Max Lucado Daily: KEEP IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT
I believe we can make the same mistake the Welsh woman made. She lived many years ago in a remote valley, and felt it worth the cost and trouble to have electricity installed in her home. Several weeks after the installation, the power company noticed she had barely used any electricity. A meter reader went to see her. “Is there a problem?” he asked. “Oh no,” she responded. “We’re quite satisfied. Every night we turn on the electric lights to see how to light our lamps.”
We’re prone to do likewise: depend on God’s Spirit to save us but not sustain us. We turn to him to get us started and then continue in our own strength. Scripture urges us to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). He directs and leads; we obey and follow. Plug into his power and leave the switch turned on.
from More to Your Story
1 Chronicles 8
The Genealogy of Saul the Benjamite
Benjamin was the father of Bela his firstborn,
Ashbel the second son, Aharah the third,
2 Nohah the fourth and Rapha the fifth.
3 The sons of Bela were:
Addar, Gera, Abihud,[g] 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan and Huram.
6 These were the descendants of Ehud, who were heads of families of those living in Geba and were deported to Manahath:
7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who deported them and who was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
8 Sons were born to Shaharaim in Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. 9 By his wife Hodesh he had Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malkam, 10 Jeuz, Sakia and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families. 11 By Hushim he had Abitub and Elpaal.
12 The sons of Elpaal:
Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its surrounding villages), 13 and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of families of those living in Aijalon and who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.
14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah and Joha were the sons of Beriah.
17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.
19 Jakim, Zikri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.
22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zikri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.
26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah and Zikri were the sons of Jeroham.
28 All these were heads of families, chiefs as listed in their genealogy, and they lived in Jerusalem.
29 Jeiel[h] the father[i] of Gibeon lived in Gibeon.
His wife’s name was Maakah, 30 and his firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner,[j] Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zeker 32 and Mikloth, who was the father of Shimeah. They too lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.
33 Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.[k]
34 The son of Jonathan:
Merib-Baal,[l] who was the father of Micah.
35 The sons of Micah:
Pithon, Melek, Tarea and Ahaz.
36 Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri was the father of Moza. 37 Moza was the father of Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son and Azel his son.
38 Azel had six sons, and these were their names:
Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
39 The sons of his brother Eshek:
Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second son and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were brave warriors who could handle the bow. They had many sons and grandsons—150 in all.
Footnotes:
1 Chronicles 8:3 Or Gera the father of Ehud
1 Chronicles 8:29 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 9:35); Hebrew does not have Jeiel.
1 Chronicles 8:29 Father may mean civic leader or military leader.
1 Chronicles 8:30 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 9:36); Hebrew does not have Ner.
1 Chronicles 8:33 Also known as Ish-Bosheth
1 Chronicles 8:34 Also known as Mephibosheth
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Read: Galatians 6:1-10
We Harvest What We Plant
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Footnotes:
6:1a Greek Brothers, if a man.
6:1b Greek spiritual.
INSIGHT:
When the Scriptures were written, much of the culture was agrarian. Even the city-dwellers, like those who made up the church at Galatia, were familiar with the natural rhythm of planting, growth, and harvest. No doubt Paul’s encouragement to keep doing good had a ring of truth that modern and industrialized people might miss. The harvest takes hard work, investment, and time.
Time to Grow
By Marion Stroud
At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
In Debbie’s new home, she discovered an abandoned plant in a dark corner of the kitchen. The dusty and ragged leaves looked like those of a moth orchid, and she imagined how pretty the plant would look once it had sent up new bloom-bearing stems. She moved the pot into a spot by the window, cut off the dead leaves, and watered it thoroughly. She bought plant food and applied it to the roots. Week after week she inspected the plant, but no new shoots appeared. “I’ll give it another month,” she told her husband, “and if nothing has happened by then, out it goes.”
When decision day came, she could hardly believe her eyes. Two small stems were poking out from among the leaves! The plant she’d almost given up on was still alive.
Please give me patience, dear Lord, with myself and with others.
Do you ever get discouraged by your apparent lack of spiritual growth? Perhaps you frequently lose your temper or enjoy that spicy piece of gossip you just can’t resist passing on. Or perhaps you get up too late to pray and read your Bible, in spite of resolving to set the alarm earlier.
Why not tell a trusted friend about the areas of your life in which you want to grow spiritually and ask that person to pray for and encourage you to be accountable? Be patient. You will grow as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you.
Please give me patience, dear Lord, with myself and with others. Help me to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He shapes my desires and helps me to grow.
Each small step of faith is a giant step of growth
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
His Ascension and Our Access
It came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. —Luke 24:51
We have no experiences in our lives that correspond to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. From that moment forward His life was altogether substitutionary. Up to the time of the transfiguration, He had exhibited the normal, perfect life of a man. But from the transfiguration forward— Gethsemane, the Cross, the resurrection— everything is unfamiliar to us. His Cross is the door by which every member of the human race can enter into the life of God; by His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone, and by His ascension our Lord entered heaven, keeping the door open for humanity.
The transfiguration was completed on the Mount of Ascension. If Jesus had gone to heaven directly from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity.
The ascension is the complete fulfillment of the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to His original glory, but not simply as the Son of God— He returned to His father as the Son of Man as well. There is now freedom of access for anyone straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. But now they are His in absolute, full power. As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ now has all the power at the throne of God. From His ascension forward He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
How to Bring People Together - #7657
I had just finished speaking for a Christian leaders' gathering that was part of the countdown to a Franklin Graham Festival. The setup team there was in their early days of working together on this massive mobilization. The team leader thought it would be a good idea to get his team together for a few minutes after the meeting ended, and he invited me to join them. Then he handed me a cluster of helium balloons tied together. Suddenly, I felt like I'd gone from speaker to circus clown. And, you know, I've read Winnie the Pooh stories to our kids enough that I couldn't help but picture Pooh Bear being carried into the sky by a bunch of balloons like that.
Well, in spite of my trivial imaginings, the team leader had a holy purpose for having me stand there with those balloons. He asked his team members to spread out around the room. They ended up widely separated. He asked them to get as close to me and my balloons as they could. Within moments, those workers, who had been so scattered, were shoulder-to-shoulder in a clump around me and my balloons.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Bring People Together."
That morning the team leader actually made a powerful point. He said, "You guys notice this, that the closer each of you got to Ron, the closer you got to each other?" He said, "The more we focus on Jesus and lift up His cross, the closer we will get to each other." We didn't have a cross in the room, and I think the balloons were a strange but available substitute for me to hold up, but the point was made.
And that point reaches to where you are right now in your family, your church, your ministry, your community. The closer each person on your team gets to Jesus and what He did on the cross for us, the closer those people are going to get to each other. It's focusing on lesser things; titles, personal agendas, hard feelings, little issues, comparing with another person, the things we disagree on – that's what makes any group of people distant, divided and very easy for our enemy to defeat.
The 133rd Psalm says, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity...for there the Lord bestows His blessing." There's a helpful picture of how the right focus can bring people together in our word for today from the Word of God in Acts 2, beginning with verse 42. It actually shows us the lifestyle of the original Christians; possibly the most powerful people in history. It says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Celebrating Jesus' death together in Communion, talking to Him together, learning about Him together – that's what they were doing. So it says, "So all the believers were together and had everything in common. They continued to meet together, and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Imagine people coming to Christ every day! When's the last time you saw that? But then, when's the last time you saw God's people setting aside their differences and coming together consistently around Jesus and His cross?
If someone's depending on the same Savior for their eternity, if they've been to the same cross to be forgiven, isn't that enough to at least pray together, if nothing else? If you want, you can focus on the 90% that we agree on or you can focus on the 10% we disagree on. We can focus 90% of our energy on the 10% that makes "our group" our group. Or we can focus on our magnificent Savior and the magnet that is His cross.
When we realize that He has left us here to draw a world of lost people to that cross, we realize we can rescue far more people together than we ever could apart. Remember, Jesus said, "When I am lifted up...I will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32). Jesus and His cross – they're the magnet that pulls His people together and pulls lost people to Him. Isn't it time we made that our focus instead of whatever has kept us in separate parts of the room? Because the closer we get to Jesus, the closer we get to His cross, the closer we're going to get to each other.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
1 Chronicles 7, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: HIS POWER BECOMES OUR POWER
We look at other believers and ask, “Why is her life so fruitful and mine so barren?” “Why is his life so powerful and mine so weak?” “Aren’t we saved by the same Christ?” The answer may be found in the first chapter of the Book of Acts where Jesus told Peter and the other followers, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry Jesus lived near the disciples. The Holy Spirit, however, would live in the disciples. The Holy Spirit is a year-round resident in the hearts of God’s children. As God’s story becomes our story, his power becomes our power! Heed the invitation of Jesus to “Wait for the Holy Spirit.”
From More to Your Story
1 Chronicles 7
Descendants of Issachar
The four sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. At the time of King David, the total number of mighty warriors listed in the records of these clans was 22,600.
3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. These five became the leaders of clans. 4 All of them had many wives and many sons, so the total number of men available for military service among their descendants was 36,000.
5 The total number of mighty warriors from all the clans of the tribe of Issachar was 87,000. All of them were listed in their genealogical records.
Descendants of Benjamin
6 Three of Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.
7 The five sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors from these clans was 22,034, as listed in their genealogical records.
8 The sons of Beker were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. 9 Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors and leaders from these clans was 20,200, as listed in their genealogical records.
10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. From these clans the total number of mighty warriors ready for war was 17,200.
12 The sons of Ir were Shuppim and Huppim. Hushim was the son of Aher.
Descendants of Naphtali
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel,[a] Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.[b] They were all descendants of Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.
Descendants of Manasseh
14 The descendants of Manasseh through his Aramean concubine included Asriel. She also bore Makir, the father of Gilead. 15 Makir found wives for[c] Huppim and Shuppim. Makir had a sister named Maacah. One of his descendants was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.
16 Makir’s wife, Maacah, gave birth to a son whom she named Peresh. His brother’s name was Sheresh. The sons of Peresh were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was Bedan. All these were considered Gileadites, descendants of Makir son of Manasseh.
18 Makir’s sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
Descendants of Ephraim
20 The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, 21 Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. These two were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. 22 Their father, Ephraim, mourned for them a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23 Afterward Ephraim slept with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah[d] because of the tragedy his family had suffered. 24 He had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.
25 The descendants of Ephraim included Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Tahan, 26 Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, 27 Nun, and Joshua.
28 The descendants of Ephraim lived in the territory that included Bethel and its surrounding towns to the south, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its surrounding villages to the north as far as Ayyah and its towns. 29 Along the border of Manasseh were the towns of Beth-shan,[e] Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and their surrounding villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel[f] lived in these towns.
Descendants of Asher
30 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. They had a sister named Serah.
31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel (the father of Birzaith).
32 The sons of Heber were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. They had a sister named Shua.
33 The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath.
34 The sons of Shomer were Ahi,[g] Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.
35 The sons of his brother Helem[h] were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran,[i] and Beera.
38 The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.
39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
40 Each of these descendants of Asher was the head of an ancestral clan. They were all select men—mighty warriors and outstanding leaders. The total number of men available for military service was 26,000, as listed in their genealogical records.
