Max Lucado Daily: MORE THAN CONQUERORS
God spoke. Joshua listened and Israel’s Glory Days began. The Jordan River opened up and Jericho’s walls fell down. Evil was booted, and hope was rebooted. Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it. The Lord gave them rest all around…not a man of all their enemies stood against them!”
Perhaps you need a new season. You don’t need to cross the Jordan River, but you need to get through the week. You aren’t facing Jericho, but you are facing rejection or heartache. The story of Joshua dares us to believe God has a Promised Land for us to take! It’s not real estate, but a real state of the heart and mind! A Promised Land…a promised land life!
From Glory Days
1 Timothy 4
Teach with Your Life
1-5 The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars. These liars have lied so well and for so long that they’ve lost their capacity for truth. They will tell you not to get married. They’ll tell you not to eat this or that food—perfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily and with thanksgiving by believers who know better! Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God’s Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.
6-10 You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.
11-14 Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.
15-16 Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don’t be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Read: Psalm 148:1–6
1-5 Hallelujah!
Praise God from heaven,
praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
he spoke the word, and there they were!
6 He set them in place
from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
and that’s it!
NSIGHT:
The heavens and the skies testify to the existence, power, greatness, and wisdom of our Creator. Nature praises and proclaims the majesty of God. If creation is so delightful, our Creator must be even more captivating, truly deserving our adoration and worship. The apostle Paul too affirmed that God has revealed Himself through His creation: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Rom. 1:20). Even as we enjoy the beauty of creation, let’s worship its Creator.
This week, why not take time to visit a garden or a park—to see the beauty of creation, to smell the flowers, and to see the God who created all things beautiful.
Enjoy the View
By Jeff Olson
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Psalm 148:3
Sunsets. People tend to stop what they are doing to watch them . . . snap pictures of them . . . enjoy the beautiful view.
My wife and I watched the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico recently. A crowd of people surrounded us, mostly strangers who had gathered at the beach to watch this nightly phenomenon. At the moment the sun fully slipped below the horizon, the crowd broke out with applause.
You and what You have made are awesome, Lord!
Why do people respond like that? The book of Psalms offers a clue. The psalmist wrote of God ordering the sun to praise its Creator (Ps. 148:3). And wherever the rays of the sun shine across the earth, people are moved to praise along with them.
The beauty that comes to us through nature speaks to our souls like few things do. It not only has the capacity to stop us in our tracks and captivate our attention, it also has the power to turn our focus to the Maker of beauty itself.
The wonder of God’s vast creation can cause us to pause and remember what’s truly important. Ultimately, it reminds us that there is a Creator behind the stunning entrance and exit of the day, One who so loved the world He made that He entered it in order to redeem and restore it.
I enjoy the world You have created with its variety and color. You and what You have made are awesome, Lord!
Our Daily Bread welcomes writer Jeff Olson! Meet Jeff and all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.
Join God in taking delight in all that He has made.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Readiness
God called to him….And he said, "Here I am." —Exodus 3:4
When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, and we give no answer. Moses’ reply to God revealed that he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry out, “Here I am.” Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty.
Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing— it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready. Whenever any duty presents itself, we hear God’s voice as our Lord heard His Father’s voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in menial ones, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).
Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready— he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Tougher Than The Tornado - #7897
There are few words that strike more fear into hearts in Middle America than the word "tornado". I grew up there, I know. I mean, twisters can hit so suddenly and they do horrific damage. That was proven again when some deadly tornadoes tore through Oklahoma back in 1999. In fact, one of those was so strong it was almost classified as an F6, which would have created a whole new category of tornado. In light of the power of those storms, the story I saw on the evening news was pretty amazing. After hearing one of those tornado warnings for the tornadoes in Oklahoma that day, a mother and her adult daughter went into a room in their house for safety. It's called a safe room or a strong room, and it's built with concrete that's reinforced with metal. And it's built to withstand even a hit by a tornado. Well, sure enough, the tornado hit that house and there was basically nothing left except for one room - the safe room. And when it was all clear, the mother and daughter walked out unscathed in a neighborhood where virtually everything else had been blown away.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tougher Than The Tornado."
There are moments for all of us when we get hit head-on with the emotional equivalent of an F5 tornado. There are some of life's hits that threaten to blow away everything we've depended on. A divorce can do that, a disease can do that, a disaster, a disappointment, boy...the death of someone you love - an anchor person. Wow, that sends everything spinning. We know that most of what matters to us is something we can lose, right? And if and when we do, there is sometimes not much left but the pieces.
We need a safe room. We need some place in our life that can withstand any blow that will still be there when the storm has moved out. In fact, we can never really be secure unless we know we have something we can't lose. Well, actually, someone. We've already lost enough in our life to know that our heart is hungry for one relationship that we'll never lose – that no storm can take away from us. A relationship like the one that's described in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 8:39.
God Himself, the Creator of you, promises unequivocally that "nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." In fact, just before this promise, God enumerates some of the most violent tornadoes that life can hit us with – and then He says that none of those, "nothing else in all creation", can take away this one anchor love, this unloseable relationship.
It turns out that this is the relationship the Bible says we were created for, the one with our Creator God. But it's also the relationship the Bible says we've all missed because we've done our life our way instead of God's way. We haven't lived for Him, we've lived for ourselves. So we're locked out of the safe room of belonging to God forever. That's why no love has ever been enough love – why your heart's never really been at peace. But notice, God says the love of God is "in Christ Jesus our Lord."
See, that's because Jesus opened the way to belong to God. He tore the lock off the safe room door by dying on the cross to pay the death penalty that you and I deserve. He really loves you. And He's waiting to welcome you into the safe room of this awesome love relationship with God, if you will grab Him as your Savior with all your heart.
Don't you want to live in this love, experience this love forever - God's unloseable love? Then tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours." And let me invite you...urge you, really, to go to our website ANewStory.com. Your new story can begin with the information that's there. Please, I hope you'll spend a few minutes there.
Ask anyone who has faced a major life storm with Jesus in their heart. They will tell you that He was still there when everything else was blown away. The safe room door is open for you, and Jesus is waiting to welcome you into the one love that you will never, never lose.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
1 Timothy 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE PROMISED LAND
God has a promised land for you to take!
I sat across the table from a man in midlife misery. He described his life with words like stuck, rut, and stalled. He’s a Christian, but he can’t tell you the last time he defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer. Twenty years into his faith and he fights the same battles he was fighting the day he came to Christ. It’s as if the door to spiritual growth has a lock and everyone has the key but him.
Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give. . .and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.”
The promised land! God’s vision for your life. Yours for the taking. Expect to be challenged. The enemy won’t go down without a fight. But your glory days await you!
From Glory Days
1 Timothy 3
Leadership in the Church
1-7 If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.
8-13 The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.
14-16 I hope to visit you soon, but just in case I’m delayed, I’m writing this letter so you’ll know how things ought to go in God’s household, this God-alive church, bastion of truth. This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:
He appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
taken up into heavenly glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 17, 2017
Read: John 14:1–4
The Road
1-4 “Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
INSIGHT:
This imagery of a prepared place in the Father’s house also brought comfort to Israel’s shepherd-king, David, who sang, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). Like Jesus’s words in John 14, David’s words carry both a present reality and a future hope. The present reality of a life resting in the goodness and lovingkindness of the Father is directly linked to trusting Jesus in life’s storms (John 14:1). And the forever promise of a place in the house of the Lord is there to offer us hope when despair might become overwhelming. This is the rich sense of home that can be so wonderful. We will never fully and completely know the peace we long for until we find ourselves at peace in Him.
Are there situations in your life that make the reminder of God’s presence particularly comforting? Thank God for His goodness and loving-kindness.
Adapted from Discovery Series booklet Finding Peace in a Troubled World. Read it at discoveryseries.org/q1126.
At Home With Jesus
By Amy Boucher Pye |
I go and prepare a place for you. John 14:3
“There’s no place like home.” The phrase reflects a deeply rooted yearning within us to have a place to rest, be, and belong. Jesus addressed this desire for rootedness when, after He and His friends had their last supper together, He spoke about His impending death and resurrection. He promised that although He would go away, He would come back for them. And He would prepare a room for them. A dwelling-place. A home.
He made this place for them—and us—through fulfilling the requirements of God’s law when He died on the cross as the sinless man. He assured His disciples that if He went to the trouble of creating this home, that of course He would come back for them and not leave them alone. They didn’t need to fear or be worried about their lives, whether on earth or in heaven.
We belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace.
We can take comfort and assurance from Jesus’s words, for we believe and trust that He makes a home for us; that He makes His home within us (see John 14:23); and that He has gone ahead of us to prepare our heavenly home. Whatever sort of physical place we live in, we belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace. With Him, there’s no place like home.
Lord Jesus Christ, if and when we feel homeless, remind us that You are our home. May we share this sense of belonging with those we meet.
Jesus prepares a place for us to live forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 17, 2017
All or Nothing?
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment…and plunged into the sea. —John 21:7
Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.
If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 17, 2017
Giving A Man A Makeover - #7896
I guess TV talk shows run out of material sometimes. You can tell when they're desperate. But one day I guess I turned on some talk show that demonstrates my point. They had four women on the show who were, let's say, average looking - which is what most everybody is. But they sent them backstage for a while to give them what's called a makeover. I guess that woman puts herself into someone else's hands - someone who can skillfully change her eye makeup, her coloring, her lipstick, her hairstyle, and her wardrobe. And voila - out comes this no-longer plain-looking lady. The difference can be amazing! Funniest thing, though, I've never heard of them giving a man a makeover. I guess they do; I've never heard of it. Although, I'll tell you what, a lot of us could really use one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Giving A Man A Makeover."
Men aren't easy to make over. No, as you have probably never noticed, a man can be pretty stubborn about changing. If you're a woman, my guess is that there's a man in your life who could use a little work...right? Not necessarily physically. He wouldn't look that good in mascara anyway. I'm talking about a change in his personality, his communication, his spiritual leadership, his attitudes, his bad habits. How do you give a man a makeover?
Our word for today from the Word of God - Titus 2:4-5. It's in God's instructions to older women on what they should pass on to the younger women they know. Here's what it says, "Train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God."
Notice the first thing the veterans are to teach the rookies - to "love their husbands" - not to change their husbands. I like what Billy Graham's wife Ruth has said, "It is my job to love Billy. It is God's job to change him." Actually, that principle applies to any significant male in your life - a son, a father, or a brother. Let God change him.
You say, "Yeah, but what do I do to get him to change?" Love the guy! A woman is a powerful force in changing a man if she has made that man feel safe in her love. As self-assured as we may try to act, we guys are basically insecure little boys inside. And a man's usually not going to risk changing - and risk is what it is to change - until he feels like there's a woman who will love him whether he changes or not.
Unfortunately, a lot of women want to give God a little help in reconstructing the old boy. So she brings out her hammer and chisel - nagging him to change, pushing, criticizing, attacking, or putting him down. She's making the guy her personal makeover project, "I'll change him." Not likely. Oh, I understand how men can be frustrating and stubborn and harsh, and don't talk, and don't communicate, and don't express. Oh, I understand the frustrations, but those tools - the hammer and chisel - just won't change him.
All those pushing tactics make a man feel cornered, attacked, less secure and therefore, less likely to change. You might very well ask then, "If nagging and pushing doesn't change him, what will?" Loving him and making him feel safe by loving him in his language of love.
Like praising his strengths often; complimenting even a little progress in an area where he's trying to change, holding your tongue when it's going to tear him down, sharing gently your feelings when you're frustrated, not his failings. Let that man know how much you need him. And, above all, talk to God about this man. He is not only the Creator, He's the Re-Creator.
On these visits we talk to men a lot about their responsibility. But you know what? This is God's instruction to women as He includes it in His Word. Important question: Does the man you want to be different feel safe in your love? Does he feel appreciated by you? I hope he does.
The makeover is God's job. Your job is to provide the climate where a man might dare to change. I know what that climate is - unconditional love.
