearts, and he makes room for us in his house!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—[b]
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Footnotes:
Psalm 67:1 In Hebrew texts 67:1-7 is numbered 67:2-8.
Psalm 67:1 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 4.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, March 03, 2016
Read: Psalm 145:1-13
A psalm of praise of David.
I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.
10 All of your works will thank you, Lord,
and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises;
he is gracious in all he does.[b]
Footnotes:
145 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse (including 13b) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
145:13 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek and Syriac versions; the Masoretic Text lacks the final two lines of this verse.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the final collection of psalms penned by David (Pss. 138–145). It celebrates God as the sovereign King (vv. 1-3, 10–13) and speaks of His majesty, generosity, and greatness—His “mighty acts,” “awesome works,” and “great deeds” (vv. 4–6). David also highlights God’s goodness: He is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love”; “trustworthy in all he promises”; and “righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (vv. 7,8,13,17).
Grandma’s Recipe
By Poh Fang Chia
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. Deuteronomy 32:7
Many families have a secret recipe, a special way of cooking a dish that makes it especially savory. For us Hakkas (my Chinese ethnic group), we have a traditional dish called abacus beads, named for its beadlike appearance. Really, you have to try it!
Of course Grandma had the best recipe. Each Chinese New Year at the family reunion dinner we would tell ourselves, “We should really learn how to cook this.” But we never got around to asking Grandma. Now she is no longer with us, and her secret recipe is gone with her.
God has designed us to enjoy family and community and to benefit from each other.
We miss Grandma, and it’s sad to lose her recipe. It would be far more tragic if we were to fail to preserve the legacy of faith entrusted to us. God intends that every generation share with the next generation about the mighty acts of God. “One generation commends [God’s] works to another,” said the psalmist (Ps. 145:4), echoing Moses’ earlier instructions to “remember the days of old . . . . Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you” (Deut. 32:7).
As we share our stories of how we received salvation and the ways the Lord has helped us face challenges, we encourage each other and honor Him. He designed us to enjoy family and community and to benefit from each other.
Is there someone from a different age group with whom you can share your faith journey? How about asking someone from an older generation to share their story with you. What might you learn?
Share your story at ourdailybread.org/story. While there check out stories of God at work in lives of people around the world.
What we teach our children today will influence tomorrow’s world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, March 03, 2016
His Commission to Us
Feed My sheep. —John 21:17
This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, March 03, 2016
United We Stand - #7604
Well, it was a sight many of us never expected to see in our lifetime. And, man, in the times in which we live how we'd love to see something like it again, except for what caused it. Here were the members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats standing together, singing "God Bless America" with all their hearts. What a moment!
Of course you know what it took. It took the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, to bring them together like that. I remember seeing similar scenes of the leaders of both parties emerging from White House meetings with the President, speaking in one voice basically; the combined Senate and House responding in total unity to the President's address to Congress. An unprecedented bipartisanship that left most of us totally amazed. Suddenly, it seemed as if our leaders had discovered an identity that transcended Republican or Democrat. Suddenly, we were all just Americans.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "United We Stand."
The followers of Jesus Christ have something to learn from what happened among America's national leaders those years ago after the terrorist attacks. Indeed, as a nation, as the Church of Jesus Christ, "united we stand". I know you remember the rest of that, right? "Divided we fall."
America's leaders were united by a common enemy who took lives indiscriminately. We have such an enemy – the one the Bible calls the "thief" who "comes to steal, to kill, and destroy" (John 10:10) – Satan himself. America's leaders were united by the recognition that suddenly they had a war to win. The followers of Jesus are faced with no less a challenge – to win a war against our enemy and save the lives he's determined to take with him to hell.
The common enemy and the war to win caused people in leadership to suddenly realize they had an identity higher than the partisan labels that usually defined them. They had a transcendent identity called "American". How then can we who know Christ, whose cause has stakes that are eternal; how can we continue to be divided by our denominational and theological and even racial labels? We, of all people, have a transcendent identity – we're Christians! We're followers of Jesus! We've been to the same cross and the same empty tomb to have our sins forgiven, we worship the same Christ, and we'll be together in the same heaven. How can we allow ourselves to be divided? Yes, we must be uncompromising with God's Word, but we've got to recognize a spiritual brother and sister and stand with them, not against them.
Philippians 1:27, our word for today from the Word of God, challenges us to "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." What kind of living is that? What kind of living brings credit to the Good News about Jesus? Here we go: "Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." Honestly now, does that describe how God's people are working where you live? Even in your own church or in your ministry? Standing firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel? If not, why not? Have we allowed our distinctives, our denomination, our pride, our competitiveness, our turf to keep us from joining hands to rescue the dying people all around us? That's unworthy of the Gospel!
Let's not waste any more bullets shooting at our own army. Let's remember that turf doesn't matter when people are dying; that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. The enemy is too powerful, the hour is too late, and the stakes are just too high for us to continue to work in our own separate worlds. United, the army of Christ is unstoppable. Divided, we're just helping our enemy. United we stand!
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Psalm 33 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Trust Me
"Daddy, how much farther?" It's the single question hated most by moms and dads on a trip. Our girls loved to watch The Little Mermaid, so Denalyn and I used the movie as an economy of scale. "How long, daddy?" they asked. And we'd respond, "About as long as it takes you to watch The Little Mermaid three times!" And for a few minutes it helped. But sooner or later they'd ask again and we'd say, "Just trust me. Enjoy the trip and don't worry about the details. I'll make sure we get home okay."
Sound familiar? In John 14:1-3 Jesus says, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. . .I will come back and take you to be with me. . ." Most all of his words here can be reduced to two: Trust me! A healthy reminder when it comes to anticipating the return of Christ!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 33
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Footnotes:
Psalm 33:7 Or sea as into a heap
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Read: Numbers 14:1–9
The People Rebel
Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. 6 Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
INSIGHT:
Twelve spies were sent to survey the land (Num. 13:17–20). They reported that the cities were well fortified and the people were of such great size that the spies felt like grasshoppers (vv. 28–33). This instilled fear and mistrust in the Israelites (14:1–4; Josh. 14:8). But Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to trust God for protection (Num. 14:9).
Lurking Lions
By Tim Gustafson
The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.
Numbers 14:9
When I was young, my dad would “scare” us by hiding in the bush and growling like a lion. Even though we lived in rural Ghana in the 1960s, it was almost impossible that a lion lurked nearby. My brother and I would laugh and seek out the source of the noise, thrilled that playtime with Dad had arrived.
One day a young friend came for a visit. As we played, we heard the familiar growl. Our friend screamed and ran. My brother and I knew the sound of my father’s voice—any “danger” was merely a phantom lion—but a funny thing happened. We ran with her. My dad felt terrible that our friend had been frightened, and my brother and I learned not to be influenced by the panicked reaction of others.
Caleb and Joshua stand out as men unfazed by the panic of others. As Israel was poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses commissioned 12 scouts to spy out the region. They all saw a beautiful territory, but 10 focused on the obstacles and discouraged the entire nation (Num. 13:27-33). In the process, they started a panic (14:1-4). Only Caleb and Joshua accurately assessed the situation (vv. 6-9). They knew the history of their Father and trusted Him to bring them success.
Some “lions” pose a genuine threat. Others are phantoms. Regardless, as followers of Jesus our confidence is in the One whose voice and deeds we know and trust.
Lord, we face many fears today. Help us distinguish between real danger and empty threats, and help us trust You with all of it. May we live not in fear, but in faith.
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?
He said to him the third time, "…do you love Me?" —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
The Operation You Can't Perform - #7603
I'll sure never forget my Grandmother Irene. She was one funny lady. She laughed a lot, she gave me money a lot, and she was the life of the party. Some people in our family think she was a big influence on my personality. That's not a very nice thing to say about a woman who is no longer here to defend herself, right? But there's no doubt my grandmother did have a great impact on my life. I almost never got to meet her though, because she had a serious bout with cancer before I was even born. But she made it and I got an awesome grandma out of the deal. It took some radical action on the part of the doctor to save her though. He went in and totally removed the cancer and the areas around it. It was painful, it left some scars, but I'm sure thankful that he did what he had to do to keep her alive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Operation You Can't Perform."
Removing the cancer – that was my grandmother's only hope for living longer. It's your only hope, too, of living forever.
Our word for today comes from John 1:29 where the prophet John has come to the wilderness of Israel, announcing that God's long-awaited Messiah was about to appear on the scene. Then one day John sees Jesus. And in one simple sentence he identifies Him and he announces the Savior's life-saving mission. "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'" John says, "Man, this is it! The Sin-Remover is here. It's Jesus!"