Footnotes:
7:13a As in parallel text at Gen 46:24; Hebrew reads Jahziel, a variant spelling of Jahzeel.
7:13b As in some Hebrew and Greek manuscripts (see also Gen 46:24; Num 26:49); most Hebrew manuscripts read Shallum.
7:15 Or Makir took a wife from. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
7:23 Beriah sounds like a Hebrew term meaning “tragedy” or “misfortune.”
7:29a Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan.
7:29b Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
7:34 Or The sons of Shomer, his brother, were.
7:35 Possibly another name for Hotham; compare 7:32.
7:37 Possibly another name for Jether; compare 7:38.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, May 16, 2016
Read: Genesis 3:1-8
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.
Footnotes:3:8 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.
INSIGHT:
Today’s reading unveils one of the central strategies of our enemy, Satan. In addition to suppressing God’s truth, Satan uses Scripture for his own evil ends by tempting the believer to doubt its truth. When we experience doubts concerning the Word of God, we can follow our Lord’s example and cite Scripture with confidence (Matt. 4). Scripture is an offensive weapon against our enemy (Eph. 6:10–18).
Is He Good?
By Anne Cetas
He said to the woman, “Did God really say . . . ?” Genesis 3:1
“I don’t think God is good,” my friend told me. She had been praying for years about some difficult issues, but nothing had improved. Her anger and bitterness over God’s silence grew. Knowing her well, I sensed that deep down she believed God is good, but the continual pain in her heart and God’s seeming lack of interest caused her to doubt. It was easier for her to get angry than to bear the sadness.
Doubting God’s goodness is as old as Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). The serpent put that thought in Eve’s mind when he suggested that God was withholding the fruit from her because “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5). In pride, Adam and Eve thought they, rather than God, should determine what was good for them.
Let's help each other see the truth that God is good.
Years after losing a daughter in death, James Bryan Smith found he was able to affirm God’s goodness. In his book The Good and Beautiful God, Smith wrote, "God's goodness is not something I get to decide upon. I am a human being with limited understanding." Smith’s amazing comment isn’t naïve; it arises out of years of processing his grief and seeking God’s heart.
In times of discouragement, let’s listen well to each other and help each other see the truth that God is good.
Lord, we will praise You in our difficult times like the psalmist did. You know us, and we turn to You because we know You are good.
For more on this topic, read Why Doesn't God Answer Me from Discovery Series.
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 16, 2016
The Habit of Recognizing God’s Provision
…you may be partakers of the divine nature… —2 Peter 1:4
We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.
Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you…may have an abundance…” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, May 16, 2016
Refusing To Move, Losing It All - #7656
La Conchita, California – a community sitting on this narrow strip of land between the Pacific Coast Highway and a steep cliff. In 1995, 600,000 tons of mud collapsed and buried nine houses there. Well, thankfully it moved slowly enough that everybody was able to get out alive. Well, not this time. In January of 2005, a chunk of the 300-foot bluff that towered over the town collapsed with a loud roar. In moments this sea of mud had crushed 15 homes and damaged 16 others. One man who missed the mudslide because of a quick trip for ice cream ran back to his buried home and began frantically digging for his wife and family with the rescuers. Tragically, they were some of those who died in the mudslide. It had been such a nice place to live; such a deadly place to live.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Refusing To Move, Losing It All."
Many people who live in potentially dangerous places in America refuse to move, and that certainly is their choice. It's understandable. "This is where I'm from. This is home." But there is a question to be seriously considered: is any place so nice to live that it's worth dying for?
That question becomes life's most important question when it comes to the eternal future of a person because so many are facing a deadly spiritual future. Not because there isn't a safe place, but because they refuse to move. And unlike a geographical area where disaster is possible, it is, for those in the spiritual danger zone, inevitable.
There is no escaping the Bible's clear decree that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). That' "judgment", well, that's facing the consequences of a life lived putting me first instead of my Creator, of living out-of-bounds, breaking God's laws, of doing and saying and thinking so many things that ultimately defy the God who made me.
Thankfully, though, the catastrophe of an unthinkable hell is not inevitable if you're willing to move. Because the Bible explains that Jesus Christ, God's Son, "carried our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24), loving us so much He absorbed the hell that we deserve, so we could have the heaven that we could never deserve. In God's words, though "the wages" of our sin "is death, the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23).
Now, how does a person still end up paying that eternal death penalty for their sin when Jesus already did? By refusing to move; refusing to let go of something or someone that is fatally important to them. Like the irresistible ring in the "Lord of the Rings" that inevitably destroys the one who holds onto it, some earth-person or earth-thing becomes our "Precious" – the thing we refuse to let go of, even though hanging onto it will cost us forever.
In Mark 10:17-22, our word for today from the Word of God, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus, asking how to go to heaven. Their conversation reveals that he's led a righteous life. But when Jesus asks him to let go of his wealth, because it's his god, the Bible says, "He went away sad, because he had great wealth." (vs. 22) As far as we know, he went away lost. I wonder what your "Precious" is – the thing that keeps you from moving to Jesus; a relationship, friends, a lifestyle, a favorite sin, even your stubborn trust in your religion rather than in Christ alone. Maybe it's control you don't want to give up. Because you're not willing to move, you stand in the path of the awful judgment of God that Jesus died to save you from.
But is any place in life worth holding onto when it's going to cost you your life – eternal life? Don't miss Jesus because you won't move. He left heaven and went to that horrible cross for you. And because of that, He's your only chance at heaven and at the life you were made for here on earth. Let this be the day you finally move to Jesus.
I would love to help you do that. A whole website is set up for that. So I'm going to invite you to check out ANewStory.com. Would you go there today and let me walk you through how you could be sure today that you will no longer face the penalty of your sin because you have Jesus?
None of us knows when we'll keep our appointment with God. What we do know is how to be sure we're ready for it whenever it comes, by moving to the only safe place there is, and that's in the arms of Jesus Christ.
We look at other believers and ask, “Why is her life so fruitful and mine so barren?” “Why is his life so powerful and mine so weak?” “Aren’t we saved by the same Christ?” The answer may be found in the first chapter of the Book of Acts where Jesus told Peter and the other followers, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry Jesus lived near the disciples. The Holy Spirit, however, would live in the disciples. The Holy Spirit is a year-round resident in the hearts of God’s children. As God’s story becomes our story, his power becomes our power! Heed the invitation of Jesus to “Wait for the Holy Spirit.”
From More to Your Story
1 Chronicles 7
Descendants of Issachar
The four sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. At the time of King David, the total number of mighty warriors listed in the records of these clans was 22,600.
3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. These five became the leaders of clans. 4 All of them had many wives and many sons, so the total number of men available for military service among their descendants was 36,000.
5 The total number of mighty warriors from all the clans of the tribe of Issachar was 87,000. All of them were listed in their genealogical records.
Descendants of Benjamin
6 Three of Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.
7 The five sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors from these clans was 22,034, as listed in their genealogical records.
8 The sons of Beker were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. 9 Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors and leaders from these clans was 20,200, as listed in their genealogical records.
10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. From these clans the total number of mighty warriors ready for war was 17,200.
12 The sons of Ir were Shuppim and Huppim. Hushim was the son of Aher.
Descendants of Naphtali
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel,[a] Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.[b] They were all descendants of Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.
Descendants of Manasseh
14 The descendants of Manasseh through his Aramean concubine included Asriel. She also bore Makir, the father of Gilead. 15 Makir found wives for[c] Huppim and Shuppim. Makir had a sister named Maacah. One of his descendants was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.
16 Makir’s wife, Maacah, gave birth to a son whom she named Peresh. His brother’s name was Sheresh. The sons of Peresh were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was Bedan. All these were considered Gileadites, descendants of Makir son of Manasseh.
18 Makir’s sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
Descendants of Ephraim
20 The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, 21 Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. These two were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. 22 Their father, Ephraim, mourned for them a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23 Afterward Ephraim slept with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah[d] because of the tragedy his family had suffered. 24 He had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.
25 The descendants of Ephraim included Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Tahan, 26 Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, 27 Nun, and Joshua.
28 The descendants of Ephraim lived in the territory that included Bethel and its surrounding towns to the south, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its surrounding villages to the north as far as Ayyah and its towns. 29 Along the border of Manasseh were the towns of Beth-shan,[e] Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and their surrounding villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel[f] lived in these towns.
Descendants of Asher
30 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. They had a sister named Serah.
31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel (the father of Birzaith).
32 The sons of Heber were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. They had a sister named Shua.
33 The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath.
34 The sons of Shomer were Ahi,[g] Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.
35 The sons of his brother Helem[h] were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran,[i] and Beera.
38 The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.
39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
40 Each of these descendants of Asher was the head of an ancestral clan. They were all select men—mighty warriors and outstanding leaders. The total number of men available for military service was 26,000, as listed in their genealogical records.
Footnotes:
7:13a As in parallel text at Gen 46:24; Hebrew reads Jahziel, a variant spelling of Jahzeel.
7:13b As in some Hebrew and Greek manuscripts (see also Gen 46:24; Num 26:49); most Hebrew manuscripts read Shallum.
7:15 Or Makir took a wife from. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
7:23 Beriah sounds like a Hebrew term meaning “tragedy” or “misfortune.”
7:29a Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan.
7:29b Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
7:34 Or The sons of Shomer, his brother, were.
7:35 Possibly another name for Hotham; compare 7:32.
7:37 Possibly another name for Jether; compare 7:38.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, May 16, 2016
Read: Genesis 3:1-8
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.
Footnotes:3:8 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.
INSIGHT:
Today’s reading unveils one of the central strategies of our enemy, Satan. In addition to suppressing God’s truth, Satan uses Scripture for his own evil ends by tempting the believer to doubt its truth. When we experience doubts concerning the Word of God, we can follow our Lord’s example and cite Scripture with confidence (Matt. 4). Scripture is an offensive weapon against our enemy (Eph. 6:10–18).
Is He Good?
By Anne Cetas
He said to the woman, “Did God really say . . . ?” Genesis 3:1
“I don’t think God is good,” my friend told me. She had been praying for years about some difficult issues, but nothing had improved. Her anger and bitterness over God’s silence grew. Knowing her well, I sensed that deep down she believed God is good, but the continual pain in her heart and God’s seeming lack of interest caused her to doubt. It was easier for her to get angry than to bear the sadness.
Doubting God’s goodness is as old as Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). The serpent put that thought in Eve’s mind when he suggested that God was withholding the fruit from her because “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5). In pride, Adam and Eve thought they, rather than God, should determine what was good for them.
Let's help each other see the truth that God is good.
Years after losing a daughter in death, James Bryan Smith found he was able to affirm God’s goodness. In his book The Good and Beautiful God, Smith wrote, "God's goodness is not something I get to decide upon. I am a human being with limited understanding." Smith’s amazing comment isn’t naïve; it arises out of years of processing his grief and seeking God’s heart.
In times of discouragement, let’s listen well to each other and help each other see the truth that God is good.
Lord, we will praise You in our difficult times like the psalmist did. You know us, and we turn to You because we know You are good.