God has a promised land for you to take!
I sat across the table from a man in midlife misery. He described his life with words like stuck, rut, and stalled. He’s a Christian, but he can’t tell you the last time he defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer. Twenty years into his faith and he fights the same battles he was fighting the day he came to Christ. It’s as if the door to spiritual growth has a lock and everyone has the key but him.
Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give. . .and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.”
The promised land! God’s vision for your life. Yours for the taking. Expect to be challenged. The enemy won’t go down without a fight. But your glory days await you!
From Glory Days
1 Timothy 3
Leadership in the Church
1-7 If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.
8-13 The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.
14-16 I hope to visit you soon, but just in case I’m delayed, I’m writing this letter so you’ll know how things ought to go in God’s household, this God-alive church, bastion of truth. This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:
He appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
taken up into heavenly glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 17, 2017
Read: John 14:1–4
The Road
1-4 “Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
INSIGHT:
This imagery of a prepared place in the Father’s house also brought comfort to Israel’s shepherd-king, David, who sang, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). Like Jesus’s words in John 14, David’s words carry both a present reality and a future hope. The present reality of a life resting in the goodness and lovingkindness of the Father is directly linked to trusting Jesus in life’s storms (John 14:1). And the forever promise of a place in the house of the Lord is there to offer us hope when despair might become overwhelming. This is the rich sense of home that can be so wonderful. We will never fully and completely know the peace we long for until we find ourselves at peace in Him.
Are there situations in your life that make the reminder of God’s presence particularly comforting? Thank God for His goodness and loving-kindness.
Adapted from Discovery Series booklet Finding Peace in a Troubled World. Read it at discoveryseries.org/q1126.
At Home With Jesus
By Amy Boucher Pye |
I go and prepare a place for you. John 14:3
“There’s no place like home.” The phrase reflects a deeply rooted yearning within us to have a place to rest, be, and belong. Jesus addressed this desire for rootedness when, after He and His friends had their last supper together, He spoke about His impending death and resurrection. He promised that although He would go away, He would come back for them. And He would prepare a room for them. A dwelling-place. A home.
He made this place for them—and us—through fulfilling the requirements of God’s law when He died on the cross as the sinless man. He assured His disciples that if He went to the trouble of creating this home, that of course He would come back for them and not leave them alone. They didn’t need to fear or be worried about their lives, whether on earth or in heaven.
We belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace.
We can take comfort and assurance from Jesus’s words, for we believe and trust that He makes a home for us; that He makes His home within us (see John 14:23); and that He has gone ahead of us to prepare our heavenly home. Whatever sort of physical place we live in, we belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace. With Him, there’s no place like home.
Lord Jesus Christ, if and when we feel homeless, remind us that You are our home. May we share this sense of belonging with those we meet.
Jesus prepares a place for us to live forever.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 17, 2017
All or Nothing?
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment…and plunged into the sea. —John 21:7
Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.
If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 17, 2017
Giving A Man A Makeover - #7896
I guess TV talk shows run out of material sometimes. You can tell when they're desperate. But one day I guess I turned on some talk show that demonstrates my point. They had four women on the show who were, let's say, average looking - which is what most everybody is. But they sent them backstage for a while to give them what's called a makeover. I guess that woman puts herself into someone else's hands - someone who can skillfully change her eye makeup, her coloring, her lipstick, her hairstyle, and her wardrobe. And voila - out comes this no-longer plain-looking lady. The difference can be amazing! Funniest thing, though, I've never heard of them giving a man a makeover. I guess they do; I've never heard of it. Although, I'll tell you what, a lot of us could really use one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Giving A Man A Makeover."
Men aren't easy to make over. No, as you have probably never noticed, a man can be pretty stubborn about changing. If you're a woman, my guess is that there's a man in your life who could use a little work...right? Not necessarily physically. He wouldn't look that good in mascara anyway. I'm talking about a change in his personality, his communication, his spiritual leadership, his attitudes, his bad habits. How do you give a man a makeover?
Our word for today from the Word of God - Titus 2:4-5. It's in God's instructions to older women on what they should pass on to the younger women they know. Here's what it says, "Train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God."
Notice the first thing the veterans are to teach the rookies - to "love their husbands" - not to change their husbands. I like what Billy Graham's wife Ruth has said, "It is my job to love Billy. It is God's job to change him." Actually, that principle applies to any significant male in your life - a son, a father, or a brother. Let God change him.
You say, "Yeah, but what do I do to get him to change?" Love the guy! A woman is a powerful force in changing a man if she has made that man feel safe in her love. As self-assured as we may try to act, we guys are basically insecure little boys inside. And a man's usually not going to risk changing - and risk is what it is to change - until he feels like there's a woman who will love him whether he changes or not.
Unfortunately, a lot of women want to give God a little help in reconstructing the old boy. So she brings out her hammer and chisel - nagging him to change, pushing, criticizing, attacking, or putting him down. She's making the guy her personal makeover project, "I'll change him." Not likely. Oh, I understand how men can be frustrating and stubborn and harsh, and don't talk, and don't communicate, and don't express. Oh, I understand the frustrations, but those tools - the hammer and chisel - just won't change him.
All those pushing tactics make a man feel cornered, attacked, less secure and therefore, less likely to change. You might very well ask then, "If nagging and pushing doesn't change him, what will?" Loving him and making him feel safe by loving him in his language of love.
Like praising his strengths often; complimenting even a little progress in an area where he's trying to change, holding your tongue when it's going to tear him down, sharing gently your feelings when you're frustrated, not his failings. Let that man know how much you need him. And, above all, talk to God about this man. He is not only the Creator, He's the Re-Creator.
On these visits we talk to men a lot about their responsibility. But you know what? This is God's instruction to women as He includes it in His Word. Important question: Does the man you want to be different feel safe in your love? Does he feel appreciated by you? I hope he does.
The makeover is God's job. Your job is to provide the climate where a man might dare to change. I know what that climate is - unconditional love.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Ezekiel 4 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Surrogate Spirituality
Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time and have not been successful. Others of us have a hard time concentrating. And all of us are busy. So rather than spending time with God, listening for his voice, we'll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experience. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn't that why we pay preachers? Isn't that why we read Christian books?
If that's your approach, I'd like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? I don't think so. You don't let someone eat on your behalf, do you? Do others take vacations as your surrogate? Listening to God is a firsthand experience. When he asks for your attention, God doesn't want you to send a substitute. He wants you!
From Just Like Jesus
Ezekiel 4
This Is What Sin Does
1-3 “Now, son of man, take a brick and place it before you. Draw a picture of the city Jerusalem on it. Then make a model of a military siege against the brick: Build siege walls, construct a ramp, set up army camps, lay in battering rams around it. Then get an iron skillet and place it upright between you and the city—an iron wall. Face the model: The city shall be under siege and you shall be the besieger. This is a sign to the family of Israel.
4-5 “Next lie on your left side and place the sin of the family of Israel on yourself. You will bear their sin for as many days as you lie on your side. The number of days you bear their sin will match the number of years of their sin, namely, 390. For 390 days you will bear the sin of the family of Israel.
6-7 “Then, after you have done this, turn over and lie down on your right side and bear the sin of the family of Judah. Your assignment this time is to lie there for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. Look straight at the siege of Jerusalem. Roll up your sleeve, shake your bare arm, and preach against her.
8 “I will tie you up with ropes, tie you so you can’t move or turn over until you have finished the days of the siege.
9-12 “Next I want you to take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, dried millet and spelt, and mix them in a bowl to make a flat bread. This is your food ration for the 390 days you lie on your side. Measure out about half a pound for each day and eat it on schedule. Also measure out your daily ration of about a pint of water and drink it on schedule. Eat the bread as you would a muffin. Bake the muffins out in the open where everyone can see you, using dried human dung for fuel.”
13 God said, “This is what the people of Israel are going to do: Among the pagan nations where I will drive them, they will eat foods that are strictly taboo to a holy people.”
14 I said, “God, my Master! Never! I’ve never contaminated myself with food like that. Since my youth I’ve never eaten anything forbidden by law, nothing found dead or violated by wild animals. I’ve never taken a single bite of forbidden food.”
15 “All right,” he said. “I’ll let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human dung.”
16-17 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I’m going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal’s coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Read: Isaiah 53:1–8
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
INSIGHT:
As Isaiah prophetically describes the crucifixion of Jesus, we see it all from the perspective of people at the foot of the cross. In verse 3, “we” held Him in low esteem. In verse 4, He bore “our” suffering. This perspective is critical because Isaiah anticipates the hostility with which Jesus would be viewed. As Jesus died for the sins of the world, the anger directed at Him by the people for whom He died brings new significance to His loving words, “Father, forgive them . . .” (Luke 23:34).
For more on the ground-level view of the cross of Jesus see the Discovery Series booklet The Power of the Cross at www.discoveryseries.org/hp131
He Understands and Cares
By David McCasland |
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Isaiah 53:4
When asked if he thought that ignorance and apathy were problems in modern society, a man joked, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
I suppose many discouraged people feel that way about the world today and the people in it. But when it comes to the perplexities and concerns of our lives, Jesus fully understands, and He deeply cares. Isaiah 53, an Old Testament prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus, gives us a glimpse of what He went through for us. “He was oppressed and afflicted . . . led like a lamb to the slaughter” (v. 7). “For the transgression of my people he was punished” (v. 8). “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand” (v. 10).
Jesus knew what it would cost to save us from our sins and, in love, He willingly paid it.
On the cross Jesus willingly bore our sin and guilt. No one ever suffered more than our Lord did for us. He knew what it would cost to save us from our sins and, in love, He willingly paid it (vv. 4–6).
Because of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, He is alive and present with us today. Whatever situation we face, Jesus understands and cares. And He will carry us through.
Lord, we give thanks for Your knowledge of our circumstances and Your care for us. Today we want to walk with You and honor You in all we do.
He is not here; He has risen! Luke 24:6
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Can You Come Down From the Mountain?
While you have the light, believe in the light… —John 12:36
We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, “I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”— just do it! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.
Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L
Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time and have not been successful. Others of us have a hard time concentrating. And all of us are busy. So rather than spending time with God, listening for his voice, we'll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experience. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn't that why we pay preachers? Isn't that why we read Christian books?
If that's your approach, I'd like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? I don't think so. You don't let someone eat on your behalf, do you? Do others take vacations as your surrogate? Listening to God is a firsthand experience. When he asks for your attention, God doesn't want you to send a substitute. He wants you!
From Just Like Jesus
Ezekiel 4
This Is What Sin Does
1-3 “Now, son of man, take a brick and place it before you. Draw a picture of the city Jerusalem on it. Then make a model of a military siege against the brick: Build siege walls, construct a ramp, set up army camps, lay in battering rams around it. Then get an iron skillet and place it upright between you and the city—an iron wall. Face the model: The city shall be under siege and you shall be the besieger. This is a sign to the family of Israel.
4-5 “Next lie on your left side and place the sin of the family of Israel on yourself. You will bear their sin for as many days as you lie on your side. The number of days you bear their sin will match the number of years of their sin, namely, 390. For 390 days you will bear the sin of the family of Israel.
6-7 “Then, after you have done this, turn over and lie down on your right side and bear the sin of the family of Judah. Your assignment this time is to lie there for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. Look straight at the siege of Jerusalem. Roll up your sleeve, shake your bare arm, and preach against her.
8 “I will tie you up with ropes, tie you so you can’t move or turn over until you have finished the days of the siege.
9-12 “Next I want you to take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, dried millet and spelt, and mix them in a bowl to make a flat bread. This is your food ration for the 390 days you lie on your side. Measure out about half a pound for each day and eat it on schedule. Also measure out your daily ration of about a pint of water and drink it on schedule. Eat the bread as you would a muffin. Bake the muffins out in the open where everyone can see you, using dried human dung for fuel.”