That's why Jesus came, to remove the sin of the world. Or to understand the personal significance of what Jesus did, put your name in there. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of (There's your name.) __________." Sin – that spiritual cancer that eats away at all our close relationships, that puts a wall between us and God, the God whose love we just need so desperately. It's a terminal spiritual cancer. The Bible says the wages of our sin is death – eternal banishment from the God who made us.
Somewhere deep in our soul, we're haunted by the sin of our lives. I know we are. I mean, there's shame, and there's guilt, and there's the fear of God's punishment. But how can you treat this cancer that poisons our life here and costs us heaven later? Removal – just like my grandmother's physical cancer. I'm glad the doctor didn't just give her a pain reliever to make her feel better. Some of us try one anesthetic after another to calm that sin-storm in our soul, and it never goes away.
Or we try to defend ourselves with all the good things we've done, "Hey, I'm not so bad after all." But talking about all the ways you're OK doesn't remove the cancer. God strikes down all our religiousness and goodness with these "straight talk" words from Ephesians 2:8-9, "By grace you are saved...not by works." There was nothing my grandmother could do to remove her own cancer except trust herself totally to the one who could remove it.
Isn't it time you did that with the deadly sin-cancer you've got? Isn't it time to trust yourself totally to the only One who can remove it? Not cover it, not compensate for it. Remove it so it never comes between you and God again; so it will not be there when you die, locking you out of heaven.
Jesus is your Sin-Remover because He became the Lamb of God. Like the Old Testament lambs slaughtered to pay sin's death penalty, God's own Son came to be put to death for your sin so you wouldn't have to pay that death penalty yourself. No one has ever loved you like Jesus.
If you've never trusted yourself to the only One who can remove your sin and its death penalty, if you've never begun a relationship with Jesus, this could be your day. Tell Him that you believe He's your only hope of being forgiven because He's the One who died to do that.
I would love to give you the information you need to begin your relationship with Jesus and be sure you belong to Him if you'd just go to our website. That's ANewStory.com.
The cancer is deadly, but it's not incurable. When you trust yourself to the Doctor – Dr. Jesus – you trade death for a life that will never end.
"Daddy, how much farther?" It's the single question hated most by moms and dads on a trip. Our girls loved to watch The Little Mermaid, so Denalyn and I used the movie as an economy of scale. "How long, daddy?" they asked. And we'd respond, "About as long as it takes you to watch The Little Mermaid three times!" And for a few minutes it helped. But sooner or later they'd ask again and we'd say, "Just trust me. Enjoy the trip and don't worry about the details. I'll make sure we get home okay."
Sound familiar? In John 14:1-3 Jesus says, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. . .I will come back and take you to be with me. . ." Most all of his words here can be reduced to two: Trust me! A healthy reminder when it comes to anticipating the return of Christ!
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 33
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Footnotes:
Psalm 33:7 Or sea as into a heap
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Read: Numbers 14:1–9
The People Rebel
Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. 6 Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
INSIGHT:
Twelve spies were sent to survey the land (Num. 13:17–20). They reported that the cities were well fortified and the people were of such great size that the spies felt like grasshoppers (vv. 28–33). This instilled fear and mistrust in the Israelites (14:1–4; Josh. 14:8). But Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to trust God for protection (Num. 14:9).
Lurking Lions
By Tim Gustafson
The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.
Numbers 14:9
When I was young, my dad would “scare” us by hiding in the bush and growling like a lion. Even though we lived in rural Ghana in the 1960s, it was almost impossible that a lion lurked nearby. My brother and I would laugh and seek out the source of the noise, thrilled that playtime with Dad had arrived.
One day a young friend came for a visit. As we played, we heard the familiar growl. Our friend screamed and ran. My brother and I knew the sound of my father’s voice—any “danger” was merely a phantom lion—but a funny thing happened. We ran with her. My dad felt terrible that our friend had been frightened, and my brother and I learned not to be influenced by the panicked reaction of others.
Caleb and Joshua stand out as men unfazed by the panic of others. As Israel was poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses commissioned 12 scouts to spy out the region. They all saw a beautiful territory, but 10 focused on the obstacles and discouraged the entire nation (Num. 13:27-33). In the process, they started a panic (14:1-4). Only Caleb and Joshua accurately assessed the situation (vv. 6-9). They knew the history of their Father and trusted Him to bring them success.
Some “lions” pose a genuine threat. Others are phantoms. Regardless, as followers of Jesus our confidence is in the One whose voice and deeds we know and trust.
Lord, we face many fears today. Help us distinguish between real danger and empty threats, and help us trust You with all of it. May we live not in fear, but in faith.
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?
He said to him the third time, "…do you love Me?" —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
The Operation You Can't Perform - #7603
I'll sure never forget my Grandmother Irene. She was one funny lady. She laughed a lot, she gave me money a lot, and she was the life of the party. Some people in our family think she was a big influence on my personality. That's not a very nice thing to say about a woman who is no longer here to defend herself, right? But there's no doubt my grandmother did have a great impact on my life. I almost never got to meet her though, because she had a serious bout with cancer before I was even born. But she made it and I got an awesome grandma out of the deal. It took some radical action on the part of the doctor to save her though. He went in and totally removed the cancer and the areas around it. It was painful, it left some scars, but I'm sure thankful that he did what he had to do to keep her alive.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Operation You Can't Perform."
Removing the cancer – that was my grandmother's only hope for living longer. It's your only hope, too, of living forever.
Our word for today comes from John 1:29 where the prophet John has come to the wilderness of Israel, announcing that God's long-awaited Messiah was about to appear on the scene. Then one day John sees Jesus. And in one simple sentence he identifies Him and he announces the Savior's life-saving mission. "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'" John says, "Man, this is it! The Sin-Remover is here. It's Jesus!"
That's why Jesus came, to remove the sin of the world. Or to understand the personal significance of what Jesus did, put your name in there. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of (There's your name.) __________." Sin – that spiritual cancer that eats away at all our close relationships, that puts a wall between us and God, the God whose love we just need so desperately. It's a terminal spiritual cancer. The Bible says the wages of our sin is death – eternal banishment from the God who made us.
Somewhere deep in our soul, we're haunted by the sin of our lives. I know we are. I mean, there's shame, and there's guilt, and there's the fear of God's punishment. But how can you treat this cancer that poisons our life here and costs us heaven later? Removal – just like my grandmother's physical cancer. I'm glad the doctor didn't just give her a pain reliever to make her feel better. Some of us try one anesthetic after another to calm that sin-storm in our soul, and it never goes away.
Or we try to defend ourselves with all the good things we've done, "Hey, I'm not so bad after all." But talking about all the ways you're OK doesn't remove the cancer. God strikes down all our religiousness and goodness with these "straight talk" words from Ephesians 2:8-9, "By grace you are saved...not by works." There was nothing my grandmother could do to remove her own cancer except trust herself totally to the one who could remove it.
Isn't it time you did that with the deadly sin-cancer you've got? Isn't it time to trust yourself totally to the only One who can remove it? Not cover it, not compensate for it. Remove it so it never comes between you and God again; so it will not be there when you die, locking you out of heaven.
Jesus is your Sin-Remover because He became the Lamb of God. Like the Old Testament lambs slaughtered to pay sin's death penalty, God's own Son came to be put to death for your sin so you wouldn't have to pay that death penalty yourself. No one has ever loved you like Jesus.
If you've never trusted yourself to the only One who can remove your sin and its death penalty, if you've never begun a relationship with Jesus, this could be your day. Tell Him that you believe He's your only hope of being forgiven because He's the One who died to do that.
I would love to give you the information you need to begin your relationship with Jesus and be sure you belong to Him if you'd just go to our website. That's ANewStory.com.
The cancer is deadly, but it's not incurable. When you trust yourself to the Doctor – Dr. Jesus – you trade death for a life that will never end.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Psalm 43, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WHAT’S THE WORD?
If you summarized your emotions regarding the return of Christ what word would you use? Discomfort…denial…disappointment…or hope? Maybe your word is discomfort. After all, the Book of Life will be opened, and names will be read. How could the thought of His return bring anything but discomfort? Maybe it’s denial? We prefer answers and explanations, and the end of time seems short on both. Or how about disappointment? A mother-to-be wants to hold her baby; an engaged couple want to be married. A soldier overseas wants to go home before he goes… home!
Discomfort. Denial. Disappointment. All possible feeligs. But here is the one feeling Christ wants us to have: trust! Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust in Me.”
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Footnotes:
Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 2:4-10
Living Stones for God’s House
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,[b]
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”[c]
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.[d] But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”[e]
8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”[f]
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
Footnotes:
2:5 Greek holy priesthood.
2:6a Greek in Zion.
2:6b Isa 28:16 (Greek version).