For more on this topic, read Why Doesn't God Answer Me from Discovery Series.
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 16, 2016
The Habit of Recognizing God’s Provision
…you may be partakers of the divine nature… —2 Peter 1:4
We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.
Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you…may have an abundance…” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, May 16, 2016
Refusing To Move, Losing It All - #7656
La Conchita, California – a community sitting on this narrow strip of land between the Pacific Coast Highway and a steep cliff. In 1995, 600,000 tons of mud collapsed and buried nine houses there. Well, thankfully it moved slowly enough that everybody was able to get out alive. Well, not this time. In January of 2005, a chunk of the 300-foot bluff that towered over the town collapsed with a loud roar. In moments this sea of mud had crushed 15 homes and damaged 16 others. One man who missed the mudslide because of a quick trip for ice cream ran back to his buried home and began frantically digging for his wife and family with the rescuers. Tragically, they were some of those who died in the mudslide. It had been such a nice place to live; such a deadly place to live.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Refusing To Move, Losing It All."
Many people who live in potentially dangerous places in America refuse to move, and that certainly is their choice. It's understandable. "This is where I'm from. This is home." But there is a question to be seriously considered: is any place so nice to live that it's worth dying for?
That question becomes life's most important question when it comes to the eternal future of a person because so many are facing a deadly spiritual future. Not because there isn't a safe place, but because they refuse to move. And unlike a geographical area where disaster is possible, it is, for those in the spiritual danger zone, inevitable.
There is no escaping the Bible's clear decree that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). That' "judgment", well, that's facing the consequences of a life lived putting me first instead of my Creator, of living out-of-bounds, breaking God's laws, of doing and saying and thinking so many things that ultimately defy the God who made me.
Thankfully, though, the catastrophe of an unthinkable hell is not inevitable if you're willing to move. Because the Bible explains that Jesus Christ, God's Son, "carried our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24), loving us so much He absorbed the hell that we deserve, so we could have the heaven that we could never deserve. In God's words, though "the wages" of our sin "is death, the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23).
Now, how does a person still end up paying that eternal death penalty for their sin when Jesus already did? By refusing to move; refusing to let go of something or someone that is fatally important to them. Like the irresistible ring in the "Lord of the Rings" that inevitably destroys the one who holds onto it, some earth-person or earth-thing becomes our "Precious" – the thing we refuse to let go of, even though hanging onto it will cost us forever.
In Mark 10:17-22, our word for today from the Word of God, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus, asking how to go to heaven. Their conversation reveals that he's led a righteous life. But when Jesus asks him to let go of his wealth, because it's his god, the Bible says, "He went away sad, because he had great wealth." (vs. 22) As far as we know, he went away lost. I wonder what your "Precious" is – the thing that keeps you from moving to Jesus; a relationship, friends, a lifestyle, a favorite sin, even your stubborn trust in your religion rather than in Christ alone. Maybe it's control you don't want to give up. Because you're not willing to move, you stand in the path of the awful judgment of God that Jesus died to save you from.
But is any place in life worth holding onto when it's going to cost you your life – eternal life? Don't miss Jesus because you won't move. He left heaven and went to that horrible cross for you. And because of that, He's your only chance at heaven and at the life you were made for here on earth. Let this be the day you finally move to Jesus.
I would love to help you do that. A whole website is set up for that. So I'm going to invite you to check out ANewStory.com. Would you go there today and let me walk you through how you could be sure today that you will no longer face the penalty of your sin because you have Jesus?
None of us knows when we'll keep our appointment with God. What we do know is how to be sure we're ready for it whenever it comes, by moving to the only safe place there is, and that's in the arms of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
1 Chronicles 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Jungle
It's a jungle out there! And for many, hope is in short supply. What would it take to restore your hope?
Though the answers are abundant, three come quickly to mind. The first would be someone who knows the way out. And from that someone you need vision. Someone to look you in the face and say, "Don't give up! There's a better place than this." Most importantly, you need direction. If you have a person with direction who can take you to the right place-ah, then you have one who can restore your hope.
To use David's words in Psalm 23, "HE restores my soul!" God, our Shepherd, majors in restoring hope to the soul! Loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Despair decreases because you have vision. Confusion begins to lift because you have direction. Please note- you haven't left the jungle. It hasn't changed, but you have. You have hope!
From Traveling Light
1 Chronicles 6
The Priestly Line
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2 The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
3 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
4 Eleazar was the father of Phinehas.
Phinehas was the father of Abishua.
5 Abishua was the father of Bukki.
Bukki was the father of Uzzi.
6 Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah.
Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth.
7 Meraioth was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
8 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz.
9 Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah.
Azariah was the father of Johanan.
10 Johanan was the father of Azariah, the high priest at the Temple[s] built by Solomon in Jerusalem.
11 Azariah was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
12 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Shallum.
13 Shallum was the father of Hilkiah.
Hilkiah was the father of Azariah.
14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah.
Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak, 15 who went into exile when the Lord sent the people of Judah and Jerusalem into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar.
The Levite Clans
16 [t]The sons of Levi were Gershon,[u] Kohath, and Merari.
17 The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei.
18 The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.
The following were the Levite clans, listed according to their ancestral descent:
20 The descendants of Gershon included Libni, Jahath, Zimmah, 21 Joah, Iddo, Zerah, and Jeatherai.
22 The descendants of Kohath included Amminadab, Korah, Assir, 23 Elkanah, Abiasaph,[v] Assir, 24 Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul.
25 The descendants of Elkanah included Amasai, Ahimoth, 26 Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath, 27 Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah, and Samuel.[w]
28 The sons of Samuel were Joel[x] (the older) and Abijah (the second).
29 The descendants of Merari included Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah, 30 Shimea, Haggiah, and Asaiah.
The Temple Musicians
31 David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the Lord after the Ark was placed there. 32 They ministered with music at the Tabernacle[y] until Solomon built the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They carried out their work, following all the regulations handed down to them. 33 These are the men who served, along with their sons:
Heman the musician was from the clan of Kohath. His genealogy was traced back through Joel, Samuel, 34 Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, 35 Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai, 36 Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, 37 Tahath, Assir, Abiasaph, Korah, 38 Izhar, Kohath, Levi, and Israel.[z]
39 Heman’s first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon.[aa] Asaph’s genealogy was traced back through Berekiah, Shimea, 40 Michael, Baaseiah, Malkijah, 41 Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, 42 Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, 43 Jahath, Gershon, and Levi.
44 Heman’s second assistant was Ethan from the clan of Merari. Ethan’s genealogy was traced back through Kishi, Abdi, Malluch, 45 Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, 46 Amzi, Bani, Shemer, 47 Mahli, Mushi, Merari, and Levi.
48 Their fellow Levites were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle, the house of God.
Aaron’s Descendants
49 Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them.
50 The descendants of Aaron were Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, 51 Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, 52 Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub, 53 Zadok, and Ahimaaz.
Territory for the Levites
54 This is a record of the towns and territory assigned by means of sacred lots to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the clan of Kohath. 55 This territory included Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah, 56 but the fields and outlying areas belonging to the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. 57 So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge),[ab] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58 Holon,[ac] Debir, 59 Ain,[ad] Juttah,[ae] and Beth-shemesh. 60 And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,[af] Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, each with its pasturelands. So thirteen towns were given to the descendants of Aaron. 61 The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten towns from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh by means of sacred lots.
62 The descendants of Gershon received by sacred lots thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and from the Bashan area of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.
63 The descendants of Merari received by sacred lots twelve towns from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
64 So the people of Israel assigned all these towns and pasturelands to the Levites. 65 The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were assigned to them by means of sacred lots.
66 The descendants of Kohath were given the following towns from the territory of Ephraim, each with its pasturelands: 67 Shechem (a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim),[ag] Gezer, 68 Jokmeam, Beth-horon, 69 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. 70 The remaining descendants of Kohath were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands.
71 The descendants of Gershon received the towns of Golan (in Bashan) and Ashtaroth from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. 72 From the territory of Issachar, they were given Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth, and Anem, each with its pasturelands. 74 From the territory of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, 75 Hukok, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands. 76 From the territory of Naphtali, they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, each with its pasturelands.
77 The remaining descendants of Merari received the towns of Jokneam, Kartah,[ah] Rimmon,[ai] and Tabor from the territory of Zebulun, each with its pasturelands. 78 From the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, they received Bezer (a desert town), Jahaz,[aj] 79 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands. 80 And from the territory of Gad, they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, 81 Heshbon, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands.
Footnotes:
6:1 Verses 6:1-15 are numbered 5:27-41 in Hebrew text.
6:10 Hebrew the house.
6:16a Verses 6:16-81 are numbered 6:1-66 in Hebrew text.
6:16b Hebrew Gershom, a variant spelling of Gershon (see 6:1); also in 6:17, 20, 43, 62, 71.
6:23 Hebrew Ebiasaph, a variant spelling of Abiasaph (also in 6:37); compare parallel text at Exod 6:24.
6:27 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 6:33-34); Hebrew lacks and Samuel.
6:28 As in some Greek manuscripts and the Syriac version (see also 6:33 and 1 Sam 8:2); Hebrew lacks Joel.
6:32 Hebrew the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.
6:38 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
6:39 Hebrew lacks from the clan of Gershon; see 6:43.
6:57 As in parallel text at Josh 21:13; Hebrew reads were given the cities of refuge: Hebron, and the following towns, each with its pasturelands.
6:58 As in parallel text at Josh 21:15; Masoretic Text reads Hilez; other manuscripts read Hilen.
6:59a As in parallel text at Josh 21:16; Hebrew reads Ashan.
6:59b As in Syriac version (see also Josh 21:16); Hebrew lacks Juttah.
6:60 As in parallel text at Josh 21:17; Hebrew lacks Gibeon.
6:66-67 As in parallel text at Josh 21:21; Hebrew text reads were given the cities of refuge: Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and the following towns, each with its pasturelands.
6:77a As in Greek version (see also Josh 21:34); Hebrew lacks Jokneam, Kartah.
6:77b As in Greek version (see also Josh 19:13); Hebrew reads Rimmono.
6:78 Hebrew Jahzah, a variant spelling of Jahaz.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Read: Psalm 139:1-18
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Footnotes:
139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
139:17 Or How precious to me are your thoughts.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 139 is a complex poem that is made up of several themes: meditation, confession, prayer, reflection, and lament. It is comprised of four sections or movements. The first deals with God’s exhaustive and comprehensive knowledge (vv. 1–6). The second displays His perfect and persistent presence (vv. 7–12). No matter where we go, God is already there. The third movement in the psalm talks about God’s intentional, personal, and ongoing creativity (vv. 13–18). And finally, the psalm calls attention to humanity’s desire and need for justice and redemption (vv. 19–24).
Always in His Care
By David McCasland
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2
Veteran news reporter Scott Pelley never goes on assignment without his travel essentials—a shortwave radio, camera, indestructible suitcase, laptop computer, phone, and an emergency locator beacon that works anywhere. “You extend the antenna, push two buttons, and it sends a signal to a satellite connected to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," Pelley says. “It tells them who and where I am. Depending on what country you’re in, they’ll either send a rescue team—or not” (AARP The Magazine). Pelley has never needed to use the beacon, but he never travels without it.
