Max Lucado Daily: DEALING WITH DIFFICULT RELATIVES
Odds are, you probably have a difficult relative—someone you can’t talk to and can’t walk away from. Did you know Jesus had a difficult family? In fact, they were embarrassed by him. Mark 3:21 tells us, “His family went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind.”
Notice that Jesus didn’t try to control his family’s behavior, nor did he let their behavior control his. As long as you think you can control people’s behavior toward you, you are held in bondage by their opinions.
Let God give you what your family doesn’t. We know that God affirmed Jesus as “my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.” Jesus gave his relatives space, time, and grace. And because he did, they changed. One brother became an apostle, and others became missionaries. So don’t lose heart. God still changes families.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 25
A David Psalm
25 1-2 My head is high, God, held high;
I’m looking to you, God;
No hangdog skulking for me.
3 I’ve thrown in my lot with you;
You won’t embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?
Don’t embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.
4 Show me how you work, God;
School me in your ways.
5 Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?
6 Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!
7 Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, God!
8 God is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.
9 He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.
10 From now on every road you travel
Will take you to God.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.
11 Keep up your reputation, God;
Forgive my bad life;
It’s been a very bad life.
12 My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.
13 They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.
14 God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
15 If I keep my eyes on God,
I won’t trip over my own feet.
16 Look at me and help me!
I’m all alone and in big trouble.
17 My heart and kidneys are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.
18 Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.
19 Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?
20 Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don’t let me down when I run to you.
21 Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.
22 God, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Mark 10:17-31
As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18-19 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20 He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!”
21 Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22 The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
23-25 Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
26 That set the disciples back on their heels. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked.
27 Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”
28 Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.”
29-31 Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first.”
Insight
The Old Testament law contains no commandment to sell all our possessions, yet Jesus told the rich young man to do exactly that. Why? Would that save him? No! Jesus uncovered the man’s true love—wealth. The law is powerless to change our hearts; it can only condemn us. Jesus fulfilled the law, accomplishing what we cannot (Mark 10:27). By: Tim Gustafson
Return on Investment
We have left everything to follow you! Mark 10:28
In 1995 US stock market investors received record-high returns—on average, a whopping 37.6 percent return on their dollars. Then in 2008 investors lost almost exactly as much: a negative 37.0 percent. The years between had varying returns, causing those with money in the market to wonder—sometimes with fear—what would become of their investment.
Jesus assured His followers they would have an incredible return on investing their lives in Him. They “left everything to follow [Him]”—leaving their homes, jobs, status, and families to put their lives on deposit (v. 28). But they grew concerned that their investment might not pay off after watching a wealthy man struggle with the grip worldly goods had on him. Jesus replied, however, that anyone willing to sacrifice for Him would “receive a hundred times as much in this present age . . . and in the age to come eternal life” (v. 30). That’s a far better outcome than any stock market could ever match.
We don’t have to be concerned about the “interest rate” on our spiritual investment—with God, it’s an unmatched certainty. With money, our aim is to maximize the financial gain from our investment. With God, what we get back isn’t measured in dollars and cents, but in the joy that comes from knowing Him now and forever—and sharing that joy with others! By Kirsten Holmberg
Today's Reflection
What can you “invest” in God today—including your time, talents, or treasure? How have you experienced joy in your relationship with Jesus?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
Taking the Next Step
…in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4
When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.
Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
Running Out of Ammo - #8388
For many years, it was an inspiring book. Then it became a hit Broadway musical. Then it's been made into a movie several times. The story is Victor Hugo's classic, Lés Misérables. One of the many dramas in the book portrays the efforts of this group of valiant young men and women to fight to free their fellow Frenchmen from a tyrannical government. They make their stand against a massive French army at a makeshift wall they have constructed. They call it the "barricade of freedom." They fight bravely, but their cause is threatened by a major problem that develops. They begin to run out of ammunition. Well, this one little boy realizes that their fight for freedom can only continue if they can find more ammunition. So, he risks his own life to crawl across the battle zone, picking up bullets from wounded and dying French soldiers. Because you can't win the battle when you're running out of bullets.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Running Out of Ammo."