13 God said, “This is what the people of Israel are going to do: Among the pagan nations where I will drive them, they will eat foods that are strictly taboo to a holy people.”
14 I said, “God, my Master! Never! I’ve never contaminated myself with food like that. Since my youth I’ve never eaten anything forbidden by law, nothing found dead or violated by wild animals. I’ve never taken a single bite of forbidden food.”
15 “All right,” he said. “I’ll let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human dung.”
16-17 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I’m going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal’s coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Read: Isaiah 53:1–8
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
INSIGHT:
As Isaiah prophetically describes the crucifixion of Jesus, we see it all from the perspective of people at the foot of the cross. In verse 3, “we” held Him in low esteem. In verse 4, He bore “our” suffering. This perspective is critical because Isaiah anticipates the hostility with which Jesus would be viewed. As Jesus died for the sins of the world, the anger directed at Him by the people for whom He died brings new significance to His loving words, “Father, forgive them . . .” (Luke 23:34).
For more on the ground-level view of the cross of Jesus see the Discovery Series booklet The Power of the Cross at www.discoveryseries.org/hp131
He Understands and Cares
By David McCasland |
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Isaiah 53:4
When asked if he thought that ignorance and apathy were problems in modern society, a man joked, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
I suppose many discouraged people feel that way about the world today and the people in it. But when it comes to the perplexities and concerns of our lives, Jesus fully understands, and He deeply cares. Isaiah 53, an Old Testament prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus, gives us a glimpse of what He went through for us. “He was oppressed and afflicted . . . led like a lamb to the slaughter” (v. 7). “For the transgression of my people he was punished” (v. 8). “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand” (v. 10).
Jesus knew what it would cost to save us from our sins and, in love, He willingly paid it.
On the cross Jesus willingly bore our sin and guilt. No one ever suffered more than our Lord did for us. He knew what it would cost to save us from our sins and, in love, He willingly paid it (vv. 4–6).
Because of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, He is alive and present with us today. Whatever situation we face, Jesus understands and cares. And He will carry us through.
Lord, we give thanks for Your knowledge of our circumstances and Your care for us. Today we want to walk with You and honor You in all we do.
He is not here; He has risen! Luke 24:6
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Can You Come Down From the Mountain?
While you have the light, believe in the light… —John 12:36
We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, “I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”— just do it! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.
Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. Conformed to His Image, 381 L
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Ezekiel 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Simple Exercise
Do a simple exercise with me. Measure your life against just these four standards from the Ten Commandments:
You must not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? A paper clip? A parking space? …you, thief.
You must not lie. Those who say they haven't- just did.
You must not commit adultery. Jesus said, "If you look at a woman with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart" (Matthew 5:28).
You must not murder. Before you claim innocence, Jesus said "Anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder" (Matthew 5:22).
Jesus made his position clear: "Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). So where does that leave us? It leaves us drawing hope from 1 Corinthians 15:3. Christ died for our sins-in place of-on behalf of! So, don't measure yourself by keeping commandments. Measure yourself by the cross.
From: 3:16
Ezekiel 3
Warn These People
He told me, “Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel.”
2-3 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, “Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!”
So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey.
4-6 Then he told me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. Look, I’m not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.
7-9 “But it won’t work that way with the family of Israel. They won’t listen to you because they won’t listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. But I’ll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. I’ll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t be afraid of them, even though they’re a bunch of rebels.”
10-11 Then he said, “Son of man, get all these words that I’m giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not.”
12-13 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion—“Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!”—the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.
14-15 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn’t want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.
16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:
17-19 “Son of man, I’ve made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.
20-21 “And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they’ll die. If you haven’t warned them, they’ll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they’ve done will count for anything—and I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they’ll live because they took the warning—and again, you’ll have saved your life.”
22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, “Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you.”
23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.
24-26 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, “Go home and shut the door behind you.” And then something odd: “Son of man: They’ll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can’t leave the house. I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won’t be able to talk and tell the people what they’re doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.
27 “But then when the time is ripe, I’ll free your tongue and you’ll say, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: . . .’ From then on it’s up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Read: Isaiah 53:9–12
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
INSIGHT:
Can you think of a time when you thought you would have been willing to do anything for love? Or, by contrast, have you known what it is like to avoid love—for fear of being hurt?
Living eight centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah had the hard job of letting the people of Jerusalem know that God loved them too much to let them continue to turn their backs on Him without consequence. Before confronting the idolatries of Ephraim, Assyria, and Egypt, Isaiah described the citizens of Jerusalem and Judea as dearly loved children who had rebelled against their Father (1:2–3). In chapter five it is evident that God cares too much about His people to let them continue embracing the false gods and futile hopes of other nations (vv. 1–7).
Woven through Isaiah’s warnings, however, are promises that the painful judgments of God have a merciful purpose. Beyond the consequences, Isaiah sees a future of restoration not just for Jerusalem but also for the whole world (2:1–5). Yet, until the day of Jesus’s resurrection, the means by which God would carry out that rescue was a secret of His love.
The Price of Love
By Amy Boucher Pye
He poured out his life unto death. Isaiah 53:12
Our daughter burst into tears as we waved goodbye to my parents. After visiting us in England, they were starting their long journey back to their home in the US. “I don’t want them to go,” she said. As I comforted her, my husband remarked, “I’m afraid that’s the price of love.”
We might feel the pain of being separated from loved ones, but Jesus felt the ultimate separation when He paid the price of love on the cross. He, who was both human and God, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy 700 years after Isaiah gave it when He “bore the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12). In this chapter we see rich pointers to Jesus being the suffering Servant, such as when He was “pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5), which happened when He was nailed to the cross and when one of the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34), and that “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
He poured out his life unto death. Isaiah 53:12
Because of love, Jesus came to earth and was born a baby. Because of love, He received the abuse of the teachers of the law, the crowds, and the soldiers. Because of love, He suffered and died to be the perfect sacrifice, standing in our place before the Father. We live because of love.
Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, have mercy on us, and help us to extend mercy and love to others. Show us how we might share Your love with others today.
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who died to give us life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 15, 2017
The Failure To Pay Close Attention
The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. —2 Chronicles 15:17
Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, “Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much.” The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, “I know I am right with God”— yet the “high places” still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.
Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless— you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes’ effort.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
Do a simple exercise with me. Measure your life against just these four standards from the Ten Commandments:
You must not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? A paper clip? A parking space? …you, thief.
You must not lie. Those who say they haven't- just did.
You must not commit adultery. Jesus said, "If you look at a woman with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart" (Matthew 5:28).
You must not murder. Before you claim innocence, Jesus said "Anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder" (Matthew 5:22).
Jesus made his position clear: "Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). So where does that leave us? It leaves us drawing hope from 1 Corinthians 15:3. Christ died for our sins-in place of-on behalf of! So, don't measure yourself by keeping commandments. Measure yourself by the cross.
From: 3:16
Ezekiel 3
Warn These People
He told me, “Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel.”
2-3 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, “Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!”
So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey.
4-6 Then he told me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. Look, I’m not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.
7-9 “But it won’t work that way with the family of Israel. They won’t listen to you because they won’t listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. But I’ll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. I’ll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t be afraid of them, even though they’re a bunch of rebels.”
10-11 Then he said, “Son of man, get all these words that I’m giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not.”
12-13 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion—“Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!”—the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.
14-15 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn’t want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.
16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:
17-19 “Son of man, I’ve made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.
20-21 “And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they’ll die. If you haven’t warned them, they’ll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they’ve done will count for anything—and I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they’ll live because they took the warning—and again, you’ll have saved your life.”
22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, “Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you.”
23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.
24-26 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, “Go home and shut the door behind you.” And then something odd: “Son of man: They’ll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can’t leave the house. I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won’t be able to talk and tell the people what they’re doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.
27 “But then when the time is ripe, I’ll free your tongue and you’ll say, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: . . .’ From then on it’s up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Read: Isaiah 53:9–12
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
INSIGHT:
Can you think of a time when you thought you would have been willing to do anything for love? Or, by contrast, have you known what it is like to avoid love—for fear of being hurt?
Living eight centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah had the hard job of letting the people of Jerusalem know that God loved them too much to let them continue to turn their backs on Him without consequence. Before confronting the idolatries of Ephraim, Assyria, and Egypt, Isaiah described the citizens of Jerusalem and Judea as dearly loved children who had rebelled against their Father (1:2–3). In chapter five it is evident that God cares too much about His people to let them continue embracing the false gods and futile hopes of other nations (vv. 1–7).
Woven through Isaiah’s warnings, however, are promises that the painful judgments of God have a merciful purpose. Beyond the consequences, Isaiah sees a future of restoration not just for Jerusalem but also for the whole world (2:1–5). Yet, until the day of Jesus’s resurrection, the means by which God would carry out that rescue was a secret of His love.
The Price of Love
By Amy Boucher Pye
He poured out his life unto death. Isaiah 53:12
Our daughter burst into tears as we waved goodbye to my parents. After visiting us in England, they were starting their long journey back to their home in the US. “I don’t want them to go,” she said. As I comforted her, my husband remarked, “I’m afraid that’s the price of love.”
We might feel the pain of being separated from loved ones, but Jesus felt the ultimate separation when He paid the price of love on the cross. He, who was both human and God, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy 700 years after Isaiah gave it when He “bore the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12). In this chapter we see rich pointers to Jesus being the suffering Servant, such as when He was “pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5), which happened when He was nailed to the cross and when one of the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34), and that “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
He poured out his life unto death. Isaiah 53:12
Because of love, Jesus came to earth and was born a baby. Because of love, He received the abuse of the teachers of the law, the crowds, and the soldiers. Because of love, He suffered and died to be the perfect sacrifice, standing in our place before the Father. We live because of love.
Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, have mercy on us, and help us to extend mercy and love to others. Show us how we might share Your love with others today.
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who died to give us life.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, April 15, 2017
The Failure To Pay Close Attention
The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. —2 Chronicles 15:17
Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, “Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much.” The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, “I know I am right with God”— yet the “high places” still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.
Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless— you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes’ effort.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
Friday, April 14, 2017
1 Timothy 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: RECONCILIATION
The most notorious road in the world is the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of Sorrows.” According to tradition, it’s the route Jesus took from Pilate’s hall to Calvary. The path is marked by stations frequently used by Christians for their devotions—each one a reminder of the events of Christ’s final journey. No one actually knows the exact route Jesus followed that Friday. But we do know where the path began. In heaven. Jesus began his journey when he left his home in search of us.
The Bible has a word for this quest: reconciliation. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV). Reconciliation restiches the unraveled, reverses the rebellion, and rekindles the cold passion. Reconciliation touches the shoulder of the wayward and woos him homeward. The path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.
From He Chose the Nails
1 Timothy 2
Simple Faith and Plain Truth
2 1-3 The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.
4-7 He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.
8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
11-15 I don’t let women take over and tell the men what to do. They should study to be quiet and obedient along with everyone else. Adam was made first, then Eve; woman was deceived first—our pioneer in sin!—with Adam right on her heels. On the other hand, her childbearing brought about salvation, reversing Eve. But this salvation only comes to those who continue in faith, love, and holiness, gathering it all into maturity. You can depend on this.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, April 14, 2017
Read: Mark 15:19–20, 33–39
The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
Mark 15:33-39The Message (MSG)
33-34 At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
35-36 Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37-39 But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
INSIGHT:
In the two cameos provided in our reading today, we witness the injustice and horrors of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Verses 19–20 reveal the terrible indignity Jesus endured before going to the cross. Roman soldiers mocked, struck, and spit on Him. Next, a supernatural darkness came over the world (vv. 33–39). Many theologians believe it was then that the eternal fellowship of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—was disrupted as God the Son was made sin for us so that we might have right standing and relationship with God. The Father turned away from Him and in anguish Christ cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But because of God’s redeeming love, we will never be forsaken. How does this give you greater confidence in facing the future?