But when it comes to our relationship with God, we don’t need radios, phones, or emergency beacons. No matter how precarious our circumstances become, He already knows who and where we are. The psalmist celebrated this as he wrote, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. . . . You are familiar with all my ways” (Ps. 139:1-3). Our needs are never hidden from God, and we are never separated from His care.
We are always in His care.
Today, we can say with confidence, “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" (vv. 9-10).
The Lord knows who we are, where we are, and what we need. We are always in His care.
O Lord, we praise You for Your never-ending love and Your never-failing care.
We are always in His care.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, May 15, 2016
The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
…that you may know what is the hope of His calling… —Ephesians 1:18
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly— “By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you….” Rise to the occasion— do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.
May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality— a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
It's a jungle out there! And for many, hope is in short supply. What would it take to restore your hope?
Though the answers are abundant, three come quickly to mind. The first would be someone who knows the way out. And from that someone you need vision. Someone to look you in the face and say, "Don't give up! There's a better place than this." Most importantly, you need direction. If you have a person with direction who can take you to the right place-ah, then you have one who can restore your hope.
To use David's words in Psalm 23, "HE restores my soul!" God, our Shepherd, majors in restoring hope to the soul! Loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Despair decreases because you have vision. Confusion begins to lift because you have direction. Please note- you haven't left the jungle. It hasn't changed, but you have. You have hope!
From Traveling Light
1 Chronicles 6
The Priestly Line
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2 The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
3 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
4 Eleazar was the father of Phinehas.
Phinehas was the father of Abishua.
5 Abishua was the father of Bukki.
Bukki was the father of Uzzi.
6 Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah.
Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth.
7 Meraioth was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
8 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz.
9 Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah.
Azariah was the father of Johanan.
10 Johanan was the father of Azariah, the high priest at the Temple[s] built by Solomon in Jerusalem.
11 Azariah was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
12 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Shallum.
13 Shallum was the father of Hilkiah.
Hilkiah was the father of Azariah.
14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah.
Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak, 15 who went into exile when the Lord sent the people of Judah and Jerusalem into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar.
The Levite Clans
16 [t]The sons of Levi were Gershon,[u] Kohath, and Merari.
17 The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei.
18 The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.
The following were the Levite clans, listed according to their ancestral descent:
20 The descendants of Gershon included Libni, Jahath, Zimmah, 21 Joah, Iddo, Zerah, and Jeatherai.
22 The descendants of Kohath included Amminadab, Korah, Assir, 23 Elkanah, Abiasaph,[v] Assir, 24 Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul.
25 The descendants of Elkanah included Amasai, Ahimoth, 26 Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath, 27 Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah, and Samuel.[w]
28 The sons of Samuel were Joel[x] (the older) and Abijah (the second).
29 The descendants of Merari included Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah, 30 Shimea, Haggiah, and Asaiah.
The Temple Musicians
31 David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the Lord after the Ark was placed there. 32 They ministered with music at the Tabernacle[y] until Solomon built the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They carried out their work, following all the regulations handed down to them. 33 These are the men who served, along with their sons:
Heman the musician was from the clan of Kohath. His genealogy was traced back through Joel, Samuel, 34 Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, 35 Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai, 36 Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, 37 Tahath, Assir, Abiasaph, Korah, 38 Izhar, Kohath, Levi, and Israel.[z]
39 Heman’s first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon.[aa] Asaph’s genealogy was traced back through Berekiah, Shimea, 40 Michael, Baaseiah, Malkijah, 41 Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, 42 Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, 43 Jahath, Gershon, and Levi.
44 Heman’s second assistant was Ethan from the clan of Merari. Ethan’s genealogy was traced back through Kishi, Abdi, Malluch, 45 Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, 46 Amzi, Bani, Shemer, 47 Mahli, Mushi, Merari, and Levi.
48 Their fellow Levites were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle, the house of God.
Aaron’s Descendants
49 Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them.
50 The descendants of Aaron were Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, 51 Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, 52 Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub, 53 Zadok, and Ahimaaz.
Territory for the Levites
54 This is a record of the towns and territory assigned by means of sacred lots to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the clan of Kohath. 55 This territory included Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah, 56 but the fields and outlying areas belonging to the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. 57 So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge),[ab] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58 Holon,[ac] Debir, 59 Ain,[ad] Juttah,[ae] and Beth-shemesh. 60 And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,[af] Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, each with its pasturelands. So thirteen towns were given to the descendants of Aaron. 61 The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten towns from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh by means of sacred lots.
62 The descendants of Gershon received by sacred lots thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and from the Bashan area of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.
63 The descendants of Merari received by sacred lots twelve towns from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
64 So the people of Israel assigned all these towns and pasturelands to the Levites. 65 The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were assigned to them by means of sacred lots.
66 The descendants of Kohath were given the following towns from the territory of Ephraim, each with its pasturelands: 67 Shechem (a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim),[ag] Gezer, 68 Jokmeam, Beth-horon, 69 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. 70 The remaining descendants of Kohath were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands.
71 The descendants of Gershon received the towns of Golan (in Bashan) and Ashtaroth from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. 72 From the territory of Issachar, they were given Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth, and Anem, each with its pasturelands. 74 From the territory of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, 75 Hukok, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands. 76 From the territory of Naphtali, they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, each with its pasturelands.
77 The remaining descendants of Merari received the towns of Jokneam, Kartah,[ah] Rimmon,[ai] and Tabor from the territory of Zebulun, each with its pasturelands. 78 From the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, they received Bezer (a desert town), Jahaz,[aj] 79 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands. 80 And from the territory of Gad, they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, 81 Heshbon, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands.
Footnotes:
6:1 Verses 6:1-15 are numbered 5:27-41 in Hebrew text.
6:10 Hebrew the house.
6:16a Verses 6:16-81 are numbered 6:1-66 in Hebrew text.
6:16b Hebrew Gershom, a variant spelling of Gershon (see 6:1); also in 6:17, 20, 43, 62, 71.
6:23 Hebrew Ebiasaph, a variant spelling of Abiasaph (also in 6:37); compare parallel text at Exod 6:24.
6:27 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 6:33-34); Hebrew lacks and Samuel.
6:28 As in some Greek manuscripts and the Syriac version (see also 6:33 and 1 Sam 8:2); Hebrew lacks Joel.
6:32 Hebrew the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.
6:38 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
6:39 Hebrew lacks from the clan of Gershon; see 6:43.
6:57 As in parallel text at Josh 21:13; Hebrew reads were given the cities of refuge: Hebron, and the following towns, each with its pasturelands.
6:58 As in parallel text at Josh 21:15; Masoretic Text reads Hilez; other manuscripts read Hilen.
6:59a As in parallel text at Josh 21:16; Hebrew reads Ashan.
6:59b As in Syriac version (see also Josh 21:16); Hebrew lacks Juttah.
6:60 As in parallel text at Josh 21:17; Hebrew lacks Gibeon.
6:66-67 As in parallel text at Josh 21:21; Hebrew text reads were given the cities of refuge: Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and the following towns, each with its pasturelands.
6:77a As in Greek version (see also Josh 21:34); Hebrew lacks Jokneam, Kartah.
6:77b As in Greek version (see also Josh 19:13); Hebrew reads Rimmono.
6:78 Hebrew Jahzah, a variant spelling of Jahaz.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Read: Psalm 139:1-18
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Footnotes:
139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
139:17 Or How precious to me are your thoughts.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 139 is a complex poem that is made up of several themes: meditation, confession, prayer, reflection, and lament. It is comprised of four sections or movements. The first deals with God’s exhaustive and comprehensive knowledge (vv. 1–6). The second displays His perfect and persistent presence (vv. 7–12). No matter where we go, God is already there. The third movement in the psalm talks about God’s intentional, personal, and ongoing creativity (vv. 13–18). And finally, the psalm calls attention to humanity’s desire and need for justice and redemption (vv. 19–24).
Always in His Care
By David McCasland
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2
Veteran news reporter Scott Pelley never goes on assignment without his travel essentials—a shortwave radio, camera, indestructible suitcase, laptop computer, phone, and an emergency locator beacon that works anywhere. “You extend the antenna, push two buttons, and it sends a signal to a satellite connected to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," Pelley says. “It tells them who and where I am. Depending on what country you’re in, they’ll either send a rescue team—or not” (AARP The Magazine). Pelley has never needed to use the beacon, but he never travels without it.
But when it comes to our relationship with God, we don’t need radios, phones, or emergency beacons. No matter how precarious our circumstances become, He already knows who and where we are. The psalmist celebrated this as he wrote, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. . . . You are familiar with all my ways” (Ps. 139:1-3). Our needs are never hidden from God, and we are never separated from His care.
We are always in His care.
Today, we can say with confidence, “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" (vv. 9-10).
The Lord knows who we are, where we are, and what we need. We are always in His care.
O Lord, we praise You for Your never-ending love and Your never-failing care.
We are always in His care.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, May 15, 2016
The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
…that you may know what is the hope of His calling… —Ephesians 1:18
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly— “By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you….” Rise to the occasion— do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.
May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality— a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
Saturday, May 14, 2016
1 Chronicles 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Clear Vision
The apostle Paul dedicates a paragraph to listing troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, danger—the very difficulties we hope to escape. Paul, however, states their value in Romans 8:35-37. “In all these things we have full victory through God.”
We’d prefer another preposition. We’d opt for “apart from all these things,” or “away from all these things,” or even “without all these things. But Paul says, “in” all these things.
The solution is not to avoid trouble but to change the way we see our troubles. God can correct your vision. He asks, “Who gives a person sight?” then answers, It is I, the Lord.” (Exodus 4:11) More than one have made the request of the blind man, “Teacher I want to see.” (Mark 10:51) And more than one have walked away with clear vision.
Who is to say God won’t do the same for you?
from Just Like Jesus
1 Chronicles 5
Reuben
The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, 2 and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)— 3 the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel:
Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
4 The descendants of Joel:
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son,
Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son,
Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6 and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser[i] king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.
7 Their relatives by clans, listed according to their genealogical records:
Jeiel the chief, Zechariah, 8 and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon. 9 To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead.
10 During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.
Gad
11 The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah:
12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.
13 Their relatives, by families, were:
Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia and Eber—seven in all.
14 These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.
15 Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.
16 The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended.
17 All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.
The Half-Tribe of Manasseh
23 The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).
24 These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. 25 But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
Footnotes:
1 Chronicles 5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser; also in verse 26
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Read: John 4:4-14
He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
INSIGHT:
The tense relationship between ancient Jews and Samaritans found its seeds in their shared history. When the children of Israel came to the land of promise they were twelve tribes—an extended family that had been transformed into a nation. After a period of time in which they were led by judges and prophets, the days of the kings began. First Saul and then David were crowned as monarchs of God’s chosen people. It was a people to be taken seriously as they rallied around their common faith, community-based worship, and human king. This national sense of unity became amplified under the rule of Solomon—the wisest man of his generation who turned Jerusalem into one of the world’s great showpiece cities, all centered on the temple in Jerusalem.