2:7a Or Yes, for you who believe, there is honor.
2:7b Ps 118:22.
2:8 Isa 8:14.
2:9 Greek a royal priesthood.
2:10 Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.
INSIGHT:
One of the great comparisons in the New Testament is between light and darkness. It is a hallmark of the apostle John’s writings (see John 1), but in today’s text Peter uses light and darkness to describe salvation’s transition. We are called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (v. 9).
Leaning into the Light
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[He] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
One day I received a bouquet of pink tulips. Their heads bobbed on thick stems as I settled them into a vase, which I placed at the center of our kitchen table. The next day, I noticed that the flowers were facing a different direction. The blossoms that once faced upward were now leaning to the side, opening and reaching toward sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window.
In one sense, we all were made to be like those flowers. God has called us to turn to the light of His love. Peter writes of the wonder of being called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Before we come to know God, we live in the shadows of sin and death, which keep us separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-7). However, because of God’s mercy and love, He made a way for us to escape spiritual darkness through the death and resurrection of His Son (Col. 1:13-14).
Jesus is the Light of the world, and everyone who trusts Him for the forgiveness of sin will receive eternal life. Only as we turn to Him will we increasingly reflect His goodness and truth (Eph. 5:8-9).
May we never forget to lean into the Light.
Joyful, joyful we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before You, opening to the sun above. Henry Van Dyke
Salvation from sin means moving from spiritual darkness to God’s light.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Checking For Messages – From Heaven! - #7602
There are some cities I look forward to visiting when I get a chance in this country. San Diego, California is one of them. There's just a list of things I love to see and do when I'm there. I was thinking about a particular trip prior to the invention of cell phones. (Yes, there was life before cell phones.) I was looking forward to getting out to see the sights, I was going to visit the beach, eat at a favorite restaurant there, but the meetings I attended were back to back and this happens a lot. I mean, I couldn't get out of the hotel. I mean, I hardly even got to my room! I wasn't there to see sights; I know that. I was there for ministry work, so I'm okay.
When I did get a short break, I'd race to my room with barely enough time to freshen up, change clothes if I needed to before I raced back to the next thing that was scheduled. But, no matter how much of a hurry I was in there was one thing I did check on – that message light on the phone that sat on the night stand. If the red light was on, it meant someone had sent me a fax, a message, call from the office, or somebody maybe needed me. So no matter how fast I was running, I always looked for the message light, because the red light meant that there was a message I needed to get.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Checking For Messages – From Heaven!"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Joshua 5:14. It's the night before the battle of Jericho and the great general, Joshua, is scouting the outskirts of the city, and he's encountered this awesome figure who's identified as the commander of the army of the Lord. Many Bible scholars believe this is probably the Son of God making one of His pre-Bethlehem visits. When Joshua asks whether this commander is for the Israelites or for the enemies, he says, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord have I come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for His servant?" That's a great question.
Joshua gets personal orders that actually end up having an incredible effect. But the reason he gets the orders is because first he checks for a personal message. He's got an attitude of openness, of expectancy. He's looking for what God wants to say to him. You say, "Well, O.K. but I haven't had any heavenly commanders appear to me recently." Joshua didn't have the Bible. You do. He didn't have the church. You do.
Today the Lord addresses His people through the book He wrote and then as it is taught and celebrated, and as there is worship time together in His church. Often we open up the Bible and it just feels like nothing's happening. You go to church, you go to a Christian meeting – not much. Well, the first thing you need to do is go in with this attitude that says "I'm checking to see if there's a message here for me. I'm assuming there's going to be a message here for me. "Lord what message do You have for your servant?" That's the attitude that we should always come to God with. "What's the message, Lord?"
We go to church looking for God to say something to us through the sermon, through a hymn, through a prayer, through the comment of another believer in the hallway. Not sitting there criticizing the sermon, you know, grading like Olympic judges how well the choir did, how good is the music. We're looking for a message from God somewhere.
When you put your Bible in your lap to read it, say, "Lord, I'm not just going through an exercise here to check the box and say I did my Bible reading. I want to leave Your book with more of You than I came with. Give me a message from You." You go expectantly, you go curiously, and you go hungrily.
When you're fellowshipping with other believers, listen for a message from your Lord. Jesus is always in His Word. He also speaks as you're involved in His church. If you come away with no message, it's probably because you didn't go looking for one. Don't ever be too busy to check your message light. God turns it on often. He's got so much He wants to tell you.
Whenever you're around God's book, God's meetings, or God's people, check for messages!
If you summarized your emotions regarding the return of Christ what word would you use? Discomfort…denial…disappointment…or hope? Maybe your word is discomfort. After all, the Book of Life will be opened, and names will be read. How could the thought of His return bring anything but discomfort? Maybe it’s denial? We prefer answers and explanations, and the end of time seems short on both. Or how about disappointment? A mother-to-be wants to hold her baby; an engaged couple want to be married. A soldier overseas wants to go home before he goes… home!
Discomfort. Denial. Disappointment. All possible feeligs. But here is the one feeling Christ wants us to have: trust! Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust in Me.”
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Footnotes:
Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 2:4-10
Living Stones for God’s House
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,[b]
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”[c]
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.[d] But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”[e]
8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”[f]
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
Footnotes:
2:5 Greek holy priesthood.
2:6a Greek in Zion.
2:6b Isa 28:16 (Greek version).
2:7a Or Yes, for you who believe, there is honor.
2:7b Ps 118:22.
2:8 Isa 8:14.
2:9 Greek a royal priesthood.
2:10 Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.
INSIGHT:
One of the great comparisons in the New Testament is between light and darkness. It is a hallmark of the apostle John’s writings (see John 1), but in today’s text Peter uses light and darkness to describe salvation’s transition. We are called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (v. 9).
Leaning into the Light
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
[He] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
One day I received a bouquet of pink tulips. Their heads bobbed on thick stems as I settled them into a vase, which I placed at the center of our kitchen table. The next day, I noticed that the flowers were facing a different direction. The blossoms that once faced upward were now leaning to the side, opening and reaching toward sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window.
In one sense, we all were made to be like those flowers. God has called us to turn to the light of His love. Peter writes of the wonder of being called “out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Before we come to know God, we live in the shadows of sin and death, which keep us separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-7). However, because of God’s mercy and love, He made a way for us to escape spiritual darkness through the death and resurrection of His Son (Col. 1:13-14).
Jesus is the Light of the world, and everyone who trusts Him for the forgiveness of sin will receive eternal life. Only as we turn to Him will we increasingly reflect His goodness and truth (Eph. 5:8-9).
May we never forget to lean into the Light.
Joyful, joyful we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before You, opening to the sun above. Henry Van Dyke
Salvation from sin means moving from spiritual darkness to God’s light.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Checking For Messages – From Heaven! - #7602
There are some cities I look forward to visiting when I get a chance in this country. San Diego, California is one of them. There's just a list of things I love to see and do when I'm there. I was thinking about a particular trip prior to the invention of cell phones. (Yes, there was life before cell phones.) I was looking forward to getting out to see the sights, I was going to visit the beach, eat at a favorite restaurant there, but the meetings I attended were back to back and this happens a lot. I mean, I couldn't get out of the hotel. I mean, I hardly even got to my room! I wasn't there to see sights; I know that. I was there for ministry work, so I'm okay.
When I did get a short break, I'd race to my room with barely enough time to freshen up, change clothes if I needed to before I raced back to the next thing that was scheduled. But, no matter how much of a hurry I was in there was one thing I did check on – that message light on the phone that sat on the night stand. If the red light was on, it meant someone had sent me a fax, a message, call from the office, or somebody maybe needed me. So no matter how fast I was running, I always looked for the message light, because the red light meant that there was a message I needed to get.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Checking For Messages – From Heaven!"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Joshua 5:14. It's the night before the battle of Jericho and the great general, Joshua, is scouting the outskirts of the city, and he's encountered this awesome figure who's identified as the commander of the army of the Lord. Many Bible scholars believe this is probably the Son of God making one of His pre-Bethlehem visits. When Joshua asks whether this commander is for the Israelites or for the enemies, he says, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord have I come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for His servant?" That's a great question.
Joshua gets personal orders that actually end up having an incredible effect. But the reason he gets the orders is because first he checks for a personal message. He's got an attitude of openness, of expectancy. He's looking for what God wants to say to him. You say, "Well, O.K. but I haven't had any heavenly commanders appear to me recently." Joshua didn't have the Bible. You do. He didn't have the church. You do.