Remember the Cross
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
“Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39
In the church I attend, a large cross stands at the front of the sanctuary. It represents the original cross where Jesus died—the place where our sin intersected with His holiness. There God allowed His perfect Son to die for the sake of every wrong thing we have ever done, said, or thought. On the cross, Jesus finished the work that was required to save us from the death we deserve (Rom. 6:23).
The sight of a cross causes me to consider what Jesus endured for us. Before being crucified, He was flogged and spit on. The soldiers hit Him in the head with sticks and got down on their knees in mock worship. They tried to make Him carry His own cross to the place where He would die, but He was too weak from the brutal flogging. At Golgotha, they hammered nails through His flesh to keep Him on the cross when they turned it upright. Those wounds bore the weight of His body as He hung there. Six hours later, Jesus took His final breath (Mark 15:37). A centurion who witnessed Jesus’s death declared, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39).
Jesus, thank You for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross.
The next time you see the symbol of the cross, consider what it means to you. God’s Son suffered and died there and then rose again to make eternal life possible.
Dear Jesus, I can’t begin to thank You enough for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross. I acknowledge Your sacrifice, and I believe in the power of Your resurrection.
The cross of Christ reveals our sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 14, 2017
Inner Invincibility
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… —Matthew 11:29
“Whom the Lord loves He chastens…” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, “Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!” Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That’s why Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you.
“…to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.
“…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.
If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. Conformed to His Image, 357 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 14, 2017
The Strongest Nails In the World - #7895
My friend, Alan, was working with a carpenter friend of his on a building project. Out of the blue, Alan sprang this rather unusual question on the carpenter, "Do you know what the most powerful nails in the world are?" The craftsman paused on his ladder for a moment and then he said, "I don't know. US Steel?" Alan said, "No. The strongest nails in the world are the three nails that held Jesus Christ on His cross." Well, then Alan just walked into the other room. A few minutes later, the carpenter called for Alan. He said, "Man, you've got to help me. Every time I drive a nail now, it's like I'm nailing Jesus to the cross." My friend said, "Well, in a way, we did."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Strongest Nails in the World."
For some people, Jesus' death on the cross is just history. For others, it's a religious event. To some of us, the brutal death of Jesus on that Roman cross is a deeply personal event. I hope it is for you, or soon will be.
Galatians 2:20 is our word for today from the Word of God, and in it there are two words that are literally life-changing. Actually, eternity-changing. They're the difference between someone who has Christianity and someone who has Christ; between someone who has a Christian religion and someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus. Ultimately, these two words are actually the difference between heaven and hell.
Galatians 2:20: "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There are the two words, "for me." One of my associates was on a plane with a man in his 30s who talked pretty openly about his years of spiritual searching. He said that as a young man he moved beyond his boyhood church and began experimenting with a buffet of spiritual beliefs and experiences. Nothing seemed to satisfy the restlessness in his heart.
Then one day he came back to visit the church he grew up in. Here's what he said: "As soon as I walked in the door, I saw something I'd seen hundreds of times as a boy-the cross at the front of the church. But suddenly I was overwhelmed with something I had never realized before, and I said out loud, "For me. What Jesus did on that cross was for me." He said his search ended that day, and the hole in his heart was finally filled.
My guess is that you know about Jesus dying on the cross. You know He died there to pay for our sins maybe. But you somehow may have missed that life-changing moment when, in your heart, you walk up to that cross and say those words, "For me, Jesus. What you're doing there is for me." When my friend said that in a way we all did help nail Jesus to the cross, he was right. Because it's our rebellion against God and against His ways, all our "my way" choices that left us cut off from God and under His death penalty until Jesus came and did all the dying for all our sinning. And in reality, it wasn't the nails that kept Him on the cross. After all, He's the Son of God! No, it was His deep love for you that kept Him there 'till your bill was fully paid with His life.
If you've never had your "for me" moment with Jesus, it could be this very day right now and right where you are. Would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm taking for myself what you died to give me. You paid for my sin so I don't have to. You died for my sin so I don't have to. Now I embrace you as my Savior; as the new driver of my life. I'm taking you for me."
Hey, our website is there to encourage you and help you make sure you've begun this relationship. Let me urge you to come and spend just a few minutes at ANewStory.com and make sure that you've got this settled once and for all.
This could be your moment. This could be your day to finally make the Savior your Savior.
The most notorious road in the world is the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of Sorrows.” According to tradition, it’s the route Jesus took from Pilate’s hall to Calvary. The path is marked by stations frequently used by Christians for their devotions—each one a reminder of the events of Christ’s final journey. No one actually knows the exact route Jesus followed that Friday. But we do know where the path began. In heaven. Jesus began his journey when he left his home in search of us.
The Bible has a word for this quest: reconciliation. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV). Reconciliation restiches the unraveled, reverses the rebellion, and rekindles the cold passion. Reconciliation touches the shoulder of the wayward and woos him homeward. The path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.
From He Chose the Nails
1 Timothy 2
Simple Faith and Plain Truth
2 1-3 The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.
4-7 He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.
8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
11-15 I don’t let women take over and tell the men what to do. They should study to be quiet and obedient along with everyone else. Adam was made first, then Eve; woman was deceived first—our pioneer in sin!—with Adam right on her heels. On the other hand, her childbearing brought about salvation, reversing Eve. But this salvation only comes to those who continue in faith, love, and holiness, gathering it all into maturity. You can depend on this.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, April 14, 2017
Read: Mark 15:19–20, 33–39
The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
Mark 15:33-39The Message (MSG)
33-34 At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
35-36 Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37-39 But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
INSIGHT:
In the two cameos provided in our reading today, we witness the injustice and horrors of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Verses 19–20 reveal the terrible indignity Jesus endured before going to the cross. Roman soldiers mocked, struck, and spit on Him. Next, a supernatural darkness came over the world (vv. 33–39). Many theologians believe it was then that the eternal fellowship of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—was disrupted as God the Son was made sin for us so that we might have right standing and relationship with God. The Father turned away from Him and in anguish Christ cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But because of God’s redeeming love, we will never be forsaken. How does this give you greater confidence in facing the future?
Remember the Cross
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
“Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39
In the church I attend, a large cross stands at the front of the sanctuary. It represents the original cross where Jesus died—the place where our sin intersected with His holiness. There God allowed His perfect Son to die for the sake of every wrong thing we have ever done, said, or thought. On the cross, Jesus finished the work that was required to save us from the death we deserve (Rom. 6:23).
The sight of a cross causes me to consider what Jesus endured for us. Before being crucified, He was flogged and spit on. The soldiers hit Him in the head with sticks and got down on their knees in mock worship. They tried to make Him carry His own cross to the place where He would die, but He was too weak from the brutal flogging. At Golgotha, they hammered nails through His flesh to keep Him on the cross when they turned it upright. Those wounds bore the weight of His body as He hung there. Six hours later, Jesus took His final breath (Mark 15:37). A centurion who witnessed Jesus’s death declared, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39).
Jesus, thank You for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross.
The next time you see the symbol of the cross, consider what it means to you. God’s Son suffered and died there and then rose again to make eternal life possible.
Dear Jesus, I can’t begin to thank You enough for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross. I acknowledge Your sacrifice, and I believe in the power of Your resurrection.
The cross of Christ reveals our sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 14, 2017
Inner Invincibility
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… —Matthew 11:29
“Whom the Lord loves He chastens…” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, “Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!” Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That’s why Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you.
“…to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.
“…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.
If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. Conformed to His Image, 357 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 14, 2017
The Strongest Nails In the World - #7895
My friend, Alan, was working with a carpenter friend of his on a building project. Out of the blue, Alan sprang this rather unusual question on the carpenter, "Do you know what the most powerful nails in the world are?" The craftsman paused on his ladder for a moment and then he said, "I don't know. US Steel?" Alan said, "No. The strongest nails in the world are the three nails that held Jesus Christ on His cross." Well, then Alan just walked into the other room. A few minutes later, the carpenter called for Alan. He said, "Man, you've got to help me. Every time I drive a nail now, it's like I'm nailing Jesus to the cross." My friend said, "Well, in a way, we did."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Strongest Nails in the World."
For some people, Jesus' death on the cross is just history. For others, it's a religious event. To some of us, the brutal death of Jesus on that Roman cross is a deeply personal event. I hope it is for you, or soon will be.
Galatians 2:20 is our word for today from the Word of God, and in it there are two words that are literally life-changing. Actually, eternity-changing. They're the difference between someone who has Christianity and someone who has Christ; between someone who has a Christian religion and someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus. Ultimately, these two words are actually the difference between heaven and hell.
Galatians 2:20: "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There are the two words, "for me." One of my associates was on a plane with a man in his 30s who talked pretty openly about his years of spiritual searching. He said that as a young man he moved beyond his boyhood church and began experimenting with a buffet of spiritual beliefs and experiences. Nothing seemed to satisfy the restlessness in his heart.
Then one day he came back to visit the church he grew up in. Here's what he said: "As soon as I walked in the door, I saw something I'd seen hundreds of times as a boy-the cross at the front of the church. But suddenly I was overwhelmed with something I had never realized before, and I said out loud, "For me. What Jesus did on that cross was for me." He said his search ended that day, and the hole in his heart was finally filled.
My guess is that you know about Jesus dying on the cross. You know He died there to pay for our sins maybe. But you somehow may have missed that life-changing moment when, in your heart, you walk up to that cross and say those words, "For me, Jesus. What you're doing there is for me." When my friend said that in a way we all did help nail Jesus to the cross, he was right. Because it's our rebellion against God and against His ways, all our "my way" choices that left us cut off from God and under His death penalty until Jesus came and did all the dying for all our sinning. And in reality, it wasn't the nails that kept Him on the cross. After all, He's the Son of God! No, it was His deep love for you that kept Him there 'till your bill was fully paid with His life.
If you've never had your "for me" moment with Jesus, it could be this very day right now and right where you are. Would you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm taking for myself what you died to give me. You paid for my sin so I don't have to. You died for my sin so I don't have to. Now I embrace you as my Savior; as the new driver of my life. I'm taking you for me."
Hey, our website is there to encourage you and help you make sure you've begun this relationship. Let me urge you to come and spend just a few minutes at ANewStory.com and make sure that you've got this settled once and for all.
This could be your moment. This could be your day to finally make the Savior your Savior.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Ezekiel 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
Can a holy God overlook our mistakes? Should a kind God punish our mistakes? From our perspective there are only two equally unappealing solutions. But from God’s perspective there’s a third. It’s called “the Cross of Christ.” The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. “God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG). Why did he do it? Because “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16 NLT). Aren’t you glad the verse doesn’t read: “For God so loved the rich”? Or “For God so loved the famous?” No we simply (and happily) read: “For God so loved the world!” And you are included in that love!
From He Chose the Nails
Ezekiel 2
It said, “Son of man, stand up. I have something to say to you.”
2 The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.
3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.
8 “Only take care, son of man, that you don’t rebel like these rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9-10 When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Read: Matthew 26:36–46
Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44 When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46 When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
INSIGHT:
The circumstances that took place on the night of Jesus’s betrayal seemed to be confused, chaotic, and out of control. But our Lord’s measured words in facing His betrayer showed His understanding of the big picture of God’s sovereign plan. Without the cross we could not be redeemed.
Forsaken for Our Sake
By Amy Peterson
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Does having a friend nearby make pain more bearable? Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a fascinating study to answer that question. They wanted to see how the brain reacted to the prospect of pain, and whether it behaved differently if a person faced the threat of pain alone, holding a stranger’s hand, or holding the hand of a close friend.
Researchers ran the test on dozens of pairs, and found consistent results. When a person was alone or holding a stranger's hand while anticipating a shock, the regions of the brain that process danger lit up. But when holding the hand of a trusted person, the brain relaxed. The comfort of a friend’s presence made the pain seem more bearable.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
Jesus needed comfort as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He was about to face: betrayal, arrest, and death. He asked His closest friends to stay and pray with Him, telling them that His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matt. 26:38). But Peter, James, and John kept falling asleep.