Following Solomon’s death (about 930 bc), however, the unity that had flowed from his leadership fragmented. The kingdom split into north and south, Israel and Judah. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was rejected by ten of the twelve tribes, being accepted only by Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam, who was not part of the royal line, became king of the northern tribes (Israel) while Rehoboam ruled the southern kingdom of Judah from Jerusalem. This rupture set the stage for the Jewish-Samaritan problem of Jesus’s day. How?
In about 730 bc, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria with much of its population being led away into captivity. The remaining Jewish population was merged with the Assyrians, and the resulting intermarrying created the ethnically mixed Samaritans (the capital of the northern kingdom was Samaria). Seven centuries later, the animosity of the division and the resulting intermarrying of the northern Jews continued to create friction between the Jews and the Samaritans—which makes Jesus’s conversation with a Samaritan woman and His use of a Samaritan as the hero of one of His most beloved parables so dramatic.
Reflection Questions
Jesus met the Samaritan woman while he was waiting. Are you prepared for the service that God might bring you while you are resting and waiting? If God asks you to serve someone with whom you are estranged, how will you respond?
Resting and Waiting
By David Roper
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34
It was high noon. Jesus, foot-weary from His long journey, was resting beside Jacob’s well. His disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to buy bread. A woman came out of the city to draw water . . . and found her Messiah. The account tells us that she quickly went into the city and invited others to come hear “a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29).
The disciples came back bringing bread. When they urged Jesus to eat, He said to them, “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (v. 34).
In this season of life, I can rest and wait for Him.
Now I ask you: What work had Jesus been doing? He’d been resting and waiting by the well.
I find great encouragement in this story for I am living with physical limitations. This passage tells me that I do not have to scurry about—worrying myself about doing the will of my Father and getting His work done. In this season of life, I can rest and wait for Him to bring His work to me.
Similarly, your tiny apartment, your work cubicle, your prison cell, or your hospital bed can become a “Jacob’s well,” a place to rest and to wait for your Father to bring His work to you. I wonder who He’ll bring to you today?
Lord, our circumstances can often threaten to overwhelm us. Today, help us to see You in all of life. We are learning to trust You as You do Your work.
If you want a field of service, look around you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 14, 2016
The Habit of Enjoying Adversity
…that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. —2 Corinthians 4:10
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.
You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).
Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R
The apostle Paul dedicates a paragraph to listing troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, danger—the very difficulties we hope to escape. Paul, however, states their value in Romans 8:35-37. “In all these things we have full victory through God.”
We’d prefer another preposition. We’d opt for “apart from all these things,” or “away from all these things,” or even “without all these things. But Paul says, “in” all these things.
The solution is not to avoid trouble but to change the way we see our troubles. God can correct your vision. He asks, “Who gives a person sight?” then answers, It is I, the Lord.” (Exodus 4:11) More than one have made the request of the blind man, “Teacher I want to see.” (Mark 10:51) And more than one have walked away with clear vision.
Who is to say God won’t do the same for you?
from Just Like Jesus
1 Chronicles 5
Reuben
The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, 2 and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)— 3 the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel:
Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
4 The descendants of Joel:
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son,
Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son,
Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6 and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser[i] king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.
7 Their relatives by clans, listed according to their genealogical records:
Jeiel the chief, Zechariah, 8 and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon. 9 To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead.
10 During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.
Gad
11 The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah:
12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.
13 Their relatives, by families, were:
Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia and Eber—seven in all.
14 These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.
15 Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.
16 The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended.
17 All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.
The Half-Tribe of Manasseh
23 The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).
24 These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. 25 But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
Footnotes:
1 Chronicles 5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser; also in verse 26
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Read: John 4:4-14
He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[a] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Footnotes:
4:9 Some manuscripts do not include this sentence.
INSIGHT:
The tense relationship between ancient Jews and Samaritans found its seeds in their shared history. When the children of Israel came to the land of promise they were twelve tribes—an extended family that had been transformed into a nation. After a period of time in which they were led by judges and prophets, the days of the kings began. First Saul and then David were crowned as monarchs of God’s chosen people. It was a people to be taken seriously as they rallied around their common faith, community-based worship, and human king. This national sense of unity became amplified under the rule of Solomon—the wisest man of his generation who turned Jerusalem into one of the world’s great showpiece cities, all centered on the temple in Jerusalem.
Following Solomon’s death (about 930 bc), however, the unity that had flowed from his leadership fragmented. The kingdom split into north and south, Israel and Judah. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was rejected by ten of the twelve tribes, being accepted only by Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam, who was not part of the royal line, became king of the northern tribes (Israel) while Rehoboam ruled the southern kingdom of Judah from Jerusalem. This rupture set the stage for the Jewish-Samaritan problem of Jesus’s day. How?
In about 730 bc, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria with much of its population being led away into captivity. The remaining Jewish population was merged with the Assyrians, and the resulting intermarrying created the ethnically mixed Samaritans (the capital of the northern kingdom was Samaria). Seven centuries later, the animosity of the division and the resulting intermarrying of the northern Jews continued to create friction between the Jews and the Samaritans—which makes Jesus’s conversation with a Samaritan woman and His use of a Samaritan as the hero of one of His most beloved parables so dramatic.
Reflection Questions
Jesus met the Samaritan woman while he was waiting. Are you prepared for the service that God might bring you while you are resting and waiting? If God asks you to serve someone with whom you are estranged, how will you respond?
Resting and Waiting
By David Roper
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34
It was high noon. Jesus, foot-weary from His long journey, was resting beside Jacob’s well. His disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to buy bread. A woman came out of the city to draw water . . . and found her Messiah. The account tells us that she quickly went into the city and invited others to come hear “a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29).
The disciples came back bringing bread. When they urged Jesus to eat, He said to them, “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (v. 34).
In this season of life, I can rest and wait for Him.
Now I ask you: What work had Jesus been doing? He’d been resting and waiting by the well.
I find great encouragement in this story for I am living with physical limitations. This passage tells me that I do not have to scurry about—worrying myself about doing the will of my Father and getting His work done. In this season of life, I can rest and wait for Him to bring His work to me.
Similarly, your tiny apartment, your work cubicle, your prison cell, or your hospital bed can become a “Jacob’s well,” a place to rest and to wait for your Father to bring His work to you. I wonder who He’ll bring to you today?
Lord, our circumstances can often threaten to overwhelm us. Today, help us to see You in all of life. We are learning to trust You as You do Your work.
If you want a field of service, look around you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 14, 2016
The Habit of Enjoying Adversity
…that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. —2 Corinthians 4:10
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.
You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).
Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R
Friday, May 13, 2016
1 Chronicles 4, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: DEATH IS NOT THE FINAL CHAPTER
Death is not the final chapter in your story. John 11:25-26 assures us that in death we will step into the arms of the One who declared “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
Winston Churchill believed this. The prime minister planned his own funeral. Two buglers were positioned in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. At the conclusion of the service the first played taps, the signal of a day completed. The second played reveille, the song of a day begun. Death is no pit but a passageway, a corner turn. Isaiah wrote “Your dead will live…all you dead and buried, wake up! Sing! The earth is bursting with life, giving birth to the dead” (Isaiah 26:19). So play on bugler…play on!
From More to Your Story
1 Chronicles 4
Other Descendants of Judah
The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Shobal’s son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.
3 The descendants of[a] Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, 4 Penuel (the father of[b] Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem.
5 Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. 7 Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar,[c] Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum.
9 There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez[d] because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
11 Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah.
13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai.[e] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen,[f] so called because they were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.
16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives became[g] the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). 18 He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children.
19 Hodiah’s wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20 The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
Descendants of Judah’s Son Shelah
21 Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. 23 They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king.
Descendants of Simeon
24 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel,[h] Jamin, Jarib, Zohar,[i] and Shaul.
25 The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.
26 The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.
27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon’s tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah.
28 They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. 32 Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan—five towns 33 and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath.[j] This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records.
34 Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.
38 These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon’s wealthy clans. Their families grew, 39 and they traveled to the region of Gerar,[k] in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. 40 They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful.
Some of Ham’s descendants had been living in that region. 41 But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed[l] the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. 42 Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all sons of Ishi. 43 They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since.
Footnotes:
4:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads father of. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
4:4 Or the founder of; also in 4:5, 12, 14, 17, 18, and perhaps other instances where the text reads the father of.
4:7 As in an alternate reading in the Masoretic Text (see also Latin Vulgate); the other alternate and the Greek version read Zohar.
4:9 Jabez sounds like a Hebrew word meaning “distress” or “pain.”
4:13 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks and Meonothai.
4:14 Or Joab, the father of Ge-harashim.
4:17 Or Jether’s wife became; Hebrew reads She became.
4:24a As in Syriac version (see also Gen 46:10; Exod 6:15); Hebrew reads Nemuel.
4:24b As in parallel texts at Gen 46:10 and Exod 6:15; Hebrew reads Zerah.
4:33 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also Josh 19:8); Hebrew reads Baal.
4:39 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Gedor.
4:41 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 13, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 1:1-9
Greetings from Peter
This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.[a] 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad.[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
Footnotes:
1:1 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey.
1:6 Or So you are truly glad.
INSIGHT:
First Peter is a general letter and is not addressed to a specific church or person. It was written to a group of churches in the regions of Galatia, Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (modern-day Turkey). This letter speaks to a church culture that was experiencing great tension between Jewish and non-Jewish believers. Peter makes it clear that Gentile Christians have been fully incorporated as “people of God” (1 Peter 2:10) and should be treated as brothers and sisters who share in the inheritance of Abraham.
Unseen, Yet Loved
By Mart DeHaan
Though you have not seen him, you love him. 1 Peter 1:8
Like others in the blogging community, I’d never met the man known to us as BruceC. Yet when his wife posted a note to the group to let us know that her husband had died, a string of responses from distant places showed we all knew we had lost a friend.
BruceC had often opened his heart to us. He talked freely about his concern for others and what was important to him. Many of us felt like we knew him. We would miss the gentle wisdom that came from his years in law enforcement and his faith in Christ.
In recalling our online conversations with BruceC, I gained a renewed appreciation for words written by a first-century witness of Jesus. In the first New Testament letter the apostle Peter wrote, he addressed readers scattered throughout the Roman Empire: “Though you have not seen [Christ], you love him” (1 Peter 1:8).
Peter, as a personal friend of Jesus, was writing to people who had only heard about the One who had given them reason for so much hope in the middle of their troubles. Yet, as a part of the larger community of believers, they loved Him. They knew that at the price of His own life, He had brought them into the everlasting family of God.
Lord, we have never seen You, yet we believe in You and love You. Strengthen our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ who love You as well. Make us one community in You.
Our love for Christ is only as real as our love for our neighbor.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 13, 2016
The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience
…strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. —Acts 24:16
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 13, 2016
The Focus That Sinks You - #7655
I'm not much of a photographer, but I'm married to one. A number of years ago, I was able to open doors to minister to our local football team by being on the sidelines and shooting pictures of them in action. Well, my wife gave me a crash course in photography, and the one thing I had to learn fast was how to focus my lens. See, I was shooting from all different angles, all different distances. If I said, "Well, I'll just focus my lens for the first photo and leave it like that," I would have had a pile of blurry pictures and not many friends on the football team when they came looking for a picture of themselves. See, the picture kept changing, so I had to constantly refocus for each new situation.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Focus That Sinks You."