Right now, there's an ammunition shortage in the most decisive battle of all - that would be the battle for human souls, the battle for human lives. It began at the cross where Jesus died to make eternal life possible. It moved out across the planet at Jesus' command and in the power of His resurrection, and it continues this very day in cities and towns across this country and in every country of the world. It is a fight to liberate people Jesus died for from the penalty and the power of their sin, from an unspeakable eternity, and from Satan's chains.
But on so many fronts in the battle, Jesus' forces are running out of bullets. In many places God's soldiers are beating back the enemy, taking prisoners from the enemy and pushing back the darkness. But they're running short of bullets. The money just isn't there to keep pressing the battle.
All those letters and appeals you get asking for money for ministry - they're about a lot more than money. For ministries that are really making a difference, it's all about ammunition to keep fighting the battle for lives. But something's gone wrong. It can't be that God isn't giving the money to people through whom He wants to meet these needs. It must be that some of us are sitting on the ammunition instead of sending it to the front lines. And when we lose one of these battles, it's lives we lose - maybe forever.
Our word for today from the Word of God lays out how the supply line for God's army is supposed to work. And thinking of the economic battles and struggles and sometimes the downturns of our time, it seems particularly relevant to go back to those Macedonian believers that Paul cited as an example for all of us. Here's what Paul says, "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity...they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability" (2 Corinthians 8:2-3).
It was sacrificial giving so the believers in Jerusalem would have the ammunition they needed to fight their battles. Why? It goes on to say, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus impoverished Himself to make us rich, and He's the Son of God. So, how can we hang onto what He's given us so we can stay in our comfort zone? The battle for a lost and dying world is every believer's battle, not just the battle for a few spiritual daredevils who take all the risks, exercise all the faith, and make all the sacrifices.
For those who are fighting on the front lines, it's our responsibility to make every bullet count, to stay on mission, to always take the high road of integrity, and put our faith in Jehovah Jireh, not in our contributors. And for every one of us, we need to hear the cries from the front lines, "We're winning, but we're running out of ammunition!" Listen, while there time, let's throw everything we can into this battle for which Jesus gave everything He had!
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Psalm 24, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: DON’T MISS THE PARTY
Perhaps the best-known of Jesus’ parables is found in the fifteenth chapter of Luke—the story of the lost son. It’s also the case of the elder brother. While his brother sowed wild oats, he stayed home and sowed the crops. But when the rebellious son returned, the father threw a party! And the elder son sat outside and pouted.
Bitterness is its own prison. You can choose to chain yourself to your hurt. Or you put away your hurts and go to the party. How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that you still have your relationship with God. No one can take that. We are wise if we rise above our hurts. For if we do, we’ll be present at the Father’s final celebration. A party where no pouters will be present.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 24
A David Psalm
24 1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.
3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
women who won’t seduce.
5-6 God is at their side;
with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.
7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
8 Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.
9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
10 Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Acts 1:15-26
During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, “Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.
18-20 “As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end, rupturing his belly and spilling his guts. Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It’s exactly what we find written in the Psalms:
Let his farm become haunted
So no one can ever live there.
“And also what was written later:
Let someone else take over his post.
21-22 “Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection.”
23-26 They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way.” They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.
Insight
In Acts 1:15–26, Matthias is selected to replace Judas’s position in the Twelve—symbolically pointing to God’s restoration of His people into a “new Israel” ( Luke 22:30). Although the Psalms alluded to (69:25 and 109:8) originally referred to David’s enemies, Peter saw a deeper meaning—the ultimate betrayal by Judas. Still, Peter’s own betrayal and restoration couldn’t have been far from his mind. Matthias’s name (“gift of God”) points to grace even deeper than the gravest sin. By: Monica Brands
When You’re Not Chosen
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. Acts 1:26
My friend’s Facebook post announced he had finished a project. Others congratulated him, but his post knifed my heart. That project was supposed to be mine. I had been passed over, and I wasn’t sure why.