Today the Lord addresses His people through the book He wrote and then as it is taught and celebrated, and as there is worship time together in His church. Often we open up the Bible and it just feels like nothing's happening. You go to church, you go to a Christian meeting – not much. Well, the first thing you need to do is go in with this attitude that says "I'm checking to see if there's a message here for me. I'm assuming there's going to be a message here for me. "Lord what message do You have for your servant?" That's the attitude that we should always come to God with. "What's the message, Lord?"
We go to church looking for God to say something to us through the sermon, through a hymn, through a prayer, through the comment of another believer in the hallway. Not sitting there criticizing the sermon, you know, grading like Olympic judges how well the choir did, how good is the music. We're looking for a message from God somewhere.
When you put your Bible in your lap to read it, say, "Lord, I'm not just going through an exercise here to check the box and say I did my Bible reading. I want to leave Your book with more of You than I came with. Give me a message from You." You go expectantly, you go curiously, and you go hungrily.
When you're fellowshipping with other believers, listen for a message from your Lord. Jesus is always in His Word. He also speaks as you're involved in His church. If you come away with no message, it's probably because you didn't go looking for one. Don't ever be too busy to check your message light. God turns it on often. He's got so much He wants to tell you.
Whenever you're around God's book, God's meetings, or God's people, check for messages!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Psalm 66 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne came home heartbroken. He'd just been fired from his job in the customhouse. His wife, rather than responding with anxiety, surprised him with joy. "Now you can write your book!" she said. He wasn't so positive. "And what shall we live on while I'm writing it?" he asked. To his amazement she opened a drawer and revealed a wad of money she'd saved out of her housekeeping budget. "I always knew you were a man of genius," she told him, and "I always knew you'd write a masterpiece."
She believed in her husband. And because she did, he wrote. And because he wrote, every library in America has a copy of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." You have the power to change someone's life simply by the words you speak.
From A Love Worth Giving
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 29, 2016
Read: Hebrews 9:19-28
For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,[a] along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”[b] 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age[c] to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
Footnotes:
9:19 Some manuscripts do not include and goats.
9:20 Exod 24:8.
9:26 Greek the ages.
INSIGHT:
The writer of Hebrews compares the old covenant initiated by Moses (9:1–23) with the new covenant initiated by Jesus (9:24–10:18). As High Priest and “mediator of a new covenant” (9:15), Christ did not offer the blood of animals (v. 19) that could not take away sins; He sacrificed Himself “once for all . . . to do away with sin” (v. 26).
Lifeblood
By Keila Ochoa
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22
Mary Ann believed in God and His Son Jesus, but she struggled with why Jesus had to shed His blood to bring salvation. Who would think of cleansing something with blood? Yet the Bible says, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (Heb. 9:22). That, in Mary Ann’s opinion, was disgusting!
Then one day she had to go to a hospital. A genetic condition had altered her immune system, and doctors became alarmed when the illness started attacking her blood. As she was in the emergency room she thought, If I lose my blood, I will die. But Jesus shed His blood so I can live!
Jesus made His sacrifice our sacrifice, His life our life, and His Father our Father.
Suddenly everything made sense. In the midst of her pain, Mary Ann felt joy and peace. She understood that blood is life, and a holy life was needed to make peace with God for us. Today she is alive and well, thanking God for her health and for Jesus’ sacrifice on her behalf.
Hebrews 9 explains the meaning of the Old Testament blood ritual (vv. 16-22) and the once and for all offering of Jesus that brought animal sacrifice to an end (vv. 23-26). Bearing our sin, He willingly died and shed His blood to become our sacrifice. We now have confidence to enter God’s presence. How could we ever thank Jesus enough for making His sacrifice our sacrifice, His life our life, and His Father our Father?
Lord, I thank You for Jesus and for the shedding of His blood for me. I want to live my life in gratitude to You.
The blood of Christ washes away our sins.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 29, 2016
What Do You Want The Lord to Do for You?
"What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." —Luke 18:41
Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. “Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more…” (Luke 18:39). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don’t deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn’t work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.
Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, “I always failed there, and I always will.” Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, “It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.” If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.
This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won’t believe; we won’t let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore— we prefer to worry.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 29, 2016
Five Pitfalls in a Passionate Election - #7601
Okay, spoiler alert. I am not talking about politics.
But, I can't remember an election where emotions have run this high. And the flood of passion is swamping the pundits. And that flood is sometimes carrying people where they never should go.
I have to confess I've always enjoyed following politics. But this year, I'm really hitting the brakes a little because there are some dangerous pitfalls in this high-voltage election. A follower of Jesus has a responsibility to "render to Caesar" and to "seek the welfare of the city" by being an informed voter. But, also, to avoid the hurtful pitfalls.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Five Pitfalls in a Passionate Election."
1. Unbalanced passion
As a follower of Jesus, I'm called to keep Him the central passion of my heart. But without knowing, I can let passion for a political cause or candidate dampen my fire for Jesus.
Thus defying the "Great Commandment" to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). When I let political frustration or fire make me act less like Jesus, I've lost my way.
2. Unrealistic hope
"They always let us down." That's a mantra we hear again and again about leaders we elect. They promise so much and often deliver much less.
That's because there's only one Messiah. And He's not running for office. This year or any year. He's already King of kings. No contest.
Yes, politicians should not overpromise. Yes, they should be honest about the reasons they end up breaking their promise. But, yes, we should not expect any human to be the one who fixes everything. That can only be the all-powerful, all-loving Messiah Jesus. The Bible says, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). It's all about Jesus.
3. Unrighteous anger
We can't let the heat of our political passions become a fire that burns people around us. Sadly, that's happening this year. Politics coming between friends, family members, even brothers and sisters in Christ. Clearly disregarding God's blueprint for our relationships. Ephesians 4 says, "Don't sin by letting your anger control you...make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace".
4. Undermining baggage
I'll bet Jesus is wishing some of us would be as passionate about getting people to heaven as we are about getting some candidate to the White House. Because eternities matter so much more than elections. The Apostle Paul had it right: "We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:12). No baggage with the Gospel. I'll keep my mouth shut about politics so they'll listen with an open heart when I talk about Jesus.
5. Unclaimed peace - peace we could have
So much seems up for grabs in this turbulent year and these troubled times. One thing isn't. The Main Thing. And our word for today from the Word of God talks about it in Psalm 11:3-4. "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" I love the answer. "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne." That's never moved and it isn't going to. If my hopes are anywhere else though, I'll miss the peace of living in that unshakeable security that God is on His throne and God is in charge.
My Father in heaven will decide the outcomes. My Father in heaven is still in charge. After all, He is sovereign over the affairs of men. Psalm 75:7 says, "it is God alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall."
So before I watch the news - and after - I think I'll keep saying those three game-changing words out loud.
"Jesus is Lord."
Nathaniel Hawthorne came home heartbroken. He'd just been fired from his job in the customhouse. His wife, rather than responding with anxiety, surprised him with joy. "Now you can write your book!" she said. He wasn't so positive. "And what shall we live on while I'm writing it?" he asked. To his amazement she opened a drawer and revealed a wad of money she'd saved out of her housekeeping budget. "I always knew you were a man of genius," she told him, and "I always knew you'd write a masterpiece."
She believed in her husband. And because she did, he wrote. And because he wrote, every library in America has a copy of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." You have the power to change someone's life simply by the words you speak.
From A Love Worth Giving
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 29, 2016
Read: Hebrews 9:19-28
For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,[a] along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”[b] 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age[c] to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
Footnotes:
9:19 Some manuscripts do not include and goats.
9:20 Exod 24:8.
9:26 Greek the ages.
INSIGHT:
The writer of Hebrews compares the old covenant initiated by Moses (9:1–23) with the new covenant initiated by Jesus (9:24–10:18). As High Priest and “mediator of a new covenant” (9:15), Christ did not offer the blood of animals (v. 19) that could not take away sins; He sacrificed Himself “once for all . . . to do away with sin” (v. 26).
Lifeblood
By Keila Ochoa
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22
Mary Ann believed in God and His Son Jesus, but she struggled with why Jesus had to shed His blood to bring salvation. Who would think of cleansing something with blood? Yet the Bible says, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (Heb. 9:22). That, in Mary Ann’s opinion, was disgusting!
Then one day she had to go to a hospital. A genetic condition had altered her immune system, and doctors became alarmed when the illness started attacking her blood. As she was in the emergency room she thought, If I lose my blood, I will die. But Jesus shed His blood so I can live!
Jesus made His sacrifice our sacrifice, His life our life, and His Father our Father.
Suddenly everything made sense. In the midst of her pain, Mary Ann felt joy and peace. She understood that blood is life, and a holy life was needed to make peace with God for us. Today she is alive and well, thanking God for her health and for Jesus’ sacrifice on her behalf.