Jesus faced the agony of the garden without the comfort of a hand to hold. But because He bore that pain, we can be confident that God will never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus suffered so that we will never have to experience separation from the love of God (Rom. 8:39). His companionship makes anything we endure more bearable.
Jesus, thank You for bearing the pain and isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross for us. Thank You for giving us a way to live in communion with the Father.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 13, 2017
What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming
Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22
We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”
“Cast your burden on the Lord….” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “…the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Leaving It Buried - #7894
I've had to pay my sister-in-law handsomely so I could tell you this story about when she was a little girl. She and her older sister - who you know I married - grew up on a little farm in the Ozarks. One day the family was blessed with the arrival of some new kittens. And my three-year-old sister-in-law loved them so much. So much that she wanted to make sure they had something to drink. So she put them in their full rain barrel. Yeah, I'm sorry to say, the kittens couldn't swim and the kittens drowned. I'm sorry. Her parents asked her why she did such a cruel thing. Turns out, she didn't know it was cruel. She said, "They were thirsty." Well, some cousin insisted that they have a funeral for the kittens, so he lined them up in a shoebox coffin and they gave the kittens a Christian burial. Unfortunately, that was not the end for my dear sister-in-law. She kept wanting to dig them up. And when she was told she couldn't, she just cried and said, "Wanna see kitties." No, you don't!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving It Buried."
Unfortunately, it's not just little kids who want to dig up something that should stay buried. We do it all the time. That's why our word for today from the Word of God is from Philippians 3:13-14. Paul says, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Now, Paul is revealing here a big secret of emotional and spiritual health - leave the past in the past and don't keep digging it up.
Maybe you've got some wounds from the past; most of us do. There's people that hurt you or let you down. Maybe you were wounded by your mom or dad, the person you married, by your church or ministry, a friend or associate, your employer or your co-workers. It maybe happened 30 years ago; maybe it happened 30 days ago or 30 minutes ago. But you still feel the pain of the wound.
And how can you start to move beyond that pain? I know you don't want to live in it. Well, by doing what God calls us to do in Colossians 3:13, "Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." And how was that? "Who is a God like You, (the Bible says) who pardons sin and forgives...You will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19). Even though we have hurt God deeply with our sins, He forgives those sins and He buries them! We're called to treat people, not as they have treated us, but as Jesus has treated us!
But there are people who are into lifelong dredging operations - dredging up their grievances over and over again. And, frankly, they're not much fun to be around. There's a darkness, a negativity, a cynicism that develops in a person who keeps digging up the past. It's about as ugly and foul as those dead kittens would have been after they were buried. And nobody wants to be around that stink for long.
How about asking Jesus, the Great Forgiver, for the grace to let the painful past go once and for all? If you need the help of a pastor or counselor to work through that pain one last, decisive time, do it soon. Dig it up one more time so you don't have to dig it up ever again.
It may not be sins committed against you that you keep digging up; it might be sins committed by you. You're living with this feeling of being condemned, you're ashamed, you're no-good, and you feel like you're outside of God's love. But if you have brought those sins to the cross of Jesus, then God says, "I will remember your sins no more." They're gone. Live like it! "Forgetting what is behind...press on toward the goal."
If you had been there when that little girl wanted to dig up those kittens, I know what you would have told her, "Leave them buried!" If you've been going back and digging up sins and wounds from the past, that's what God is telling you, "Leave them buried!" They're ugly, they stink, and good news - they're gone.
Can a holy God overlook our mistakes? Should a kind God punish our mistakes? From our perspective there are only two equally unappealing solutions. But from God’s perspective there’s a third. It’s called “the Cross of Christ.” The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. “God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG). Why did he do it? Because “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16 NLT). Aren’t you glad the verse doesn’t read: “For God so loved the rich”? Or “For God so loved the famous?” No we simply (and happily) read: “For God so loved the world!” And you are included in that love!
From He Chose the Nails
Ezekiel 2
It said, “Son of man, stand up. I have something to say to you.”
2 The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.
3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.
8 “Only take care, son of man, that you don’t rebel like these rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9-10 When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Read: Matthew 26:36–46
Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44 When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46 When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
INSIGHT:
The circumstances that took place on the night of Jesus’s betrayal seemed to be confused, chaotic, and out of control. But our Lord’s measured words in facing His betrayer showed His understanding of the big picture of God’s sovereign plan. Without the cross we could not be redeemed.
Forsaken for Our Sake
By Amy Peterson
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Does having a friend nearby make pain more bearable? Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a fascinating study to answer that question. They wanted to see how the brain reacted to the prospect of pain, and whether it behaved differently if a person faced the threat of pain alone, holding a stranger’s hand, or holding the hand of a close friend.
Researchers ran the test on dozens of pairs, and found consistent results. When a person was alone or holding a stranger's hand while anticipating a shock, the regions of the brain that process danger lit up. But when holding the hand of a trusted person, the brain relaxed. The comfort of a friend’s presence made the pain seem more bearable.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
Jesus needed comfort as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He was about to face: betrayal, arrest, and death. He asked His closest friends to stay and pray with Him, telling them that His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matt. 26:38). But Peter, James, and John kept falling asleep.
Jesus faced the agony of the garden without the comfort of a hand to hold. But because He bore that pain, we can be confident that God will never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus suffered so that we will never have to experience separation from the love of God (Rom. 8:39). His companionship makes anything we endure more bearable.
Jesus, thank You for bearing the pain and isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross for us. Thank You for giving us a way to live in communion with the Father.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 13, 2017
What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming
Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22
We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”
“Cast your burden on the Lord….” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “…the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Leaving It Buried - #7894
I've had to pay my sister-in-law handsomely so I could tell you this story about when she was a little girl. She and her older sister - who you know I married - grew up on a little farm in the Ozarks. One day the family was blessed with the arrival of some new kittens. And my three-year-old sister-in-law loved them so much. So much that she wanted to make sure they had something to drink. So she put them in their full rain barrel. Yeah, I'm sorry to say, the kittens couldn't swim and the kittens drowned. I'm sorry. Her parents asked her why she did such a cruel thing. Turns out, she didn't know it was cruel. She said, "They were thirsty." Well, some cousin insisted that they have a funeral for the kittens, so he lined them up in a shoebox coffin and they gave the kittens a Christian burial. Unfortunately, that was not the end for my dear sister-in-law. She kept wanting to dig them up. And when she was told she couldn't, she just cried and said, "Wanna see kitties." No, you don't!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving It Buried."
Unfortunately, it's not just little kids who want to dig up something that should stay buried. We do it all the time. That's why our word for today from the Word of God is from Philippians 3:13-14. Paul says, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Now, Paul is revealing here a big secret of emotional and spiritual health - leave the past in the past and don't keep digging it up.
Maybe you've got some wounds from the past; most of us do. There's people that hurt you or let you down. Maybe you were wounded by your mom or dad, the person you married, by your church or ministry, a friend or associate, your employer or your co-workers. It maybe happened 30 years ago; maybe it happened 30 days ago or 30 minutes ago. But you still feel the pain of the wound.
And how can you start to move beyond that pain? I know you don't want to live in it. Well, by doing what God calls us to do in Colossians 3:13, "Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." And how was that? "Who is a God like You, (the Bible says) who pardons sin and forgives...You will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19). Even though we have hurt God deeply with our sins, He forgives those sins and He buries them! We're called to treat people, not as they have treated us, but as Jesus has treated us!
But there are people who are into lifelong dredging operations - dredging up their grievances over and over again. And, frankly, they're not much fun to be around. There's a darkness, a negativity, a cynicism that develops in a person who keeps digging up the past. It's about as ugly and foul as those dead kittens would have been after they were buried. And nobody wants to be around that stink for long.
How about asking Jesus, the Great Forgiver, for the grace to let the painful past go once and for all? If you need the help of a pastor or counselor to work through that pain one last, decisive time, do it soon. Dig it up one more time so you don't have to dig it up ever again.
It may not be sins committed against you that you keep digging up; it might be sins committed by you. You're living with this feeling of being condemned, you're ashamed, you're no-good, and you feel like you're outside of God's love. But if you have brought those sins to the cross of Jesus, then God says, "I will remember your sins no more." They're gone. Live like it! "Forgetting what is behind...press on toward the goal."
If you had been there when that little girl wanted to dig up those kittens, I know what you would have told her, "Leave them buried!" If you've been going back and digging up sins and wounds from the past, that's what God is telling you, "Leave them buried!" They're ugly, they stink, and good news - they're gone.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Ezekiel 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE SEAMLESS CHARACTER OF JESUS
Garments can symbolize character, and like his garment, Jesus’ character was seamless. Coordinated. Unified. He was like his robe: uninterrupted perfection. A seamless fabric woven from heaven to earth…from God’s thoughts to Jesus’ actions. From God’s tears to Jesus’ compassion.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe, the wardrobe of indignity. Shamed before his family. The indignity of nakedness. The indignity of failure. Shamed before his accusers. Worst of all he bore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV). The clothing of Christ on the cross? Sin—yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From He Chose the Nails
Ezekiel 1
Wheels Within Wheels, Like a Gyroscope
When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.
2-3 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin that God’s Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God’s hand came upon him that day.)
4-9 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being, but each also had four faces and four wings. Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze. On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.
10-12 Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn’t turn as they went.
13-14 The four creatures looked like a blazing fire, or like fiery torches. Tongues of fire shot back and forth between the creatures, and out of the fire, bolts of lightning. The creatures flashed back and forth like strikes of lightning.
15-16 As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel on the ground beside each of the four-faced creatures. This is what the wheels looked like: They were identical wheels, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It looked like they were wheels within wheels, like a gyroscope.
17-21 They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22-24 Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome, shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads. Under the dome one set of wings was extended toward the others, with another set of wings covering their bodies. When they moved I heard their wings—it was like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings.
25-28 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads. Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day—that’s what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God!
When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Read: John 12:1–8
Anointing His Feet
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
4-6 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
7-8 Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”
INSIGHT:
Worship can be an intensely personal and yet very corporate experience. We can worship alone, with a small group of friends, and with our local body of believers. Some of us dance, others raise their hands, some close their eyes and bow heads in reverence. There are many ways in which we can praise and worship God.
Mary offered her financial stability—pouring a very expensive perfume over Jesus, her physical being—using her own hair to wipe His feet, and her reputation—letting hair down was not something a “respectable” woman did in ancient cultures. Mary worshiped Jesus with everything she had. She knew who Jesus was and what He had done for her (He had just raised her brother from the dead; see John 11). Her worship was a response.
That’s what worship is—responding to who Jesus is and what He has done. How do you worship? How can you share your worship with another?
Let Down Your Hair
By Julie Ackerman Link
Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. John 12:3
Shortly before Jesus was crucified, a woman named Mary poured a bottle of expensive perfume on His feet. Then, in what may have been an even more daring act, she wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). Not only did Mary sacrifice what may have been her life’s savings, she also sacrificed her reputation. In first-century Middle Eastern culture, respectable women never let down their hair in public. But true worship is not concerned about what others think of us (2 Sam. 6:21–22). To worship Jesus, Mary was willing to be thought of as immodest, perhaps even immoral.
Some of us may feel pressured to be perfect when we go to church so that people will think well of us. Metaphorically speaking, we work hard to make sure we have every hair in place. But a healthy church is a place where we can let down our hair and not hide our flaws behind a façade of perfection. In church, we should be able to reveal our weaknesses to find strength rather than conceal our faults to appear strong.
Lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24
Worship doesn’t involve behaving as if nothing is wrong; it’s making sure everything is right—right with God and with one another. When our greatest fear is letting down our hair, perhaps our greatest sin is keeping it up.
Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23–24.