Poor Joseph. He was passed over by God, and he knew why. Joseph was one of two men in the running to replace Judas. The disciples prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen” (Acts 1:24). God chose the other guy. Then He announced His decision to the group, when “the lot fell to Matthias” (v. 26).
As the disciples congratulated Matthias, I wonder about Joseph. How did he handle his rejection? Did he feel jilted, wallow in self-pity, and distance himself from the others? Or did he trust God and cheerfully remain in a supportive role?
I know which option is best. And I know which option I’d want to take. How embarrassing! If you don’t want me, fine. Let’s see how you do without me. That choice might feel better, but only because it’s selfish.
Joseph isn’t mentioned again in Scripture, so we don’t know how he reacted. More relevant is how we respond when we’re not chosen. May we remember that Jesus’s kingdom matters more than our success, and may we joyfully serve in whatever role He selects. By Mike Wittmer
Today's Reflection
How do you feel when you’re not chosen or are left out? How could your attitude be hindering you from seeing God’s direction for your life?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Is He Really My Lord?
…so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus… —Acts 20:24
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
“Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
The High Price of a Little Ice - #8387
Some years ago, during a trip to Alaska to reach young Native Alaskans, I spent a lot of time in those little missionary aircraft. It's the only way to get to villages that are like 400 miles from the nearest road! One day when the weather wasn't much fun, our pilot asked me to keep an eye on the wing on my side. He said, "Let me know if you see any icing." Of course, I hear icing, I think of a birthday cake, right? But a pilot hears icing, and he thinks danger in the air. Amazingly, a little ice on the wings can add just enough weight to endanger the whole plane. It interrupts the airflow somehow that keeps the plane airborne, and the plane will start losing altitude. So that day over Alaska, I really kept my eyes open for ice!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Price of a Little Ice."
Now, it doesn't take much ice on the wings to cause an airplane to start losing altitude. It doesn't take much ice in your soul to cause you to start losing altitude - to start going down spiritually.
Our word for today from the Word of God addresses some of the attitudes and the reactions that start an ice buildup in your heart. Let's begin in Ephesians 4:26. Paul says, "In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."
A little anger accumulating in your heart; hard feelings that aren't immediately confronted and resolved. Hey, how dangerous can that be? About as dangerous to your relationship with God and with that other person as a little ice on an airplane's wings. Listen to what God says about it. "And do not give the devil a foothold." Woah! Unresolved anger, even for a day, literally gives the devil a wide open door to bring you down!
Then God tells us to take radical action against other destructive feelings. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." In other words, God says get rid of it! Attack it - the resentment you've allowed to build up inside you, the jealousy, the unforgiveness, the anger.
God knows you can't remove the ice in your soul without replacing it with something warm. So He tells you to treat the people who have angered or aggravated or hurt you exactly the opposite of the way you feel like treating them. He says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."
See, those last few words are the key, and they basically do in any excuse I've got. You make a conscious decision to remove the walls and treat that person, not as they've treated you, but as Jesus has treated you. And how was that? Undeserved grace. Undeserved forgiveness.
Until you reach out to God for the grace to forgive that person, to treat them with compassion, kindness, and gentleness - you'll keep going down. And ultimately the weight of that ice in your soul will make you crash in your relationship with God and in your relationships with other people who weren't even involved in what hurt you in the first place.
Be as vigilant about that ice in your soul as a pilot is about ice on the wings. And do not let it build up for even a day! If you do, it can ultimately bring down a relationship, a marriage, a family, a church, a ministry. It will bring down your walk with God, and that's a very high price to pay for a little ice!
Perhaps the best-known of Jesus’ parables is found in the fifteenth chapter of Luke—the story of the lost son. It’s also the case of the elder brother. While his brother sowed wild oats, he stayed home and sowed the crops. But when the rebellious son returned, the father threw a party! And the elder son sat outside and pouted.
Bitterness is its own prison. You can choose to chain yourself to your hurt. Or you put away your hurts and go to the party. How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that you still have your relationship with God. No one can take that. We are wise if we rise above our hurts. For if we do, we’ll be present at the Father’s final celebration. A party where no pouters will be present.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 24
A David Psalm
24 1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.
3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
women who won’t seduce.