Hebrews 9 explains the meaning of the Old Testament blood ritual (vv. 16-22) and the once and for all offering of Jesus that brought animal sacrifice to an end (vv. 23-26). Bearing our sin, He willingly died and shed His blood to become our sacrifice. We now have confidence to enter God’s presence. How could we ever thank Jesus enough for making His sacrifice our sacrifice, His life our life, and His Father our Father?
Lord, I thank You for Jesus and for the shedding of His blood for me. I want to live my life in gratitude to You.
The blood of Christ washes away our sins.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 29, 2016
What Do You Want The Lord to Do for You?
"What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." —Luke 18:41
Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. “Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more…” (Luke 18:39). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don’t deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn’t work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.
Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, “I always failed there, and I always will.” Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, “It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.” If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.
This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won’t believe; we won’t let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore— we prefer to worry.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him. Approved Unto God, 10 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 29, 2016
Five Pitfalls in a Passionate Election - #7601
Okay, spoiler alert. I am not talking about politics.
But, I can't remember an election where emotions have run this high. And the flood of passion is swamping the pundits. And that flood is sometimes carrying people where they never should go.
I have to confess I've always enjoyed following politics. But this year, I'm really hitting the brakes a little because there are some dangerous pitfalls in this high-voltage election. A follower of Jesus has a responsibility to "render to Caesar" and to "seek the welfare of the city" by being an informed voter. But, also, to avoid the hurtful pitfalls.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Five Pitfalls in a Passionate Election."
1. Unbalanced passion
As a follower of Jesus, I'm called to keep Him the central passion of my heart. But without knowing, I can let passion for a political cause or candidate dampen my fire for Jesus.
Thus defying the "Great Commandment" to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). When I let political frustration or fire make me act less like Jesus, I've lost my way.
2. Unrealistic hope
"They always let us down." That's a mantra we hear again and again about leaders we elect. They promise so much and often deliver much less.
That's because there's only one Messiah. And He's not running for office. This year or any year. He's already King of kings. No contest.
Yes, politicians should not overpromise. Yes, they should be honest about the reasons they end up breaking their promise. But, yes, we should not expect any human to be the one who fixes everything. That can only be the all-powerful, all-loving Messiah Jesus. The Bible says, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). It's all about Jesus.
3. Unrighteous anger
We can't let the heat of our political passions become a fire that burns people around us. Sadly, that's happening this year. Politics coming between friends, family members, even brothers and sisters in Christ. Clearly disregarding God's blueprint for our relationships. Ephesians 4 says, "Don't sin by letting your anger control you...make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace".
4. Undermining baggage
I'll bet Jesus is wishing some of us would be as passionate about getting people to heaven as we are about getting some candidate to the White House. Because eternities matter so much more than elections. The Apostle Paul had it right: "We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:12). No baggage with the Gospel. I'll keep my mouth shut about politics so they'll listen with an open heart when I talk about Jesus.
5. Unclaimed peace - peace we could have
So much seems up for grabs in this turbulent year and these troubled times. One thing isn't. The Main Thing. And our word for today from the Word of God talks about it in Psalm 11:3-4. "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" I love the answer. "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne." That's never moved and it isn't going to. If my hopes are anywhere else though, I'll miss the peace of living in that unshakeable security that God is on His throne and God is in charge.
My Father in heaven will decide the outcomes. My Father in heaven is still in charge. After all, He is sovereign over the affairs of men. Psalm 75:7 says, "it is God alone who judges; He decides who will rise and who will fall."
So before I watch the news - and after - I think I'll keep saying those three game-changing words out loud.
"Jesus is Lord."
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Psalm 43 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God in a Real World ·
God calls us in a real world. He doesn’t communicate by performing tricks. He’s not a genie, a magician, a good luck charm, or the man upstairs. He is the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-to-day world.
And God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to hear him. Listen for him amidst the ordinary. Do you need affirmation of his care? Let the daily sunrise proclaim his loyalty. Could you use an example of his power? Spend an evening reading how your body works. Are you wondering if his Word is reliable? Make a list of the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible and promises in your life.
Don’t they say only two things in life are certain: death and taxes? Knowing God, he may speak through something as common as the second to give you the answer for the first!
From And the Angels Were Silent
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Footnotes:
Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Read: Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Footnotes:
4:7 Greek a grace.
4:8 Ps 68:18.
4:9 Some manuscripts read to the lower parts of the earth.
Growing Up
By Dave Branon
From him the whole body . . . grows and builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:16
Watching my young grandson and his friends play T-Ball is entertaining. In this version of baseball, young players often run to the wrong base or don’t know what to do with the ball if they happen to catch it. If we were watching a professional baseball game, these mistakes would not be so funny.
It’s all a matter of maturity.
We can encourage each other on the road to maturity in Jesus.
It’s okay for young athletes to struggle—not knowing what to do or not getting everything exactly right. They are trying and learning. So we coach them and patiently guide them toward maturity. Then we celebrate their success as later they play with skill as a team.
Something similar happens in the life of those who follow Jesus. Paul pointed out that the church needs people who will “be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). And we need a variety of “coaches” (pastors, teachers, spiritual mentors) to help us all move toward “unity in the faith” as we strive to “become mature” (v. 13).
The goal as we listen to preaching and teaching and enjoy life together in the church is to grow up to maturity in Christ (v. 15). Each of us is on this journey, and we can encourage each other on the road to maturity in Jesus.
Lord, help me to strive for maturity. Thank You for equipping the church with men and women who can help me grow in my faith. Show me who I can encourage today.
There’s joy in the journey as we walk alongside each other.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 28, 2016
“Do You Now Believe?”
"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L
God calls us in a real world. He doesn’t communicate by performing tricks. He’s not a genie, a magician, a good luck charm, or the man upstairs. He is the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-to-day world.
And God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to hear him. Listen for him amidst the ordinary. Do you need affirmation of his care? Let the daily sunrise proclaim his loyalty. Could you use an example of his power? Spend an evening reading how your body works. Are you wondering if his Word is reliable? Make a list of the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible and promises in your life.
Don’t they say only two things in life are certain: death and taxes? Knowing God, he may speak through something as common as the second to give you the answer for the first!
From And the Angels Were Silent
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Footnotes:
Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Read: Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Footnotes:
4:7 Greek a grace.
4:8 Ps 68:18.
4:9 Some manuscripts read to the lower parts of the earth.
Growing Up
By Dave Branon
From him the whole body . . . grows and builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:16
Watching my young grandson and his friends play T-Ball is entertaining. In this version of baseball, young players often run to the wrong base or don’t know what to do with the ball if they happen to catch it. If we were watching a professional baseball game, these mistakes would not be so funny.
It’s all a matter of maturity.
We can encourage each other on the road to maturity in Jesus.
It’s okay for young athletes to struggle—not knowing what to do or not getting everything exactly right. They are trying and learning. So we coach them and patiently guide them toward maturity. Then we celebrate their success as later they play with skill as a team.
Something similar happens in the life of those who follow Jesus. Paul pointed out that the church needs people who will “be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). And we need a variety of “coaches” (pastors, teachers, spiritual mentors) to help us all move toward “unity in the faith” as we strive to “become mature” (v. 13).
The goal as we listen to preaching and teaching and enjoy life together in the church is to grow up to maturity in Christ (v. 15). Each of us is on this journey, and we can encourage each other on the road to maturity in Jesus.
Lord, help me to strive for maturity. Thank You for equipping the church with men and women who can help me grow in my faith. Show me who I can encourage today.
There’s joy in the journey as we walk alongside each other.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, February 28, 2016
“Do You Now Believe?”
"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Psalm 66, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: On-and-Off Salvation
On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then re-saved, then lost again. Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace; no joy. Is this the life God creates? God's grace creates a confident soul who declares, I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
1 John 5:13 says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." Trust God's hold on you! His faithfulness does not depend on yours. His performance is not predicated on yours. His love is not contingent on your own. Your candle may flicker-but it will not expire!
From GRACE
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Read: Job 40:1-14
Then the Lord said to Job,
2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”
Job Responds to the Lord
3 Then Job replied to the Lord,
4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
I have nothing more to say.”
The Lord Challenges Job Again
6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
8 “Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?
9 Are you as strong as God?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 All right, put on your glory and splendor,
your honor and majesty.
11 Give vent to your anger.
Let it overflow against the proud.
12 Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.
14 Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength would save you.
INSIGHT:
When confronted with God’s power, Job said, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” (Job 40:4). His reaction is consistent with the reaction of others in the Bible. After seeing a vision of heaven’s throne room, Isaiah declared, “Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). After Jesus provided a miraculous catch of fish, Peter cried out, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). When we see God’s power, we can begin to grasp that our sin is no match for His great love.