Our worship is right when we are right with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Complete and Effective Dominion
Death no longer has dominion over Him.…the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God… —Romans 6:9-11
Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)— not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life— “…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to “let go.” But any effort to “hang on” to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. Not Knowing Whither, 888 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
When You're Hit With Life's Hammer - #7893
Full disclosure here. I'm not the guy you want to call when you need a guy to do a job with a hammer. Okay. But look, I do know the fundamentals. A hammer can be used to build something, right? Or to tear it down. Either way, what a hammer hits is not going to stay the same. Life's hammers are like that: Losing your job, your health, the one you love most, as I did recently. Tragedy. Divorce. Betrayal by that person you trusted. Family heartbreak. Those are hammers! And maybe one of those has hit you recently. Or it maybe hit a long time ago but its effects are still there today. And whatever the hammer hits can't possibly stay the same. The only question is whether the blows will build you or tear you down. But the hammer doesn't decide that. We do.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Hit With Life's Hammer."
Each summer, I travel with a team of young Native Americans who've been hammered all their lives by family violence, sexual violence, addiction, and depression. Most have been to a dozen or more funerals by the time they're 16 - many of them are their peers.
But when they talk about their lives with reservation young people like them, they don't sound like victims. Oh, they acknowledge the damage the blows have done. But what they talk about most is hope! Because they made choices that have made them stronger, more compassionate, people of great faith, and they hand out hope wherever they go. They're amazing!
We don't get to choose if and when life's hammers hit, but we totally choose what kind of person it's going to make us. Will I let this tenderize my heart or turn it hard? Will I let pain open up my heart or close my heart in fear that I'll get hurt again? Will I let it go, by forgiving and be free, or will I let it grow into a cancer in my soul? Will I let the blows equip me to be a wounded healer for other bleeding people, or is it going to make me one of those hurt people who hurt people?
The hole left by my Karen's absence, I'll tell you, is unfillable. But God has used it to open my heart to Him and to other wounded people as never before. I'm living with His promise, and it's our word for today from the Word of God: "He comforts us in all our troubles so we can comfort others" and "give them the same comfort God has given us" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
When we've been hurt, we can choose to let the hammer turn us inward, putting up walls that say, "Leave me alone." People get that vibe and they oblige, and we end up self-isolated at the very time when we need people the most. On the other hand, if we choose to reach out, we can experience the very flood of love and support that we're going to need to heal.
Maybe the worst choice we can make when the hammer hits is to turn our back on God. We go, "why?", and the heavens seem silent. But when we turn our back on God at the very point where we need Him the most, we're turning our back on the only One who can make any sense out of what's happened. Who can bring meaning out of our pain. Who has the hope and the supernatural strength we need to go on. As the Bible promises, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Even through the most leveling blow of my life.
My Jesus gets it. No one took the blows He did. Literally loving me enough to take the hellish punishment for my sin so I wouldn't have to. And anyone who loved me enough to die for me will never do me wrong. So, yes, I can trust Him. Even when I can't understand Him.
I would encourage you, if you've never reached out to Him and begun your relationship with Him, tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." And let me urge you to go to our website and there get all the information you'll need to get that relationship started. It's ANewStory.com.
When my son was three years old, we visited the U.S. Capitol. You can imagine how those long, steep stairs looked with little legs. Impossible. But he made it to the top! Not with his strength. With his daddy's. I carried him.
Just as Jesus has been carrying me and wants to carry you. He's carried me where I never could have gone without Him.
Garments can symbolize character, and like his garment, Jesus’ character was seamless. Coordinated. Unified. He was like his robe: uninterrupted perfection. A seamless fabric woven from heaven to earth…from God’s thoughts to Jesus’ actions. From God’s tears to Jesus’ compassion.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe, the wardrobe of indignity. Shamed before his family. The indignity of nakedness. The indignity of failure. Shamed before his accusers. Worst of all he bore the indignity of sin. Scripture says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV). The clothing of Christ on the cross? Sin—yours and mine. The sins of all humanity.
From He Chose the Nails
Ezekiel 1
Wheels Within Wheels, Like a Gyroscope
When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.
2-3 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin that God’s Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God’s hand came upon him that day.)
4-9 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being, but each also had four faces and four wings. Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze. On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.
10-12 Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn’t turn as they went.
13-14 The four creatures looked like a blazing fire, or like fiery torches. Tongues of fire shot back and forth between the creatures, and out of the fire, bolts of lightning. The creatures flashed back and forth like strikes of lightning.
15-16 As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel on the ground beside each of the four-faced creatures. This is what the wheels looked like: They were identical wheels, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It looked like they were wheels within wheels, like a gyroscope.
17-21 They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22-24 Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome, shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads. Under the dome one set of wings was extended toward the others, with another set of wings covering their bodies. When they moved I heard their wings—it was like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings.
25-28 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads. Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day—that’s what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God!
When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Read: John 12:1–8
Anointing His Feet
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
4-6 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
7-8 Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”
INSIGHT:
Worship can be an intensely personal and yet very corporate experience. We can worship alone, with a small group of friends, and with our local body of believers. Some of us dance, others raise their hands, some close their eyes and bow heads in reverence. There are many ways in which we can praise and worship God.
Mary offered her financial stability—pouring a very expensive perfume over Jesus, her physical being—using her own hair to wipe His feet, and her reputation—letting hair down was not something a “respectable” woman did in ancient cultures. Mary worshiped Jesus with everything she had. She knew who Jesus was and what He had done for her (He had just raised her brother from the dead; see John 11). Her worship was a response.
That’s what worship is—responding to who Jesus is and what He has done. How do you worship? How can you share your worship with another?
Let Down Your Hair
By Julie Ackerman Link
Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. John 12:3
Shortly before Jesus was crucified, a woman named Mary poured a bottle of expensive perfume on His feet. Then, in what may have been an even more daring act, she wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). Not only did Mary sacrifice what may have been her life’s savings, she also sacrificed her reputation. In first-century Middle Eastern culture, respectable women never let down their hair in public. But true worship is not concerned about what others think of us (2 Sam. 6:21–22). To worship Jesus, Mary was willing to be thought of as immodest, perhaps even immoral.
Some of us may feel pressured to be perfect when we go to church so that people will think well of us. Metaphorically speaking, we work hard to make sure we have every hair in place. But a healthy church is a place where we can let down our hair and not hide our flaws behind a façade of perfection. In church, we should be able to reveal our weaknesses to find strength rather than conceal our faults to appear strong.
Lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24
Worship doesn’t involve behaving as if nothing is wrong; it’s making sure everything is right—right with God and with one another. When our greatest fear is letting down our hair, perhaps our greatest sin is keeping it up.
Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23–24.
Our worship is right when we are right with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Complete and Effective Dominion
Death no longer has dominion over Him.…the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God… —Romans 6:9-11
Co-Eternal Life. Eternal life is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is this same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are born again. Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin.
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)— not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. But once we do decide, the full life of God comes in immediately. Jesus came to give us an endless supply of life— “…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Eternal life has nothing to do with time. It is the life which Jesus lived when He was down here, and the only Source of life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to “let go.” But any effort to “hang on” to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. Not Knowing Whither, 888 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
When You're Hit With Life's Hammer - #7893
Full disclosure here. I'm not the guy you want to call when you need a guy to do a job with a hammer. Okay. But look, I do know the fundamentals. A hammer can be used to build something, right? Or to tear it down. Either way, what a hammer hits is not going to stay the same. Life's hammers are like that: Losing your job, your health, the one you love most, as I did recently. Tragedy. Divorce. Betrayal by that person you trusted. Family heartbreak. Those are hammers! And maybe one of those has hit you recently. Or it maybe hit a long time ago but its effects are still there today. And whatever the hammer hits can't possibly stay the same. The only question is whether the blows will build you or tear you down. But the hammer doesn't decide that. We do.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You're Hit With Life's Hammer."
Each summer, I travel with a team of young Native Americans who've been hammered all their lives by family violence, sexual violence, addiction, and depression. Most have been to a dozen or more funerals by the time they're 16 - many of them are their peers.
But when they talk about their lives with reservation young people like them, they don't sound like victims. Oh, they acknowledge the damage the blows have done. But what they talk about most is hope! Because they made choices that have made them stronger, more compassionate, people of great faith, and they hand out hope wherever they go. They're amazing!
We don't get to choose if and when life's hammers hit, but we totally choose what kind of person it's going to make us. Will I let this tenderize my heart or turn it hard? Will I let pain open up my heart or close my heart in fear that I'll get hurt again? Will I let it go, by forgiving and be free, or will I let it grow into a cancer in my soul? Will I let the blows equip me to be a wounded healer for other bleeding people, or is it going to make me one of those hurt people who hurt people?
The hole left by my Karen's absence, I'll tell you, is unfillable. But God has used it to open my heart to Him and to other wounded people as never before. I'm living with His promise, and it's our word for today from the Word of God: "He comforts us in all our troubles so we can comfort others" and "give them the same comfort God has given us" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
When we've been hurt, we can choose to let the hammer turn us inward, putting up walls that say, "Leave me alone." People get that vibe and they oblige, and we end up self-isolated at the very time when we need people the most. On the other hand, if we choose to reach out, we can experience the very flood of love and support that we're going to need to heal.
Maybe the worst choice we can make when the hammer hits is to turn our back on God. We go, "why?", and the heavens seem silent. But when we turn our back on God at the very point where we need Him the most, we're turning our back on the only One who can make any sense out of what's happened. Who can bring meaning out of our pain. Who has the hope and the supernatural strength we need to go on. As the Bible promises, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Even through the most leveling blow of my life.
My Jesus gets it. No one took the blows He did. Literally loving me enough to take the hellish punishment for my sin so I wouldn't have to. And anyone who loved me enough to die for me will never do me wrong. So, yes, I can trust Him. Even when I can't understand Him.
I would encourage you, if you've never reached out to Him and begun your relationship with Him, tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm yours." And let me urge you to go to our website and there get all the information you'll need to get that relationship started. It's ANewStory.com.
When my son was three years old, we visited the U.S. Capitol. You can imagine how those long, steep stairs looked with little legs. Impossible. But he made it to the top! Not with his strength. With his daddy's. I carried him.
Just as Jesus has been carrying me and wants to carry you. He's carried me where I never could have gone without Him.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Psalm 137, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: ONE GOOD CHOICE
Think about the thief on the cross who repented! We know little about him, but we know this: He made some bad mistakes in his life. But is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made.
You may look back over your life and say, “If only. . .if only I could make up for those bad choices.” You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.
How could two thieves see the same Jesus and one choose to mock him and the other choose to pray to him? When one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him. He allowed him the choice. He does the same for you.
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 137
1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers
we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
remembering the good old days in Zion.
Alongside the quaking aspens
we stacked our unplayed harps;
That’s where our captors demanded songs,
sarcastic and mocking:
“Sing us a happy Zion song!”
4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song
in this wasteland?
If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
Let my tongue swell and turn black
if I fail to remember you,
If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
to honor you as my greatest.
7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
That day they yelled out,
“Wreck it, smash it to bits!”
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
A reward to whoever gets back at you
for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
and smashes their heads on the rocks!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Read: Luke 23:32–34
Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.
33 When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
34-35 Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, “He saved others. Let’s see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!”
INSIGHT:
In the first century, the common attire for a Jewish man included five pieces of clothing—shoes, turban, belt, loincloth, and outer tunic. After crucifying Jesus, the soldiers divided the Savior’s garments as their spoils for performing the task. After each took a portion of clothing, one remained—the tunic. This infers that even the loincloth was taken—and Jesus’s last shred of human dignity with it.
In a heartbreaking fulfillment of David’s messianic song, they stripped Jesus naked and then gambled for the tunic. In Psalm 22:17–18, where crucifixion was prophetically described some 600 years before it was invented, David said it would be so: “All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” The soldiers gambled for all they could get, unaware of the fact that mere feet away Christ was freely forgiving and giving all He had out of love for them.
Why Forgive?