What you focus on in any given situation will determine your attitude and ultimately your response, and quite possibly your outcome. So, it's important that you fill up your lens with the right thing. That you ultimately, of course, focus on Jesus and not on the circumstances. But your heart and your mind are a lot like my camera-you can't just focus once and leave it set there and think it's going to stay there. The picture keeps changing, right? You have to get back in focus for each new situation.
There's a memorable example of this in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 14 beginning in verse 25. The disciples were out on the lake in a sudden, violent, life-threatening storm. And then, the Bible says, "Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.' 'Lord, if it's You,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to You on the water.' 'Come," He said. "Then Peter got down out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus."
Wow! Peter had his mental camera focused completely on Jesus and he was unsinkable. But then things slipped out of focus. The Bible says, "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' He said, 'why did you doubt?"
Well, there I am. There you are. Focused on Jesus, walking where we could never walk otherwise. And then focused on the storm, the circumstances, our fears – going under. That's why we need to constantly refocus on Jesus, because we keep slipping out of focus. We get halfway there, and we start looking around. We lose our focus on Jesus.
Let's say, for example, you start your day praising the Lord, really hanging onto Jesus. But throughout your day, there are just so many distracting problems and temptations and pressures and emotions and people. And it is so easy to focus on those stresses and those issues. And suddenly Jesus has become this kind of blurry figure in the background.
Over and over, we need to stop and consciously get our eyes back on Jesus-to breathe and just say, "Jesus is Lord." "Jesus is first." "Jesus is in charge here." "Jesus has got this." Often I'll find myself stopping several times a day when the winds have suddenly picked up and saying those three peace-producing words: "Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord."
Satan's great strategy for sinking you is to get your eyes off Jesus because he can beat you, but he doesn't stand a chance against Jesus. So keep readjusting your focus. Keep Jesus always in the foreground, clearly in focus. Remember, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
Death is not the final chapter in your story. John 11:25-26 assures us that in death we will step into the arms of the One who declared “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
Winston Churchill believed this. The prime minister planned his own funeral. Two buglers were positioned in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. At the conclusion of the service the first played taps, the signal of a day completed. The second played reveille, the song of a day begun. Death is no pit but a passageway, a corner turn. Isaiah wrote “Your dead will live…all you dead and buried, wake up! Sing! The earth is bursting with life, giving birth to the dead” (Isaiah 26:19). So play on bugler…play on!
From More to Your Story
1 Chronicles 4
Other Descendants of Judah
The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Shobal’s son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.
3 The descendants of[a] Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, 4 Penuel (the father of[b] Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem.
5 Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. 7 Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar,[c] Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum.
9 There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez[d] because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
11 Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah.
13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai.[e] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen,[f] so called because they were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.
16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives became[g] the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). 18 He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children.
19 Hodiah’s wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20 The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
Descendants of Judah’s Son Shelah
21 Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. 23 They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king.
Descendants of Simeon
24 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel,[h] Jamin, Jarib, Zohar,[i] and Shaul.
25 The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.
26 The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.
27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon’s tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah.
28 They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. 32 Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan—five towns 33 and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath.[j] This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records.
34 Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.
38 These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon’s wealthy clans. Their families grew, 39 and they traveled to the region of Gerar,[k] in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. 40 They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful.
Some of Ham’s descendants had been living in that region. 41 But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed[l] the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. 42 Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all sons of Ishi. 43 They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since.
Footnotes:
4:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads father of. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
4:4 Or the founder of; also in 4:5, 12, 14, 17, 18, and perhaps other instances where the text reads the father of.
4:7 As in an alternate reading in the Masoretic Text (see also Latin Vulgate); the other alternate and the Greek version read Zohar.
4:9 Jabez sounds like a Hebrew word meaning “distress” or “pain.”
4:13 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks and Meonothai.
4:14 Or Joab, the father of Ge-harashim.
4:17 Or Jether’s wife became; Hebrew reads She became.
4:24a As in Syriac version (see also Gen 46:10; Exod 6:15); Hebrew reads Nemuel.
4:24b As in parallel texts at Gen 46:10 and Exod 6:15; Hebrew reads Zerah.
4:33 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also Josh 19:8); Hebrew reads Baal.
4:39 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Gedor.
4:41 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, May 13, 2016
Read: 1 Peter 1:1-9
Greetings from Peter
This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.[a] 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad.[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
Footnotes:
1:1 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey.
1:6 Or So you are truly glad.
INSIGHT:
First Peter is a general letter and is not addressed to a specific church or person. It was written to a group of churches in the regions of Galatia, Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (modern-day Turkey). This letter speaks to a church culture that was experiencing great tension between Jewish and non-Jewish believers. Peter makes it clear that Gentile Christians have been fully incorporated as “people of God” (1 Peter 2:10) and should be treated as brothers and sisters who share in the inheritance of Abraham.
Unseen, Yet Loved
By Mart DeHaan
Though you have not seen him, you love him. 1 Peter 1:8
Like others in the blogging community, I’d never met the man known to us as BruceC. Yet when his wife posted a note to the group to let us know that her husband had died, a string of responses from distant places showed we all knew we had lost a friend.
BruceC had often opened his heart to us. He talked freely about his concern for others and what was important to him. Many of us felt like we knew him. We would miss the gentle wisdom that came from his years in law enforcement and his faith in Christ.
In recalling our online conversations with BruceC, I gained a renewed appreciation for words written by a first-century witness of Jesus. In the first New Testament letter the apostle Peter wrote, he addressed readers scattered throughout the Roman Empire: “Though you have not seen [Christ], you love him” (1 Peter 1:8).
Peter, as a personal friend of Jesus, was writing to people who had only heard about the One who had given them reason for so much hope in the middle of their troubles. Yet, as a part of the larger community of believers, they loved Him. They knew that at the price of His own life, He had brought them into the everlasting family of God.
Lord, we have never seen You, yet we believe in You and love You. Strengthen our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ who love You as well. Make us one community in You.
Our love for Christ is only as real as our love for our neighbor.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, May 13, 2016
The Habit of Keeping a Clear Conscience
…strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. —Acts 24:16
God’s commands to us are actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are difficult. But they become divinely easy once we obey.
Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard. This explains why conscience is different in different people. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I can live without any offense toward anyone. I should be living in such perfect harmony with God’s Son that the spirit of my mind is being renewed through every circumstance of life, and that I may be able to quickly “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 ; also see Ephesians 4:23).
God always instructs us down to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When you begin to debate, stop immediately. Don’t ask, “Why can’t I do this?” You are on the wrong track. There is no debating possible once your conscience speaks. Whatever it is— drop it, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, May 13, 2016
The Focus That Sinks You - #7655
I'm not much of a photographer, but I'm married to one. A number of years ago, I was able to open doors to minister to our local football team by being on the sidelines and shooting pictures of them in action. Well, my wife gave me a crash course in photography, and the one thing I had to learn fast was how to focus my lens. See, I was shooting from all different angles, all different distances. If I said, "Well, I'll just focus my lens for the first photo and leave it like that," I would have had a pile of blurry pictures and not many friends on the football team when they came looking for a picture of themselves. See, the picture kept changing, so I had to constantly refocus for each new situation.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Focus That Sinks You."
What you focus on in any given situation will determine your attitude and ultimately your response, and quite possibly your outcome. So, it's important that you fill up your lens with the right thing. That you ultimately, of course, focus on Jesus and not on the circumstances. But your heart and your mind are a lot like my camera-you can't just focus once and leave it set there and think it's going to stay there. The picture keeps changing, right? You have to get back in focus for each new situation.
There's a memorable example of this in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 14 beginning in verse 25. The disciples were out on the lake in a sudden, violent, life-threatening storm. And then, the Bible says, "Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.' 'Lord, if it's You,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to You on the water.' 'Come," He said. "Then Peter got down out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus."
Wow! Peter had his mental camera focused completely on Jesus and he was unsinkable. But then things slipped out of focus. The Bible says, "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' He said, 'why did you doubt?"
Well, there I am. There you are. Focused on Jesus, walking where we could never walk otherwise. And then focused on the storm, the circumstances, our fears – going under. That's why we need to constantly refocus on Jesus, because we keep slipping out of focus. We get halfway there, and we start looking around. We lose our focus on Jesus.
Let's say, for example, you start your day praising the Lord, really hanging onto Jesus. But throughout your day, there are just so many distracting problems and temptations and pressures and emotions and people. And it is so easy to focus on those stresses and those issues. And suddenly Jesus has become this kind of blurry figure in the background.
Over and over, we need to stop and consciously get our eyes back on Jesus-to breathe and just say, "Jesus is Lord." "Jesus is first." "Jesus is in charge here." "Jesus has got this." Often I'll find myself stopping several times a day when the winds have suddenly picked up and saying those three peace-producing words: "Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord."
Satan's great strategy for sinking you is to get your eyes off Jesus because he can beat you, but he doesn't stand a chance against Jesus. So keep readjusting your focus. Keep Jesus always in the foreground, clearly in focus. Remember, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
Thursday, May 12, 2016
1 Corinthians 7:1-19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: DRESSED IN A NEW WARDROBE
The Apostle Paul says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Think about this for a moment. When you make God’s story yours, he covers you in Christ. You wear him like a vest. Old labels no longer apply.
How about these new labels: Royal Priest. Secure. God’s Coworker. God’s Workmanship. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Psalm 103:12 reminds us not to mess with the old clothes any longer. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” When God sends your sins to the east and you to the west, you can be sure of this: He sees his Son, not your sin! In fact, Isaiah 43:25 says, “He remembers your sins no more!”
From More to Your Story
1 Corinthians 7:1-19
Instruction on Marriage
7 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations.[a] 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.
8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord.[b] A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer[c] has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband[d] brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife[e] is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you[f] to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
Footnotes:
7:1 Or to live a celibate life; Greek reads It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
7:10 See Matt 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18.
7:12 Greek a brother.
7:14 Greek the brother.
7:15a Greek the brother or sister.
7:15b Some manuscripts read us.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Read: John 3:9-21
“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[a] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[b]
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[c] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[d]”
Footnotes:
3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.
3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.
3:21 Or can see God at work in what he is doing.
INSIGHT:
In John 3:1–21 Jesus is having a conversation with a religious leader named Nicodemus and tells him these important things about the kingdom of God: God’s Spirit gives new life and entrance into His kingdom, and this is not obtained by our own efforts (vv. 5–8). God sent Jesus to show us His love, not His condemnation (vv. 16–18). People hide in the darkness because of their sin, but Jesus is the Light and whoever follows Him is in the light (vv. 19–21).
Ambassador of Love
By Randy Kilgore
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17
In my work as a chaplain, some people occasionally ask if I am willing to give them some additional spiritual help. While I’m happy to spend time with anyone who asks for help, I often find myself doing more learning than teaching. This was especially true when one painfully honest new Christian said to me with resignation, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to read the Bible. The more I read what God expects from me, the more I judge others who aren’t doing what it says.”