Taking Notice
By Julie Ackerman Link
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” Job 38:4
When I clean my house for a special event, I become discouraged because I think that guests won’t notice what I clean, only what I don't clean. This brings to mind a larger philosophical and spiritual question: Why do humans more quickly see what's wrong than what's right? We are more likely to remember rudeness than kindness. Crimes seem to receive more attention than acts of generosity. And disasters grab our attention more quickly than the profound beauty all around us.
But then I realize I am the same way with God. I tend to focus on what He hasn't done rather than on what He has, on what I don't have rather than on what I have, on the situations that He has not yet resolved rather than on the many He has.
Take notice of all the wonders God has done and continues to do.
When I read the book of Job, I am reminded that the Lord doesn't like this any more than I do. After years of experiencing prosperity, Job suffered a series of disasters. Suddenly those became the focus of his life and conversations. Finally, God intervened and asked Job some hard questions, reminding him of His sovereignty and of everything Job didn't know and hadn't seen (Job 38–40).
Whenever I start focusing on the negative, I hope I remember to stop, consider the life of Job, and take notice of all the wonders God has done and continues to do.
What has the Lord done for you this week? Share it with us at facebook.com/ourdailybread
When you think of all that’s good, give thanks to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
“The well is deep” — and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
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
On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then re-saved, then lost again. Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace; no joy. Is this the life God creates? God's grace creates a confident soul who declares, I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
1 John 5:13 says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." Trust God's hold on you! His faithfulness does not depend on yours. His performance is not predicated on yours. His love is not contingent on your own. Your candle may flicker-but it will not expire!
From GRACE
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Footnotes:
Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Read: Job 40:1-14
Then the Lord said to Job,
2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”
Job Responds to the Lord
3 Then Job replied to the Lord,
4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
I have nothing more to say.”
The Lord Challenges Job Again
6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
8 “Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?
9 Are you as strong as God?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 All right, put on your glory and splendor,
your honor and majesty.
11 Give vent to your anger.
Let it overflow against the proud.
12 Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.
14 Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength would save you.
INSIGHT:
When confronted with God’s power, Job said, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” (Job 40:4). His reaction is consistent with the reaction of others in the Bible. After seeing a vision of heaven’s throne room, Isaiah declared, “Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). After Jesus provided a miraculous catch of fish, Peter cried out, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). When we see God’s power, we can begin to grasp that our sin is no match for His great love.
Taking Notice
By Julie Ackerman Link
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” Job 38:4
When I clean my house for a special event, I become discouraged because I think that guests won’t notice what I clean, only what I don't clean. This brings to mind a larger philosophical and spiritual question: Why do humans more quickly see what's wrong than what's right? We are more likely to remember rudeness than kindness. Crimes seem to receive more attention than acts of generosity. And disasters grab our attention more quickly than the profound beauty all around us.
But then I realize I am the same way with God. I tend to focus on what He hasn't done rather than on what He has, on what I don't have rather than on what I have, on the situations that He has not yet resolved rather than on the many He has.
Take notice of all the wonders God has done and continues to do.
When I read the book of Job, I am reminded that the Lord doesn't like this any more than I do. After years of experiencing prosperity, Job suffered a series of disasters. Suddenly those became the focus of his life and conversations. Finally, God intervened and asked Job some hard questions, reminding him of His sovereignty and of everything Job didn't know and hadn't seen (Job 38–40).
Whenever I start focusing on the negative, I hope I remember to stop, consider the life of Job, and take notice of all the wonders God has done and continues to do.
What has the Lord done for you this week? Share it with us at facebook.com/ourdailybread
When you think of all that’s good, give thanks to God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
“The well is deep” — and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
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
Friday, February 26, 2016
Philippians 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Show Up
After Albert Einstein’s wife died, his sister moved in to help with the household. For fourteen years she cared for him, allowing his valuable research to continue. When she suffered a stroke and lapsed into a coma, Einstein spent two hours every afternoon reading aloud to her. She gave no sign of understanding but he read anyway. If she understood anything, she understood he believed that she was worth his time! He did what love does…he showed up.
Do you believe in your kids? Then show up! At their games. Their plays. Their recitals. It may not be possible to make each one, but it’s sure worth the effort. Show up! Whenever I speak at an area congregation, an elder in our church shows up. He does nothing. He says nothing. He just smiles when we make eye contact. It means a lot to me.
You want to bring out the best in someone? Then just show up!
From A Love Worth Giving
Philippians 1
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[b] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[d] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Life Worthy of the Gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes:
Philippians 1:1 The word deacons refers here to Christians designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Romans 16:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8,12.
Philippians 1:12 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 14; and in 3:1, 13, 17; 4:1, 8, 21.
Philippians 1:13 Or whole palace
Philippians 1:19 Or vindication; or salvation
Philippians 1:27 Or in one spirit
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 26, 2016
Read: Isaiah 46:4-13
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.
5 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?
6 Some people pour out their silver and gold
and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!
7 They carry it around on their shoulders,
and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.
8 “Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones.
9 Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish.
11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn people
who are so far from doing right.
13 For I am ready to set things right,
not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[a]
and show my glory to Israel.
Footnotes:
46:13 Hebrew Zion.
INSIGHT:
Isaiah presents a stark contrast between the chief gods of Babylon—Bel (or Baal) and Nebo—and the God of Israel. The Babylonian gods needed their worshipers to care for and protect them (Isa. 46:1–2). But the God of Israel would care for, carry, sustain, and rescue His worshipers even when they were old and gray (v. 4).
How to Grow Old
By Lawrence Darmani
I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4
“How are you today, Mama?” I asked casually. My 84-year-old friend, pointing to aches and pains in her joints, whispered, "Old age is tough!" Then she added earnestly, "But God has been good to me."
“Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life,” says Billy Graham in his book Nearing Home. "I am an old man now, and believe me, it's not easy." However, Graham notes, "While the Bible doesn't gloss over the problems we face as we grow older, neither does it paint old age as a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth.” He then mentions some of the questions he has been forced to deal with as he has aged, such as, “How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but also actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties?"
God will care for us throughout our life.
In Isaiah 46 we have God's assurance: "Even to your old age and gray hairs . . . I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" (v. 4).
We don’t know how many years we will live on this earth or what we might face as we age. But one thing is certain: God will care for us throughout our life.
Lord, please teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (See Psalm 90:12)
Don't be afraid to grow old; God goes with you!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 26, 2016
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep." —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 26, 2016
Short Misery, Long Joy - #7600
It was hard to believe. Our daughter was pregnant. My wife was going to be a grandmother! And I was going to be...married to a grandmother! Our daughter and son-in-law had a lot of fun surprising both families with this wonderful news.
But for my daughter, that's where most of the fun stopped – at least for the first three months of her pregnancy. Some of you understand what I'm saying. She was in bed a lot for the first three months, and frankly she had some difficult morning sickness. The doctor assured her she was having a very healthy pregnancy, it was just that she didn't feel very healthy. But then something happened that really helped.
She called me in Mexico to tell me about it. I could tell right away she was glowing on the other end. She said, "Dad, I want you to hear something." After which she proceeded to play a tape of some rhythmic, whooshing sounds. And with an enthusiasm I hadn't heard for the past three months, she said, "Dad, that's the baby's heartbeat!" Well, that was worth a call to Mexico for sure! When I got home, my wife and I got to see the video version of our daughter hearing that heartbeat for the first time. And her face was absolutely radiant! Up to this point, she had experienced mostly the grief of pregnancy. Suddenly, she had this wonderful reminder of what or who it was all for!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Short Misery, Long Joy."
My daughter reminded us all of how God brings about most of the great things He does in our life. In fact, we should get the message from how our lives begin in the first place! That baby's heartbeat reminded us all of how our Father works; a difficult process that produces a beautiful result.
Our Word for today from the Word of God, John 16:20-22. The disciples were heading into a painful season, their spiritual collapse, and the death of Jesus which will make no sense to them. And then, after His resurrection, the One they've depended on will go back to heaven. There will be long, uncertain days in Jerusalem, waiting and praying for what God will do next. And Jesus prepares them – and us – for the difficult process by talking about a woman expecting and delivering a baby.
He says, "You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve (Now here's where I think of the radiance I saw on my daughter's face as she heard the baby she was carrying.), but your grief will turn to joy." Of course, the sickness and the heartbeat were only a foretaste of the really difficult process and the really glorious result. "A woman giving birth to a child (Jesus said) has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:21, 22).
There it is. Difficult process – beautiful result. That's God's consistent pattern for producing new life. But like my daughter weathering the discomfort of pregnancy, it's easy to forget the beautiful result that's coming when all you can feel is the pain of the process. That may be where you are in the processes of God right now. And today God wanted you to hear there is a heartbeat, there is new life that will come out of this hard time.