By Amy Boucher Pye
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34
When a friend betrayed me, I knew I would need to forgive her, but I wasn’t sure that I could. Her words pierced deeply inside me, and I felt stunned with pain and anger. Although we talked about it and I told her I forgave her, for a long time whenever I’d see her I felt tinges of hurt, so I knew I still clung to some resentment. One day, however, God answered my prayers and gave me the ability to let go completely. I was finally free.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith, with our Savior extending forgiveness even when He was dying on the cross. Jesus loved those who had nailed Him there, uttering a prayer asking His Father to forgive them. He didn’t hang on to bitterness or anger, but showed grace and love to those who had wronged Him.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
This is a fitting time to consider before the Lord any people we might need to forgive as we follow Jesus’s example in extending His love to those who hurt us. When we ask God through His Spirit to help us forgive, He will come to our aid—even if we take what we think is a long time to forgive. When we do, we are freed from the prison of unforgiveness.
Lord Jesus Christ, through Your grace and power as You dwell in me, help me to forgive, that Your love will set me free.
Read more about forgiveness at discoveryseries.org/hp071.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Complete and Effective Divinity
If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection… —Romans 6:5
Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life must now be built on the foundation of His life. I can have the resurrection life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness.
The idea all through the apostle Paul’s writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God— His complete and effective divinity— to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house— He invades all of it. And once I decide that my “old man” (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am actually “dead indeed to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time (Romans 6:11). Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness— the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Your Only Hope Of Making It Out - #7892
My friend, Nathan, was on the 61st floor of Tower Two that September day when a hijacked jetliner flew into the World Trade Center. I interviewed him for a broadcast, and I was pretty deeply moved by the story Nathan told. He was coming out of the restroom when he remembers seeing a piece of burning paper floating by the window. That was his first hint of the horror that was to follow. As people began to realize they might be in danger, they did what my friend did – they headed for the stairwell. Nathan's account took me right into those stairwells, ultimately jammed with screaming people, through the terror of first the smoke starting to fill the stairwell and then finally the quake when a plane hit their building.
Our friend finally made it to the soot-covered lobby, and that's where he saw the faces he said he would never forget. He told me, "I started seeing some of the rescue workers for the first time heading toward the stairwells and directing us out. You can still remember the looks on some of those faces. They were looking just as scared as I was, I'm sure. They're some of the people that helped save my life, and they never made it out themselves."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Only Hope Of Making It Out."
My friend told me he'll be forever grateful to those rescuers who gave their lives so people like him didn't have to. He literally owes his life to them.
I wasn't at the World Trade Center that awful day. But I understand a little of how my friend feels about those rescuers because I know someone who gave His life so I don't have to die. I owe my life to Him. He's the Son of God. His name is Jesus. He rescued me. He wants to rescue you if you'll let Him.
Just before Jesus' arrival on earth, his earthly father, Joseph, was given instructions from heaven about this baby who would soon be born. In it – even before the Son of God spent His first day as one of us – His rescue mission was announced. It's in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 1:21 says, "You are to give Him the name Jesus, (that means deliverer or rescuer) because He will save His people from their sins." Save. That's what those courageous rescuers did for my friend. They saved him from a deadly situation he could not get himself out of.
That's what Jesus came to do for you and me. Our deadly situation isn't a burning or a collapsing building; it's the eternal death penalty that the Bible says is what our sin will cost. We have hijacked the control of our life from the eternal God who made us and that has eternal deadly consequences – eternal separation from God. But God loves you more than you can imagine. That's why He sent His one and only Son into our "collapsing building", up the stairwell to rescue us. And Jesus' death on that cross was the moment when He was taking the hell that you and I deserve. He was dying so you don't have to.
Today, Jesus has come to where you are to bring you out. But He's your personal Rescuer only if you personally reach out and grab His hand as your only hope of getting out. See, for each of us, there comes a moment when it will be too late to grab the Rescuer's hand. Right now – today – you still can, and I pray you will.
As you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, I have no hope of getting out from under the penalty of my sin but what You did on the cross to take it for me. No religion can get me to heaven. No amount of goodness can get me to heaven. I can't get me there. I need a Rescuer, and Jesus, you are my Rescuer beginning today. I pin all my hopes on you."
Let me ask you, let me urge you, to go to our website - ANewStory.com. Because right there you will have all the information you will need to confirm that you really belong to Jesus Christ and you are rescued. That's ANewStory.com.
I am a man who owes my life to the Man who brought me out at the highest possible cost to Him. He wants to do that for you. He laid down His life to rescue you. Please don't live – don't die – without Him.
Think about the thief on the cross who repented! We know little about him, but we know this: He made some bad mistakes in his life. But is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made.
You may look back over your life and say, “If only. . .if only I could make up for those bad choices.” You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.
How could two thieves see the same Jesus and one choose to mock him and the other choose to pray to him? When one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him. He allowed him the choice. He does the same for you.
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 137
1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers
we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
remembering the good old days in Zion.
Alongside the quaking aspens
we stacked our unplayed harps;
That’s where our captors demanded songs,
sarcastic and mocking:
“Sing us a happy Zion song!”
4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song
in this wasteland?
If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
Let my tongue swell and turn black
if I fail to remember you,
If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
to honor you as my greatest.
7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
That day they yelled out,
“Wreck it, smash it to bits!”
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
A reward to whoever gets back at you
for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
and smashes their heads on the rocks!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Read: Luke 23:32–34
Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.
33 When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
34-35 Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, “He saved others. Let’s see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!”
INSIGHT:
In the first century, the common attire for a Jewish man included five pieces of clothing—shoes, turban, belt, loincloth, and outer tunic. After crucifying Jesus, the soldiers divided the Savior’s garments as their spoils for performing the task. After each took a portion of clothing, one remained—the tunic. This infers that even the loincloth was taken—and Jesus’s last shred of human dignity with it.
In a heartbreaking fulfillment of David’s messianic song, they stripped Jesus naked and then gambled for the tunic. In Psalm 22:17–18, where crucifixion was prophetically described some 600 years before it was invented, David said it would be so: “All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” The soldiers gambled for all they could get, unaware of the fact that mere feet away Christ was freely forgiving and giving all He had out of love for them.
Why Forgive?
By Amy Boucher Pye
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34
When a friend betrayed me, I knew I would need to forgive her, but I wasn’t sure that I could. Her words pierced deeply inside me, and I felt stunned with pain and anger. Although we talked about it and I told her I forgave her, for a long time whenever I’d see her I felt tinges of hurt, so I knew I still clung to some resentment. One day, however, God answered my prayers and gave me the ability to let go completely. I was finally free.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith, with our Savior extending forgiveness even when He was dying on the cross. Jesus loved those who had nailed Him there, uttering a prayer asking His Father to forgive them. He didn’t hang on to bitterness or anger, but showed grace and love to those who had wronged Him.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
This is a fitting time to consider before the Lord any people we might need to forgive as we follow Jesus’s example in extending His love to those who hurt us. When we ask God through His Spirit to help us forgive, He will come to our aid—even if we take what we think is a long time to forgive. When we do, we are freed from the prison of unforgiveness.
Lord Jesus Christ, through Your grace and power as You dwell in me, help me to forgive, that Your love will set me free.
Read more about forgiveness at discoveryseries.org/hp071.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Complete and Effective Divinity
If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection… —Romans 6:5
Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life must now be built on the foundation of His life. I can have the resurrection life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness.
The idea all through the apostle Paul’s writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God— His complete and effective divinity— to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house— He invades all of it. And once I decide that my “old man” (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am actually “dead indeed to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time (Romans 6:11). Just as there is only one kind of humanity, there is only one kind of holiness— the holiness of Jesus. And it is His holiness that has been given to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new spiritual order.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Your Only Hope Of Making It Out - #7892
My friend, Nathan, was on the 61st floor of Tower Two that September day when a hijacked jetliner flew into the World Trade Center. I interviewed him for a broadcast, and I was pretty deeply moved by the story Nathan told. He was coming out of the restroom when he remembers seeing a piece of burning paper floating by the window. That was his first hint of the horror that was to follow. As people began to realize they might be in danger, they did what my friend did – they headed for the stairwell. Nathan's account took me right into those stairwells, ultimately jammed with screaming people, through the terror of first the smoke starting to fill the stairwell and then finally the quake when a plane hit their building.
Our friend finally made it to the soot-covered lobby, and that's where he saw the faces he said he would never forget. He told me, "I started seeing some of the rescue workers for the first time heading toward the stairwells and directing us out. You can still remember the looks on some of those faces. They were looking just as scared as I was, I'm sure. They're some of the people that helped save my life, and they never made it out themselves."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Only Hope Of Making It Out."
My friend told me he'll be forever grateful to those rescuers who gave their lives so people like him didn't have to. He literally owes his life to them.
I wasn't at the World Trade Center that awful day. But I understand a little of how my friend feels about those rescuers because I know someone who gave His life so I don't have to die. I owe my life to Him. He's the Son of God. His name is Jesus. He rescued me. He wants to rescue you if you'll let Him.
Just before Jesus' arrival on earth, his earthly father, Joseph, was given instructions from heaven about this baby who would soon be born. In it – even before the Son of God spent His first day as one of us – His rescue mission was announced. It's in our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 1:21 says, "You are to give Him the name Jesus, (that means deliverer or rescuer) because He will save His people from their sins." Save. That's what those courageous rescuers did for my friend. They saved him from a deadly situation he could not get himself out of.
That's what Jesus came to do for you and me. Our deadly situation isn't a burning or a collapsing building; it's the eternal death penalty that the Bible says is what our sin will cost. We have hijacked the control of our life from the eternal God who made us and that has eternal deadly consequences – eternal separation from God. But God loves you more than you can imagine. That's why He sent His one and only Son into our "collapsing building", up the stairwell to rescue us. And Jesus' death on that cross was the moment when He was taking the hell that you and I deserve. He was dying so you don't have to.
Today, Jesus has come to where you are to bring you out. But He's your personal Rescuer only if you personally reach out and grab His hand as your only hope of getting out. See, for each of us, there comes a moment when it will be too late to grab the Rescuer's hand. Right now – today – you still can, and I pray you will.
As you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, I have no hope of getting out from under the penalty of my sin but what You did on the cross to take it for me. No religion can get me to heaven. No amount of goodness can get me to heaven. I can't get me there. I need a Rescuer, and Jesus, you are my Rescuer beginning today. I pin all my hopes on you."
Let me ask you, let me urge you, to go to our website - ANewStory.com. Because right there you will have all the information you will need to confirm that you really belong to Jesus Christ and you are rescued. That's ANewStory.com.
I am a man who owes my life to the Man who brought me out at the highest possible cost to Him. He wants to do that for you. He laid down His life to rescue you. Please don't live – don't die – without Him.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Daniel 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WE HAVE A CHOICE
In so many areas of life we have no choice. “It’s not fair,” we say. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire.
Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next. Wouldn’t you agree? It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. It would’ve been nice, but it didn’t happen. When it came to many details of your life on earth, you weren’t given a choice, a voice, or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, you were! In my book that seems like a good deal. Wouldn’t you agree?
From He Chose the Nails
Daniel 12
The Worst Trouble the World Has Ever Seen
1-2 “‘That’s when Michael, the great angel-prince, champion of your people, will step in. It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.
3 “‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.
4 “‘This is a confidential report, Daniel, for your eyes and ears only. Keep it secret. Put the book under lock and key until the end. In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what’s going on.’
5-6 “As I, Daniel, took all this in, two figures appeared, one standing on this bank of the river and one on the other bank. One of them asked a third man who was dressed in linen and who straddled the river, ‘How long is this astonishing story to go on?’
7 “The man dressed in linen, who straddled the river, raised both hands to the skies. I heard him solemnly swear by the Eternal One that it would be a time, two times, and half a time, that when the oppressor of the holy people was brought down the story would be complete.
8 “I heard all this plainly enough, but I didn’t understand it. So I asked, ‘Master, can you explain this to me?’
9-10 “‘Go on about your business, Daniel,’ he said. ‘The message is confidential and under lock and key until the end, until things are about to be wrapped up. The populace will be washed clean and made like new. But the wicked will just keep on being wicked, without a clue about what is happening. Those who live wisely and well will understand what’s going on.’