5-6 God is at their side;
with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.
7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
8 Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.
9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
10 Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Acts 1:15-26
During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, “Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.
18-20 “As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end, rupturing his belly and spilling his guts. Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It’s exactly what we find written in the Psalms:
Let his farm become haunted
So no one can ever live there.
“And also what was written later:
Let someone else take over his post.
21-22 “Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection.”
23-26 They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way.” They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.
Insight
In Acts 1:15–26, Matthias is selected to replace Judas’s position in the Twelve—symbolically pointing to God’s restoration of His people into a “new Israel” ( Luke 22:30). Although the Psalms alluded to (69:25 and 109:8) originally referred to David’s enemies, Peter saw a deeper meaning—the ultimate betrayal by Judas. Still, Peter’s own betrayal and restoration couldn’t have been far from his mind. Matthias’s name (“gift of God”) points to grace even deeper than the gravest sin. By: Monica Brands
When You’re Not Chosen
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. Acts 1:26
My friend’s Facebook post announced he had finished a project. Others congratulated him, but his post knifed my heart. That project was supposed to be mine. I had been passed over, and I wasn’t sure why.
Poor Joseph. He was passed over by God, and he knew why. Joseph was one of two men in the running to replace Judas. The disciples prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen” (Acts 1:24). God chose the other guy. Then He announced His decision to the group, when “the lot fell to Matthias” (v. 26).
As the disciples congratulated Matthias, I wonder about Joseph. How did he handle his rejection? Did he feel jilted, wallow in self-pity, and distance himself from the others? Or did he trust God and cheerfully remain in a supportive role?
I know which option is best. And I know which option I’d want to take. How embarrassing! If you don’t want me, fine. Let’s see how you do without me. That choice might feel better, but only because it’s selfish.
Joseph isn’t mentioned again in Scripture, so we don’t know how he reacted. More relevant is how we respond when we’re not chosen. May we remember that Jesus’s kingdom matters more than our success, and may we joyfully serve in whatever role He selects. By Mike Wittmer
Today's Reflection
How do you feel when you’re not chosen or are left out? How could your attitude be hindering you from seeing God’s direction for your life?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Is He Really My Lord?
…so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus… —Acts 20:24
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
“Do you love Me?” Then, “Feed My sheep” (John 21:17). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us, our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” My Utmost for His Highest, April 23, 773 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
The High Price of a Little Ice - #8387
Some years ago, during a trip to Alaska to reach young Native Alaskans, I spent a lot of time in those little missionary aircraft. It's the only way to get to villages that are like 400 miles from the nearest road! One day when the weather wasn't much fun, our pilot asked me to keep an eye on the wing on my side. He said, "Let me know if you see any icing." Of course, I hear icing, I think of a birthday cake, right? But a pilot hears icing, and he thinks danger in the air. Amazingly, a little ice on the wings can add just enough weight to endanger the whole plane. It interrupts the airflow somehow that keeps the plane airborne, and the plane will start losing altitude. So that day over Alaska, I really kept my eyes open for ice!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The High Price of a Little Ice."
Now, it doesn't take much ice on the wings to cause an airplane to start losing altitude. It doesn't take much ice in your soul to cause you to start losing altitude - to start going down spiritually.
Our word for today from the Word of God addresses some of the attitudes and the reactions that start an ice buildup in your heart. Let's begin in Ephesians 4:26. Paul says, "In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."
A little anger accumulating in your heart; hard feelings that aren't immediately confronted and resolved. Hey, how dangerous can that be? About as dangerous to your relationship with God and with that other person as a little ice on an airplane's wings. Listen to what God says about it. "And do not give the devil a foothold." Woah! Unresolved anger, even for a day, literally gives the devil a wide open door to bring you down!
Then God tells us to take radical action against other destructive feelings. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." In other words, God says get rid of it! Attack it - the resentment you've allowed to build up inside you, the jealousy, the unforgiveness, the anger.
God knows you can't remove the ice in your soul without replacing it with something warm. So He tells you to treat the people who have angered or aggravated or hurt you exactly the opposite of the way you feel like treating them. He says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."