So stay faithful and keep your eyes on the prize. Even if you can't see any prize, keep your eyes on the Prize-Giver. Sometimes it's tempting for a pregnant woman to take medications that would make her feel better but might damage the baby, the beautiful result. Maybe you've been tempted to relieve the pain with some choices that might make you feel better. Don't do it. You could ruin what God is doing.
If this is the painful part, don't let go of the hope God has for you. The hope that there's going to be a wonderful outcome produced by this difficult season, if you remain faithful through the pain. The pain will last a relatively short time. The joy will last a long time.
Listen for the heartbeat of God while you endure the grief of this process and let Him light up your soul with the joy of knowing this will be worth it all!
After Albert Einstein’s wife died, his sister moved in to help with the household. For fourteen years she cared for him, allowing his valuable research to continue. When she suffered a stroke and lapsed into a coma, Einstein spent two hours every afternoon reading aloud to her. She gave no sign of understanding but he read anyway. If she understood anything, she understood he believed that she was worth his time! He did what love does…he showed up.
Do you believe in your kids? Then show up! At their games. Their plays. Their recitals. It may not be possible to make each one, but it’s sure worth the effort. Show up! Whenever I speak at an area congregation, an elder in our church shows up. He does nothing. He says nothing. He just smiles when we make eye contact. It means a lot to me.
You want to bring out the best in someone? Then just show up!
From A Love Worth Giving
Philippians 1
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[b] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[d] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Life Worthy of the Gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes:
Philippians 1:1 The word deacons refers here to Christians designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Romans 16:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8,12.
Philippians 1:12 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 14; and in 3:1, 13, 17; 4:1, 8, 21.
Philippians 1:13 Or whole palace
Philippians 1:19 Or vindication; or salvation
Philippians 1:27 Or in one spirit
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, February 26, 2016
Read: Isaiah 46:4-13
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.
5 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?
6 Some people pour out their silver and gold
and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!
7 They carry it around on their shoulders,
and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.
8 “Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones.
9 Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish.
11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn people
who are so far from doing right.
13 For I am ready to set things right,
not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[a]
and show my glory to Israel.
Footnotes:
46:13 Hebrew Zion.
INSIGHT:
Isaiah presents a stark contrast between the chief gods of Babylon—Bel (or Baal) and Nebo—and the God of Israel. The Babylonian gods needed their worshipers to care for and protect them (Isa. 46:1–2). But the God of Israel would care for, carry, sustain, and rescue His worshipers even when they were old and gray (v. 4).
How to Grow Old
By Lawrence Darmani
I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4
“How are you today, Mama?” I asked casually. My 84-year-old friend, pointing to aches and pains in her joints, whispered, "Old age is tough!" Then she added earnestly, "But God has been good to me."
“Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life,” says Billy Graham in his book Nearing Home. "I am an old man now, and believe me, it's not easy." However, Graham notes, "While the Bible doesn't gloss over the problems we face as we grow older, neither does it paint old age as a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth.” He then mentions some of the questions he has been forced to deal with as he has aged, such as, “How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but also actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties?"
God will care for us throughout our life.
In Isaiah 46 we have God's assurance: "Even to your old age and gray hairs . . . I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" (v. 4).
We don’t know how many years we will live on this earth or what we might face as we age. But one thing is certain: God will care for us throughout our life.
Lord, please teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (See Psalm 90:12)
Don't be afraid to grow old; God goes with you!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 26, 2016
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep." —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, February 26, 2016
Short Misery, Long Joy - #7600
It was hard to believe. Our daughter was pregnant. My wife was going to be a grandmother! And I was going to be...married to a grandmother! Our daughter and son-in-law had a lot of fun surprising both families with this wonderful news.
But for my daughter, that's where most of the fun stopped – at least for the first three months of her pregnancy. Some of you understand what I'm saying. She was in bed a lot for the first three months, and frankly she had some difficult morning sickness. The doctor assured her she was having a very healthy pregnancy, it was just that she didn't feel very healthy. But then something happened that really helped.
She called me in Mexico to tell me about it. I could tell right away she was glowing on the other end. She said, "Dad, I want you to hear something." After which she proceeded to play a tape of some rhythmic, whooshing sounds. And with an enthusiasm I hadn't heard for the past three months, she said, "Dad, that's the baby's heartbeat!" Well, that was worth a call to Mexico for sure! When I got home, my wife and I got to see the video version of our daughter hearing that heartbeat for the first time. And her face was absolutely radiant! Up to this point, she had experienced mostly the grief of pregnancy. Suddenly, she had this wonderful reminder of what or who it was all for!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Short Misery, Long Joy."
My daughter reminded us all of how God brings about most of the great things He does in our life. In fact, we should get the message from how our lives begin in the first place! That baby's heartbeat reminded us all of how our Father works; a difficult process that produces a beautiful result.
Our Word for today from the Word of God, John 16:20-22. The disciples were heading into a painful season, their spiritual collapse, and the death of Jesus which will make no sense to them. And then, after His resurrection, the One they've depended on will go back to heaven. There will be long, uncertain days in Jerusalem, waiting and praying for what God will do next. And Jesus prepares them – and us – for the difficult process by talking about a woman expecting and delivering a baby.
He says, "You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve (Now here's where I think of the radiance I saw on my daughter's face as she heard the baby she was carrying.), but your grief will turn to joy." Of course, the sickness and the heartbeat were only a foretaste of the really difficult process and the really glorious result. "A woman giving birth to a child (Jesus said) has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:21, 22).
There it is. Difficult process – beautiful result. That's God's consistent pattern for producing new life. But like my daughter weathering the discomfort of pregnancy, it's easy to forget the beautiful result that's coming when all you can feel is the pain of the process. That may be where you are in the processes of God right now. And today God wanted you to hear there is a heartbeat, there is new life that will come out of this hard time.
So stay faithful and keep your eyes on the prize. Even if you can't see any prize, keep your eyes on the Prize-Giver. Sometimes it's tempting for a pregnant woman to take medications that would make her feel better but might damage the baby, the beautiful result. Maybe you've been tempted to relieve the pain with some choices that might make you feel better. Don't do it. You could ruin what God is doing.
If this is the painful part, don't let go of the hope God has for you. The hope that there's going to be a wonderful outcome produced by this difficult season, if you remain faithful through the pain. The pain will last a relatively short time. The joy will last a long time.
Listen for the heartbeat of God while you endure the grief of this process and let Him light up your soul with the joy of knowing this will be worth it all!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Acts 16:22-40, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: What Love Says
Have you ever heard anyone gossip about someone you know? "Well, I heard that she. . ." "Oh, but didn't you know that he. . ." Then all of a sudden it's your turn. What do you have to say? Here's what love says: 1 Peter 4:8 says "Love covers a multitude of sins." Love doesn't expose. It doesn't gossip. If love says anything, it speaks words of protection.
Do you know anyone who needs protection? Of course you do. Then give some. Pay a gas bill for a struggling elderly couple. Make sure your divorced friends are invited to parties. Promise your kids that, God being your helper, they will never know a hungry day or a homeless night. In Matthew 25:4 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me!"
From A Love Worth Giving
Acts 16:22-40
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Read: Numbers 14:39-45
When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. 40 Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. 42 Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you. 43 When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.”
44 But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.
INSIGHT:
In today’s reading the Israelites seem to have a change of heart after God pronounces judgment on them for their grumbling and unwillingness to trust Him (Num. 14:26–38; see Deut. 1:19–40). After being told that no one over the age of twenty—except for Joshua and Caleb—will be permitted to enter the Promised Land, the people cry out, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!” (Num. 14:40; see Deut. 1:41). But they failed to recognize that the Lord’s promise was that He would go before them and deliver them from their enemies. They were now trying to go in their own strength, and they were defeated (Num. 14:41–45).
Go Fever
By Tim Gustafson
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
On January 28, 1986, after five weather-related delays, the space shuttle Challenger lumbered heavenward amid a thunderous overture of noise and flame. A mere 73 seconds later, system failure tore the shuttle apart, and all seven crewmembers perished.
The disaster was attributed to an O-ring seal known to have vulnerabilities. Insiders referred to the fatal mistake as “go fever”—the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal.
Focusing on God brings courage tempered with His wisdom.
Our ambitious human nature relentlessly tempts us to make ill-advised choices. Yet we are also prone to a fear that can make us overly cautious. The ancient Israelites demonstrated both traits. When the 12 scouts returned from spying out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 saw only the obstacles (Num. 13:26-33). “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are,” they said (v. 31). After a fearful rebellion against the Lord that led to the death of the 10 spies, the people suddenly developed a case of “go fever.” They said, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised” (14:40). Without God, the ill-timed invasion failed miserably (vv. 41-45).