As he said this, I realized that I was at least partly responsible for instilling this judgmental spirit in him. At that time, one of the first things I did with those new to faith in Jesus was to introduce them to things they should no longer be doing. In other words, instead of showing them God’s love and letting the Holy Spirit reshape them, I urged them to “behave like a believer.”
We are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy.
Now I was gaining a new appreciation for John 3:16-17. Jesus’ invitation to believe in Him in verse 16 is followed by these words. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. But by giving these new Christians a checklist of behaviors, I was teaching them to condemn themselves, which then led them to judge others. Instead of being agents of condemnation, we are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy.
Father, help me not to judge others today. Let me learn this until it changes me into someone more like You.
If Jesus didn’t com
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 12, 2016
The Habit of Having No Habits
If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful… —2 Peter 1:8
When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, “I can’t do that right now; this is my time alone with God.” No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcoming and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.
Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things— things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Your Tribe, Your Mission - #7654
An upscale restaurant in Manhattan's iconic Rockefeller Plaza, filled with Wall Street "movers and shakers." A dusty reservation basketball court, surrounded by impoverished, hope-starved Native American young people. I've ministered in both worlds, within weeks of one another. Worlds that – at first glance – seem to be really far apart. But when it comes to what God is doing, these divergent worlds share some striking – and instructive – similarities.
The "natives" in both worlds are hard to reach with the Good News of Jesus. The success, the drive of those marketplace men and women spawn a confident, self-reliant façade that doesn't open up easily. The young people on that reservation have been hardened by years of pain and a strong belief that "Jesus is the white man's God."
But – amazingly – there's a great move of God in both of these hard-to-reach cultures. I've seen it! And many are choosing to follow Jesus. The secret of these breakthroughs reveals a simple, but powerful, strategy for helping people from any culture or subculture find our Jesus. People from a tribe are the key to reaching lost people in that tribe.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Tribe, Your Mission."
In Manhattan, it's Wall Street men and women reaching Wall Street men and women; opening their heart to share the brokenness in their lives and relationships, and the Savior who was broken for them so they could be healed.
On the reservation, it's Native American young people reaching Native American young people. Through our ministry's all-Native, On Eagles' Wings teams reservation young people, pouring out the desperation and despair of lives surrounded by abuse and addiction and sharing how "a brown-skinned, tribal man named Jesus changed everything."
I'm convinced that tribal rescue is the key to breaking through to countless lost people in every culture and every subculture. Moms listen to moms. Soccer players listen to soccer players. Hunters listen to hunters. Rotarians listen to Rotarians, cancer survivors listen to cancer survivors. We're all in a tribe: an occupational tribe, a recreational or educational tribe, a generational tribe, maybe an associational tribe like the PTA, the booster club, the country club.
So whatever tribe you're in, you are the best possible Gospel messenger to the people in your tribe. You face the same stresses, you talk the same language, you share the same experiences. All those are bridges you can cross to open their heart to Jesus.
Do you understand that you've been positioned by God? You've been credentialed by your very biography to represent Christ in your tribe as no one else could. No evangelist, no pastor, no professional God salesman. It's you, because you're one of them. In fact the Bible puts it this way in our word for today from the Word of God, "We are Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
What's that mean? An ambassador – a chosen representative assigned to a particular place. You've been assigned to your personal world to be the voice and face of Jesus there. This is an outreach strategy that any church can employ. Identify what tribes you have represented in your congregation. Take that as God's clue as to where your church should be targeting an outreach strategy. Mobilize and equip your "tribal ambassadors" to claim their tribe for Christ. Then identify the needs of people in that tribe and how the church could address those needs.
This isn't new. When Jesus wanted to reach Samaritans, He didn't just go blazing into their village. He reached a Samaritan woman at a well. She told her tribe about Jesus and the Bible says, "and many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony" (John 4:39). People from a tribe listened to someone else from that tribe.
So just think what could happen in our country if every believer claimed their tribe for Christ and stepped up to be the face and voice of Jesus there. Praying for and looking for God-given opportunities to use their tribal credentials as a bridge to tell about the difference Jesus Christ makes for someone just like them.
There's a world of "Samaritans" out there who would trust our Jesus if only they could hear about our Jesus from someone from their tribe. Like you!
The Apostle Paul says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Think about this for a moment. When you make God’s story yours, he covers you in Christ. You wear him like a vest. Old labels no longer apply.
How about these new labels: Royal Priest. Secure. God’s Coworker. God’s Workmanship. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Psalm 103:12 reminds us not to mess with the old clothes any longer. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” When God sends your sins to the east and you to the west, you can be sure of this: He sees his Son, not your sin! In fact, Isaiah 43:25 says, “He remembers your sins no more!”
From More to Your Story
1 Corinthians 7:1-19
Instruction on Marriage
7 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations.[a] 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.
8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord.[b] A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer[c] has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband[d] brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife[e] is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you[f] to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
Footnotes:
7:1 Or to live a celibate life; Greek reads It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
7:10 See Matt 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18.
7:12 Greek a brother.
7:14 Greek the brother.
7:15a Greek the brother or sister.
7:15b Some manuscripts read us.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Read: John 3:9-21
“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[a] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[b]
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[c] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[d]”
Footnotes:
3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.
3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.
3:21 Or can see God at work in what he is doing.
INSIGHT:
In John 3:1–21 Jesus is having a conversation with a religious leader named Nicodemus and tells him these important things about the kingdom of God: God’s Spirit gives new life and entrance into His kingdom, and this is not obtained by our own efforts (vv. 5–8). God sent Jesus to show us His love, not His condemnation (vv. 16–18). People hide in the darkness because of their sin, but Jesus is the Light and whoever follows Him is in the light (vv. 19–21).
Ambassador of Love
By Randy Kilgore
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17
In my work as a chaplain, some people occasionally ask if I am willing to give them some additional spiritual help. While I’m happy to spend time with anyone who asks for help, I often find myself doing more learning than teaching. This was especially true when one painfully honest new Christian said to me with resignation, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to read the Bible. The more I read what God expects from me, the more I judge others who aren’t doing what it says.”
As he said this, I realized that I was at least partly responsible for instilling this judgmental spirit in him. At that time, one of the first things I did with those new to faith in Jesus was to introduce them to things they should no longer be doing. In other words, instead of showing them God’s love and letting the Holy Spirit reshape them, I urged them to “behave like a believer.”
We are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy.
Now I was gaining a new appreciation for John 3:16-17. Jesus’ invitation to believe in Him in verse 16 is followed by these words. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. But by giving these new Christians a checklist of behaviors, I was teaching them to condemn themselves, which then led them to judge others. Instead of being agents of condemnation, we are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy.
Father, help me not to judge others today. Let me learn this until it changes me into someone more like You.
If Jesus didn’t com
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, May 12, 2016
The Habit of Having No Habits
If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful… —2 Peter 1:8
When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, “I can’t do that right now; this is my time alone with God.” No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcoming and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.
Love means that there are no visible habits— that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things— things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Your Tribe, Your Mission - #7654
An upscale restaurant in Manhattan's iconic Rockefeller Plaza, filled with Wall Street "movers and shakers." A dusty reservation basketball court, surrounded by impoverished, hope-starved Native American young people. I've ministered in both worlds, within weeks of one another. Worlds that – at first glance – seem to be really far apart. But when it comes to what God is doing, these divergent worlds share some striking – and instructive – similarities.
The "natives" in both worlds are hard to reach with the Good News of Jesus. The success, the drive of those marketplace men and women spawn a confident, self-reliant façade that doesn't open up easily. The young people on that reservation have been hardened by years of pain and a strong belief that "Jesus is the white man's God."
But – amazingly – there's a great move of God in both of these hard-to-reach cultures. I've seen it! And many are choosing to follow Jesus. The secret of these breakthroughs reveals a simple, but powerful, strategy for helping people from any culture or subculture find our Jesus. People from a tribe are the key to reaching lost people in that tribe.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Tribe, Your Mission."
In Manhattan, it's Wall Street men and women reaching Wall Street men and women; opening their heart to share the brokenness in their lives and relationships, and the Savior who was broken for them so they could be healed.
On the reservation, it's Native American young people reaching Native American young people. Through our ministry's all-Native, On Eagles' Wings teams reservation young people, pouring out the desperation and despair of lives surrounded by abuse and addiction and sharing how "a brown-skinned, tribal man named Jesus changed everything."
I'm convinced that tribal rescue is the key to breaking through to countless lost people in every culture and every subculture. Moms listen to moms. Soccer players listen to soccer players. Hunters listen to hunters. Rotarians listen to Rotarians, cancer survivors listen to cancer survivors. We're all in a tribe: an occupational tribe, a recreational or educational tribe, a generational tribe, maybe an associational tribe like the PTA, the booster club, the country club.
So whatever tribe you're in, you are the best possible Gospel messenger to the people in your tribe. You face the same stresses, you talk the same language, you share the same experiences. All those are bridges you can cross to open their heart to Jesus.
Do you understand that you've been positioned by God? You've been credentialed by your very biography to represent Christ in your tribe as no one else could. No evangelist, no pastor, no professional God salesman. It's you, because you're one of them. In fact the Bible puts it this way in our word for today from the Word of God, "We are Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
What's that mean? An ambassador – a chosen representative assigned to a particular place. You've been assigned to your personal world to be the voice and face of Jesus there. This is an outreach strategy that any church can employ. Identify what tribes you have represented in your congregation. Take that as God's clue as to where your church should be targeting an outreach strategy. Mobilize and equip your "tribal ambassadors" to claim their tribe for Christ. Then identify the needs of people in that tribe and how the church could address those needs.
This isn't new. When Jesus wanted to reach Samaritans, He didn't just go blazing into their village. He reached a Samaritan woman at a well. She told her tribe about Jesus and the Bible says, "and many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony" (John 4:39). People from a tribe listened to someone else from that tribe.
So just think what could happen in our country if every believer claimed their tribe for Christ and stepped up to be the face and voice of Jesus there. Praying for and looking for God-given opportunities to use their tribal credentials as a bridge to tell about the difference Jesus Christ makes for someone just like them.
There's a world of "Samaritans" out there who would trust our Jesus if only they could hear about our Jesus from someone from their tribe. Like you!
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
1 Corinthians 6 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: SEEK HEAVEN
Do you feel as if your best years have passed you by? Do you regret wasting seasons of life on foolish pursuits? So do I. But we can stop our laments. We have an eternity to make up for lost time.
Colossians 3:1 is a great reminder to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.” Seek heaven the way a sailor seeks the coast or a pilot seeks the landing strip. Colossians 3:2 says, “think only about it.” Other translation say Keep your mind on it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. In other words, obsess yourself with heaven! Open your eyes, Christ invites. Lift up your gaze. Don’t limit your story to the days between your birth and death. You were made for more than this life!
From More to Your Story
1 Corinthians 6
Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians
When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers[a]! 2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 4 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? 5 I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? 6 But instead, one believer[b] sues another—right in front of unbelievers!