11 “From the time that the daily worship is banished from the Temple and the obscene desecration is set up in its place, there will be 1,290 days.
12 “Blessed are those who patiently make it through the 1,335 days.
13 “And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 10, 2017
Read: Hebrews 10:19–23
Don’t Throw It All Away
19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
INSIGHT:
Do you ever wonder whether Jesus knows too much about you to stand up for you the way your best friend would? If such a question gives us pause, could the problem be that we know ourselves too well?
The letter to the Hebrews was an open letter to first-century Jewish readers raised under a system of law and sacrifice that taught them to know their own heart—and to acknowledge their personal wrongs. This letter reminded them that God knew their hearts well enough to see their inclination to slide back into their old religious ways of trying to resolve their sense of sin, shame, and guilty conscience.
So over and over this letter reminds its first readers, and us, of what the Son of God suffered once and for all for all of our sin. Showing His willingness to bear the worst we could do to Him, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Then to a repentant criminal dying at His side, He said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43).
It was one intervention and one sacrifice—for all of us—and for all of our sin.
Our Best Friend
By James Banks
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
When I was twelve years old our family moved to a town in the desert. After gym classes in the hot air at my new school, we rushed for the drinking fountain. Being skinny and young for my grade, I sometimes got pushed out of the way while waiting in line. One day my friend Jose, who was big and strong for his age, saw this happening. He stepped in and stuck out a strong arm to clear my way. “Hey!” he exclaimed, “You let Banks get a drink first!” I never had trouble at the drinking fountain again.
Jesus understood what it was like to face the ultimate unkindness of others. The Bible tells us, “He was despised and rejected by mankind” (Isa. 53:3). But Jesus was not just a victim of suffering, He also became our advocate. By giving His life, Jesus opened a “new and living way” for us to enter into a relationship with God (Heb. 10:20). He did for us what we could never do for ourselves, offering us the free gift of salvation when we repent of our sins and trust in Him.
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. He said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). Others may hold us at arm’s length or even push us away, but God has opened His arms to us through the cross. How strong is our Savior!
Love’s redeeming work is done, fought the fight, the battle won. Death in vain forbids him rise; Christ has opened paradise. Charles Wesley
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 10, 2017
Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
…our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. —Romans 6:6
Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin—that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you– not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified— just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.
Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, “Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me.” Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.
This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.
Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 10, 2017
Wherever He Goes - #7891
It was another crazy day in my life of crazy days. I was speaking in downtown Philadelphia early in the morning and then out in the suburbs later in the morning. The Billy Graham team members had organized all this and they arranged for the committee chairman to lead us from one meeting to another. The only way we could make both meetings was to race out of Meeting 1 and take the fastest possible route to Meeting 2. Well, we got behind the chairman and began what turned out to be a modern version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. This guy really knew how to get around that city! There was only one hope of getting to our goal, believe me. We just had to stay really close to the guy who was leading us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wherever He Goes."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 23. There's a sentence here that just reached out of my Bible and grabbed my heart. It's buried in the story of young King Joash coming to power in ancient Judah. His father the king had died, and the king's mother made her move to get the throne. She destroyed the entire royal family of Judah - except for one. Another family member had rescued the baby of the family, Joash, and hid him away for years.
A godly high priest organized a revolt against the queen, because the wrong person was on the throne. And he gathered a force to surround Joash until they could eliminate the queen and put the rightful ruler on the throne. That's the context for this order to the men who were surrounding the rightful king. And, in a way, it's an order for all of us who call ourselves followers of King Jesus...the rightful King.. Second Chronicles 23:7 says, "Stay close to the King wherever He goes."
We live in a world where an evil pretender is running things. But we serve the rightful King, Jesus Christ, King of all kings. And our King will prevail. And what are our orders as His followers? To go wherever He goes. Not to go where we want to go just to ask the King to go there with us. No.
It's like that day when we were following our leader to our destination across the city. We didn't pick the route that looked best to us. In fact, we were totally open to whatever our leader wanted to do; to go wherever he went. Our plans and our preferences didn't matter. We were totally neutral about what route we took. Our job was to see where our leader was going, get behind him, and go there.
That is exactly what it means to be a follower of Jesus. His fundamental command is, "Follow Me." If you tend to be a rigid person, an independent person, a person with a mind of your own, or a control freak, well, you'll tend to have a strong agenda of your own. And you'll have a hard time submitting to Jesus' leadership, relaxing in His leadership. You need to begin each new day saying, "Lord, show me where You're going, and I'll get behind You and go there."
You need to know where the King is going with your career, with your business, with your son or daughter, with your husband or wife. Where's the King going with your ministry, with your future, with each decision you make? This is the great adventure of following Jesus. Yes, you make plans, always seeking where He is going. Yes, you organize. But you stand ready to change direction at any time because your King doesn't stand still. His leadership is like that man we were following through Philadelphia - it's dynamic, not static. Often surprising and often not predictable.
But our only hope of reaching our destination that day was to stay real close to the one who knew where we were going. And that's your hope of living as you were born to live. You cannot afford a day away from your King, a glance away from your Leader. What matters most in your life as a Jesus-follower is staying close to Him.
You serve the rightful King. And your mission is clear. Stay close to the King wherever He goes.
In so many areas of life we have no choice. “It’s not fair,” we say. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire.
Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next. Wouldn’t you agree? It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. It would’ve been nice, but it didn’t happen. When it came to many details of your life on earth, you weren’t given a choice, a voice, or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, you were! In my book that seems like a good deal. Wouldn’t you agree?
From He Chose the Nails
Daniel 12
The Worst Trouble the World Has Ever Seen
1-2 “‘That’s when Michael, the great angel-prince, champion of your people, will step in. It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.
3 “‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.
4 “‘This is a confidential report, Daniel, for your eyes and ears only. Keep it secret. Put the book under lock and key until the end. In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what’s going on.’
5-6 “As I, Daniel, took all this in, two figures appeared, one standing on this bank of the river and one on the other bank. One of them asked a third man who was dressed in linen and who straddled the river, ‘How long is this astonishing story to go on?’
7 “The man dressed in linen, who straddled the river, raised both hands to the skies. I heard him solemnly swear by the Eternal One that it would be a time, two times, and half a time, that when the oppressor of the holy people was brought down the story would be complete.
8 “I heard all this plainly enough, but I didn’t understand it. So I asked, ‘Master, can you explain this to me?’
9-10 “‘Go on about your business, Daniel,’ he said. ‘The message is confidential and under lock and key until the end, until things are about to be wrapped up. The populace will be washed clean and made like new. But the wicked will just keep on being wicked, without a clue about what is happening. Those who live wisely and well will understand what’s going on.’
11 “From the time that the daily worship is banished from the Temple and the obscene desecration is set up in its place, there will be 1,290 days.
12 “Blessed are those who patiently make it through the 1,335 days.
13 “And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, April 10, 2017
Read: Hebrews 10:19–23
Don’t Throw It All Away
19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
INSIGHT:
Do you ever wonder whether Jesus knows too much about you to stand up for you the way your best friend would? If such a question gives us pause, could the problem be that we know ourselves too well?
The letter to the Hebrews was an open letter to first-century Jewish readers raised under a system of law and sacrifice that taught them to know their own heart—and to acknowledge their personal wrongs. This letter reminded them that God knew their hearts well enough to see their inclination to slide back into their old religious ways of trying to resolve their sense of sin, shame, and guilty conscience.
So over and over this letter reminds its first readers, and us, of what the Son of God suffered once and for all for all of our sin. Showing His willingness to bear the worst we could do to Him, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Then to a repentant criminal dying at His side, He said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43).
It was one intervention and one sacrifice—for all of us—and for all of our sin.
Our Best Friend
By James Banks
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
When I was twelve years old our family moved to a town in the desert. After gym classes in the hot air at my new school, we rushed for the drinking fountain. Being skinny and young for my grade, I sometimes got pushed out of the way while waiting in line. One day my friend Jose, who was big and strong for his age, saw this happening. He stepped in and stuck out a strong arm to clear my way. “Hey!” he exclaimed, “You let Banks get a drink first!” I never had trouble at the drinking fountain again.
Jesus understood what it was like to face the ultimate unkindness of others. The Bible tells us, “He was despised and rejected by mankind” (Isa. 53:3). But Jesus was not just a victim of suffering, He also became our advocate. By giving His life, Jesus opened a “new and living way” for us to enter into a relationship with God (Heb. 10:20). He did for us what we could never do for ourselves, offering us the free gift of salvation when we repent of our sins and trust in Him.
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. He said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). Others may hold us at arm’s length or even push us away, but God has opened His arms to us through the cross. How strong is our Savior!
Love’s redeeming work is done, fought the fight, the battle won. Death in vain forbids him rise; Christ has opened paradise. Charles Wesley
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 10, 2017
Complete and Effective Decision About Sin
…our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. —Romans 6:6
Co-Crucifixion. Have you made the following decision about sin—that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you– not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified— just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be mentally and spiritually convinced, but what we need to do is actually make the decision that Paul urged us to do in this passage.
Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important decision, saying, “Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that sin is dead in me.” Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.
This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.
Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is His life? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 10, 2017
Wherever He Goes - #7891
It was another crazy day in my life of crazy days. I was speaking in downtown Philadelphia early in the morning and then out in the suburbs later in the morning. The Billy Graham team members had organized all this and they arranged for the committee chairman to lead us from one meeting to another. The only way we could make both meetings was to race out of Meeting 1 and take the fastest possible route to Meeting 2. Well, we got behind the chairman and began what turned out to be a modern version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. This guy really knew how to get around that city! There was only one hope of getting to our goal, believe me. We just had to stay really close to the guy who was leading us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wherever He Goes."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 23. There's a sentence here that just reached out of my Bible and grabbed my heart. It's buried in the story of young King Joash coming to power in ancient Judah. His father the king had died, and the king's mother made her move to get the throne. She destroyed the entire royal family of Judah - except for one. Another family member had rescued the baby of the family, Joash, and hid him away for years.
A godly high priest organized a revolt against the queen, because the wrong person was on the throne. And he gathered a force to surround Joash until they could eliminate the queen and put the rightful ruler on the throne. That's the context for this order to the men who were surrounding the rightful king. And, in a way, it's an order for all of us who call ourselves followers of King Jesus...the rightful King.. Second Chronicles 23:7 says, "Stay close to the King wherever He goes."
We live in a world where an evil pretender is running things. But we serve the rightful King, Jesus Christ, King of all kings. And our King will prevail. And what are our orders as His followers? To go wherever He goes. Not to go where we want to go just to ask the King to go there with us. No.
It's like that day when we were following our leader to our destination across the city. We didn't pick the route that looked best to us. In fact, we were totally open to whatever our leader wanted to do; to go wherever he went. Our plans and our preferences didn't matter. We were totally neutral about what route we took. Our job was to see where our leader was going, get behind him, and go there.
That is exactly what it means to be a follower of Jesus. His fundamental command is, "Follow Me." If you tend to be a rigid person, an independent person, a person with a mind of your own, or a control freak, well, you'll tend to have a strong agenda of your own. And you'll have a hard time submitting to Jesus' leadership, relaxing in His leadership. You need to begin each new day saying, "Lord, show me where You're going, and I'll get behind You and go there."
You need to know where the King is going with your career, with your business, with your son or daughter, with your husband or wife. Where's the King going with your ministry, with your future, with each decision you make? This is the great adventure of following Jesus. Yes, you make plans, always seeking where He is going. Yes, you organize. But you stand ready to change direction at any time because your King doesn't stand still. His leadership is like that man we were following through Philadelphia - it's dynamic, not static. Often surprising and often not predictable.
But our only hope of reaching our destination that day was to stay real close to the one who knew where we were going. And that's your hope of living as you were born to live. You cannot afford a day away from your King, a glance away from your Leader. What matters most in your life as a Jesus-follower is staying close to Him.
You serve the rightful King. And your mission is clear. Stay close to the King wherever He goes.
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