When we take our eyes off the Lord, we’ll slide into one of two extremes. We’ll impatiently rush ahead without Him, or we’ll cower and complain in fear. Focusing on Him brings courage tempered with His wisdom.
Before making a quick decision, consider why you want to make it quickly. Consider if it will honor God and what it might cost others. If you are afraid to make a decision, think about why that might be. Most of all, pray!
A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The Destitution of Service
…though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. —2 Corinthians 12:15
Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Disciples Indeed, 388 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Humpty Dumpty People - #7599
When I was growing up and when our children were growing up, basically when generations of children were growing up, mommys and daddys read stories to their children. And most of them had a predictable ending..."and they lived happily ever after." Except for this one nursery rhyme – the one about the uncoordinated egg. You know?
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to learn from that one. "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again." So what? Don't sit on a wall? I don't know. I kept waiting for the happy ending. There isn't one. Humpty's broken, he's in pieces, everybody tries to put him together and nobody can. Humpty is broken and no one can fix him. Well, not necessarily.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Humpty Dumpty People."
We live in a world of Humpty Dumpty people; people who are broken inside where it's hard to heal. You might be one of them. The pain, the hurt, the disappointment of your life have left you shattered. And though there have been attempts to put the pieces together, nothing has really worked. The brokenness remains. There's no "they lived happily ever after."
Our word for today from the Word of God offers some real hope for what may have seemed hopeless until now – a happy ending. It's in Isaiah 61:1, speaking of Jesus Christ. "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted." The Bible says that part of Jesus' mission on earth is to put together broken people.
Maybe all the King's horses and all the King's men can't put you together again. But the King can if you'll give Him all the pieces of your life no matter how hurtful, no matter how shameful, no matter how ugly. Jesus can do what no friend can do for you, no boyfriend, no girlfriend, no therapist, no medication, no family member, no emotional anesthetic. Why? Because He did what only He could do to deal with the root cause of all the brokenness in our world. And that's the spiritual destroyer God calls sin.
Not the breaking of somebody's religious rules. Sin, according to the Bible, is the basic choice all of us have made to do our life our way instead of God's way. That has led us to a lifetime of choices that go against the way God made us to live. God says, "Sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:15). Sin always destroys. It always leaves behind the pieces. All of us have been the sinned against, and all of us have been the sinner. And all our brokenness is from one or the other.
But God's one and only Son came as Jesus to pay for all that sin. In God's words, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree." That's the cross where Jesus died. And because He paid for all our sins, He can forgive all the sins you've done and heal the damage done by your sin and the sins of others. It's all summed up in the beautiful word "Savior".
But Jesus isn't your Savior until you ask Him to be by telling Him you're putting your total trust in Him. Has there ever been a time when you've done that? If you've done that, you'll know you have. That's the day the healing begins. How about that being today for you? Tell Him, "Jesus, I want you to be my Savior from my sin. My life is yours. You made me. You paid for me with your life. I am yours."
I want to invite you to go to our website as an action step right now. There's so much good information there that will help you be sure that you know Jesus personally and have begun your relationship with Him. Now, remember this website – ANewStory.com.
No one else has been able to put together all the broken pieces of you. But that's why Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted. He is your wonderful hope of a happy ending.
Have you ever heard anyone gossip about someone you know? "Well, I heard that she. . ." "Oh, but didn't you know that he. . ." Then all of a sudden it's your turn. What do you have to say? Here's what love says: 1 Peter 4:8 says "Love covers a multitude of sins." Love doesn't expose. It doesn't gossip. If love says anything, it speaks words of protection.
Do you know anyone who needs protection? Of course you do. Then give some. Pay a gas bill for a struggling elderly couple. Make sure your divorced friends are invited to parties. Promise your kids that, God being your helper, they will never know a hungry day or a homeless night. In Matthew 25:4 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me!"
From A Love Worth Giving
Acts 16:22-40
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Read: Numbers 14:39-45
When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. 40 Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. 42 Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you. 43 When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.”
44 But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.
INSIGHT:
In today’s reading the Israelites seem to have a change of heart after God pronounces judgment on them for their grumbling and unwillingness to trust Him (Num. 14:26–38; see Deut. 1:19–40). After being told that no one over the age of twenty—except for Joshua and Caleb—will be permitted to enter the Promised Land, the people cry out, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!” (Num. 14:40; see Deut. 1:41). But they failed to recognize that the Lord’s promise was that He would go before them and deliver them from their enemies. They were now trying to go in their own strength, and they were defeated (Num. 14:41–45).
Go Fever
By Tim Gustafson
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
On January 28, 1986, after five weather-related delays, the space shuttle Challenger lumbered heavenward amid a thunderous overture of noise and flame. A mere 73 seconds later, system failure tore the shuttle apart, and all seven crewmembers perished.
The disaster was attributed to an O-ring seal known to have vulnerabilities. Insiders referred to the fatal mistake as “go fever”—the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal.
Focusing on God brings courage tempered with His wisdom.
Our ambitious human nature relentlessly tempts us to make ill-advised choices. Yet we are also prone to a fear that can make us overly cautious. The ancient Israelites demonstrated both traits. When the 12 scouts returned from spying out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 saw only the obstacles (Num. 13:26-33). “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are,” they said (v. 31). After a fearful rebellion against the Lord that led to the death of the 10 spies, the people suddenly developed a case of “go fever.” They said, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised” (14:40). Without God, the ill-timed invasion failed miserably (vv. 41-45).
When we take our eyes off the Lord, we’ll slide into one of two extremes. We’ll impatiently rush ahead without Him, or we’ll cower and complain in fear. Focusing on Him brings courage tempered with His wisdom.
Before making a quick decision, consider why you want to make it quickly. Consider if it will honor God and what it might cost others. If you are afraid to make a decision, think about why that might be. Most of all, pray!
A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The Destitution of Service
…though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. —2 Corinthians 12:15
Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but One who stands in the thick of the whole thing with man. Disciples Indeed, 388 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Humpty Dumpty People - #7599
When I was growing up and when our children were growing up, basically when generations of children were growing up, mommys and daddys read stories to their children. And most of them had a predictable ending..."and they lived happily ever after." Except for this one nursery rhyme – the one about the uncoordinated egg. You know?
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to learn from that one. "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again." So what? Don't sit on a wall? I don't know. I kept waiting for the happy ending. There isn't one. Humpty's broken, he's in pieces, everybody tries to put him together and nobody can. Humpty is broken and no one can fix him. Well, not necessarily.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Humpty Dumpty People."
We live in a world of Humpty Dumpty people; people who are broken inside where it's hard to heal. You might be one of them. The pain, the hurt, the disappointment of your life have left you shattered. And though there have been attempts to put the pieces together, nothing has really worked. The brokenness remains. There's no "they lived happily ever after."
Our word for today from the Word of God offers some real hope for what may have seemed hopeless until now – a happy ending. It's in Isaiah 61:1, speaking of Jesus Christ. "The Lord has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted." The Bible says that part of Jesus' mission on earth is to put together broken people.
Maybe all the King's horses and all the King's men can't put you together again. But the King can if you'll give Him all the pieces of your life no matter how hurtful, no matter how shameful, no matter how ugly. Jesus can do what no friend can do for you, no boyfriend, no girlfriend, no therapist, no medication, no family member, no emotional anesthetic. Why? Because He did what only He could do to deal with the root cause of all the brokenness in our world. And that's the spiritual destroyer God calls sin.
Not the breaking of somebody's religious rules. Sin, according to the Bible, is the basic choice all of us have made to do our life our way instead of God's way. That has led us to a lifetime of choices that go against the way God made us to live. God says, "Sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:15). Sin always destroys. It always leaves behind the pieces. All of us have been the sinned against, and all of us have been the sinner. And all our brokenness is from one or the other.
But God's one and only Son came as Jesus to pay for all that sin. In God's words, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree." That's the cross where Jesus died. And because He paid for all our sins, He can forgive all the sins you've done and heal the damage done by your sin and the sins of others. It's all summed up in the beautiful word "Savior".
But Jesus isn't your Savior until you ask Him to be by telling Him you're putting your total trust in Him. Has there ever been a time when you've done that? If you've done that, you'll know you have. That's the day the healing begins. How about that being today for you? Tell Him, "Jesus, I want you to be my Savior from my sin. My life is yours. You made me. You paid for me with your life. I am yours."
I want to invite you to go to our website as an action step right now. There's so much good information there that will help you be sure that you know Jesus personally and have begun your relationship with Him. Now, remember this website – ANewStory.com.
No one else has been able to put together all the broken pieces of you. But that's why Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted. He is your wonderful hope of a happy ending.
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