7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.[c]
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Avoiding Sexual Sin
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”[d] 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Footnotes:
6:1 Greek God’s holy people; also in 6:2.
6:6 Greek one brother.
6:8 Greek even the brothers.
6:16 Gen 2:24.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Read: Psalm 86:5-15
O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.[a]
14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Footnotes:
86:13 Hebrew of Sheol.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 86:5 declares, “You, Lord, are forgiving and good.” The Hebrew word translated “forgiving” is sallah and literally means “ready to forgive.” Sallah appears just once in the Old Testament. By choosing this particular word, the psalmist is telling his readers that the Lord is not only capable of forgiving our sins, He is also ready and willing to do so.
Start Afresh
By Cindy Hess Kasper
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. In one amusing passage, young Anne, by mistake, adds a skin medication instead of vanilla to the cake she is making. Afterward, she exclaims hopefully to her stern-faced guardian, Marilla, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
I like that thought: tomorrow is a new day—a new day when we can start afresh. We all make mistakes. But when it comes to sin, God’s forgiveness is what enables us to start each morning with a clean slate. When we repent, He chooses to remember our sins no more (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12).
God’s compassion and faithfulness are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).
Some of us have made wrong choices in our lives, but our past words and deeds need not define our future in God’s eyes. There is always a fresh start. When we ask for His forgiveness, we take a first step toward restoring our relationship with Him and with others. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
God’s compassion and faithfulness are new every morning (Lam. 3:23), so we can start afresh each day.
Thank You for this new day, Lord. Forgive me for doing those things in the past that I shouldn't have done, and for not doing those things that I should have done. Set my feet on Your right path today.
Each new day gives us new reasons to praise the Lord.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
“Love One Another”
…add to your…brotherly kindness love. —2 Peter 1:5, 7
Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26). Initially, when “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5), it is easy to put Jesus first. But then we must practice the things mentioned in 2 Peter 1 to see them worked out in our lives.
The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “…love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He is saying, “I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.
“The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish…” (2 Peter 3:9). I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Sex and the Inventor - #7653
Years ago, we had this 1998 Oldsmobile, and it had behavior problems. You could say it was acting up again. I was thinking about this one time that it seemed to be having lots of problems at the same time. So my wife and I looked at each other and said, "It's time to take it to Mr. Oldsmobile." So, we dropped it off at the local Oldsmobile dealer's garage. Of course, they knew exactly what was wrong and exactly what had to be done. Of course! That shouldn't be a big surprise. They represented the manufacturer. And the manufacturer knows how it runs best. Right?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sex and the Inventor."
In our lifetime, our culture has gone through a culturequake that probably registers about a 9.5 on the Richter scale. One area that has been severely shaken is our beliefs about sex. So much so, that our culture is just rapidly redefining what's normal, including sexual relationships outside of marriage, sexual relationships with the same sex, sex where the only deciding factor is whether you can do it safely.
But sex is just too powerful; it's too beautiful to risk messing it up. I'd like to think that this bombardment of sexual ideas has left God's people untouched, but you know better than that. Our kids, our families, our choices, our thinking are all being shaken by this same quake. That's why it's time to take this wonderful invention called sex right back to the Manufacturer to see how it's supposed to run. Because the quake has left too many victims scarred, and lonely, and diseased, and devalued, and struggling with guilt, and shame, and brokenness.
Remember, no one knows more about sex than the Inventor. So let's go to the Manufacturer's manual – you may know it as the Bible – and we'll see what the Manufacturer of sex says about His invention in our word for today from the Word of God. It begins with Mark 10:6. Jesus is talking. "At the beginning God made them male and female." Okay, so God thought up this whole thing. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Now the Inventor of sex says He designed it to be an exclusive language of love with only one person in your life – the person of the opposite sex to whom you are committed in a lifetime covenant called marriage. Anything else is abnormal sex – sex as it was never meant to be, sex that can never deliver the fulfillment and love and excitement that belongs only to those who wait for and limit themselves to Designer Love.
The debates over abstinence and safe sex, living together, and same-sex relationships tend to be a clash of human values and viewpoints. What we're talking about here is the Inventor's word on sex. The user doesn't have the final word. The Inventor does. His word is final. It doesn't matter what percent of any group believes differently or what the culture says is normal or what your glands or rationalizations say is okay. The Creator of sex has spoken. He's never changed His mind. Sex is for one man with one woman, committed to each other for life. And the Creator of sex is also the Judge of all mankind – the One to whom we will give account for what we have done with His powerful gift of sex.
You may very well say, as we've talked about this, "You know, I have crossed the boundaries of God more than once." And the Bible says, in fact, we will stand before Him in judgment for all of our actions that have violated His boundaries – outside of His fence...His laws. But I have wonderful news for you. The very things you're thinking about right now that may have brought shame and guilt and great concern about the judgment you may face are the very things Jesus was nailed to a cross to die for, pay for, and forgive you for.
This very day He could give you a brand new beginning. The Bible says you can be clean and forgiven when you grab Him to be your Rescuer from your sin. If you want that, tell Him that today. Go to our website and find there the information you need to confirm a relationship with Him. That's ANewStory.com.
Sex at its best is for those who keep it inside the Manufacturer's boundaries. Anything else is a lie that promises excitement, but yields loneliness and scars. The Inventor knows best.
Do you feel as if your best years have passed you by? Do you regret wasting seasons of life on foolish pursuits? So do I. But we can stop our laments. We have an eternity to make up for lost time.
Colossians 3:1 is a great reminder to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.” Seek heaven the way a sailor seeks the coast or a pilot seeks the landing strip. Colossians 3:2 says, “think only about it.” Other translation say Keep your mind on it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. In other words, obsess yourself with heaven! Open your eyes, Christ invites. Lift up your gaze. Don’t limit your story to the days between your birth and death. You were made for more than this life!
From More to Your Story
1 Corinthians 6
Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians
When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers[a]! 2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 4 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? 5 I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? 6 But instead, one believer[b] sues another—right in front of unbelievers!
7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.[c]
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Avoiding Sexual Sin
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”[d] 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Footnotes:
6:1 Greek God’s holy people; also in 6:2.
6:6 Greek one brother.
6:8 Greek even the brothers.
6:16 Gen 2:24.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Read: Psalm 86:5-15
O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.[a]
14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Footnotes:
86:13 Hebrew of Sheol.
INSIGHT:
Psalm 86:5 declares, “You, Lord, are forgiving and good.” The Hebrew word translated “forgiving” is sallah and literally means “ready to forgive.” Sallah appears just once in the Old Testament. By choosing this particular word, the psalmist is telling his readers that the Lord is not only capable of forgiving our sins, He is also ready and willing to do so.
Start Afresh
By Cindy Hess Kasper
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. In one amusing passage, young Anne, by mistake, adds a skin medication instead of vanilla to the cake she is making. Afterward, she exclaims hopefully to her stern-faced guardian, Marilla, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
I like that thought: tomorrow is a new day—a new day when we can start afresh. We all make mistakes. But when it comes to sin, God’s forgiveness is what enables us to start each morning with a clean slate. When we repent, He chooses to remember our sins no more (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12).
God’s compassion and faithfulness are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).
Some of us have made wrong choices in our lives, but our past words and deeds need not define our future in God’s eyes. There is always a fresh start. When we ask for His forgiveness, we take a first step toward restoring our relationship with Him and with others. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
God’s compassion and faithfulness are new every morning (Lam. 3:23), so we can start afresh each day.
Thank You for this new day, Lord. Forgive me for doing those things in the past that I shouldn't have done, and for not doing those things that I should have done. Set my feet on Your right path today.
Each new day gives us new reasons to praise the Lord.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
“Love One Another”
…add to your…brotherly kindness love. —2 Peter 1:5, 7
Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26). Initially, when “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5), it is easy to put Jesus first. But then we must practice the things mentioned in 2 Peter 1 to see them worked out in our lives.
The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “…love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He is saying, “I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.
“The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish…” (2 Peter 3:9). I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Sex and the Inventor - #7653
Years ago, we had this 1998 Oldsmobile, and it had behavior problems. You could say it was acting up again. I was thinking about this one time that it seemed to be having lots of problems at the same time. So my wife and I looked at each other and said, "It's time to take it to Mr. Oldsmobile." So, we dropped it off at the local Oldsmobile dealer's garage. Of course, they knew exactly what was wrong and exactly what had to be done. Of course! That shouldn't be a big surprise. They represented the manufacturer. And the manufacturer knows how it runs best. Right?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sex and the Inventor."
In our lifetime, our culture has gone through a culturequake that probably registers about a 9.5 on the Richter scale. One area that has been severely shaken is our beliefs about sex. So much so, that our culture is just rapidly redefining what's normal, including sexual relationships outside of marriage, sexual relationships with the same sex, sex where the only deciding factor is whether you can do it safely.
But sex is just too powerful; it's too beautiful to risk messing it up. I'd like to think that this bombardment of sexual ideas has left God's people untouched, but you know better than that. Our kids, our families, our choices, our thinking are all being shaken by this same quake. That's why it's time to take this wonderful invention called sex right back to the Manufacturer to see how it's supposed to run. Because the quake has left too many victims scarred, and lonely, and diseased, and devalued, and struggling with guilt, and shame, and brokenness.
Remember, no one knows more about sex than the Inventor. So let's go to the Manufacturer's manual – you may know it as the Bible – and we'll see what the Manufacturer of sex says about His invention in our word for today from the Word of God. It begins with Mark 10:6. Jesus is talking. "At the beginning God made them male and female." Okay, so God thought up this whole thing. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Now the Inventor of sex says He designed it to be an exclusive language of love with only one person in your life – the person of the opposite sex to whom you are committed in a lifetime covenant called marriage. Anything else is abnormal sex – sex as it was never meant to be, sex that can never deliver the fulfillment and love and excitement that belongs only to those who wait for and limit themselves to Designer Love.
The debates over abstinence and safe sex, living together, and same-sex relationships tend to be a clash of human values and viewpoints. What we're talking about here is the Inventor's word on sex. The user doesn't have the final word. The Inventor does. His word is final. It doesn't matter what percent of any group believes differently or what the culture says is normal or what your glands or rationalizations say is okay. The Creator of sex has spoken. He's never changed His mind. Sex is for one man with one woman, committed to each other for life. And the Creator of sex is also the Judge of all mankind – the One to whom we will give account for what we have done with His powerful gift of sex.
You may very well say, as we've talked about this, "You know, I have crossed the boundaries of God more than once." And the Bible says, in fact, we will stand before Him in judgment for all of our actions that have violated His boundaries – outside of His fence...His laws. But I have wonderful news for you. The very things you're thinking about right now that may have brought shame and guilt and great concern about the judgment you may face are the very things Jesus was nailed to a cross to die for, pay for, and forgive you for.
This very day He could give you a brand new beginning. The Bible says you can be clean and forgiven when you grab Him to be your Rescuer from your sin. If you want that, tell Him that today. Go to our website and find there the information you need to confirm a relationship with Him. That's ANewStory.com.
Sex at its best is for those who keep it inside the Manufacturer's boundaries. Anything else is a lie that promises excitement, but yields loneliness and scars. The Inventor knows best.
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