See, those last few words are the key, and they basically do in any excuse I've got. You make a conscious decision to remove the walls and treat that person, not as they've treated you, but as Jesus has treated you. And how was that? Undeserved grace. Undeserved forgiveness.
Until you reach out to God for the grace to forgive that person, to treat them with compassion, kindness, and gentleness - you'll keep going down. And ultimately the weight of that ice in your soul will make you crash in your relationship with God and in your relationships with other people who weren't even involved in what hurt you in the first place.
Be as vigilant about that ice in your soul as a pilot is about ice on the wings. And do not let it build up for even a day! If you do, it can ultimately bring down a relationship, a marriage, a family, a church, a ministry. It will bring down your walk with God, and that's a very high price to pay for a little ice!
Monday, March 4, 2019
John 10:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: JESUS MESSAGE IS NOT GUILTY!
Whether private or public, shame is always painful. And unless you deal with it, it is permanent. The eighth chapter of John tells us about a woman caught in the act of adultery. It was really a trap to snag Jesus. The woman was only the bait in the Pharisees’ game. Jesus responded by writing in the sand and saying, “Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.” Finally, Jesus and the woman are left alone and he said to her, “I also don’t judge you guilty.”
If you’ve ever wondered how God reacts when you fail, read these words and let them wash over your soul. Jesus left a message—not in the sand, but on a cross. Not with his hand, but with his blood. His message has two words– Not guilty.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
John 10:1-21
“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”
6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.
14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”
19-21 This kind of talk caused another split in the Jewish ranks. A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac—out of his head completely. Why bother listening to him?” But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
Insight
A set of three events illustrates the fast-paced, powerful nature of Jesus’s ministry and the emotional roller coaster it must have been for the disciples. First is the recounting of John the Baptist’s death, culminating with John’s disciples reporting his death to Jesus (Matthew 14:1–12). This is followed by the miraculous feeding of 5,000 men, plus women and children (vv. 13–21). After this miracle, Jesus sends the disciples away by boat (vv. 22–33), joining them later that night by walking to them on the stormy Galilee. This appearance prompts His men to worship Him as “the Son of God” (v. 33). By: Bill Crowder
Right There with Us
“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. Matthew 14:17
She was completely focused on the top shelf, where the glass jars of spaghetti sauce sat. I’d been standing beside her in the grocery aisle for a minute or two eyeing that same shelf, trying to decide. But she seemed oblivious to my presence, lost in her own predicament. Now I have no problem with top shelves because I’m a fairly tall man. She, on the other hand, was not tall, not at all. I spoke up and offered to help. Startled, she said, “Goodness, I didn’t even see you standing there. Yes, please help me.”
The disciples had quite the situation on their hands—hungry crowds, a remote place, and time slipping away—“It’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food” (Matthew 14:15). When challenged by Jesus to take care of the people themselves, they responded, “We have here only . . .” (v. 17). All they seemed to be aware of was their lack. Yet standing right beside them was Jesus, not just the multiplier of bread but the Bread of Life Himself.
We can get so wrapped up in our challenges and trying to figure them out for ourselves with our often-limited perspective that we miss the abiding presence of the risen Christ. From remote hillsides to grocery store aisles and everywhere else in between, He’s Immanuel—God right there with us, an ever-present help in trouble. By John Blase
Today's Reflection
How can you increase your awareness of Jesus’s presence? Why is it vital for us to gain His perspective in what we’re facing?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 04, 2019
Is This True of Me?
None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself… —Acts 20:24
It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.
What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 04, 2019
Stranded On This Side of the Rainbow - #8386
So what was the greatest song of the Twentieth Century? That was the question they asked on a major survey that was taken early in the twenty-first century. And the winner: Judy Garland's signature song from The Wizard of Oz believe it or not "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Let me sing that for you...no, I won't - blessed are the merciful. The tragedy is that Judy Garland herself could never seem to get there. She was an international star at the age of 17 and she remains one of the towering entertainers of the last century. But tragically, her search for health and happiness led her down a road of drug addiction, disappointing relationships, psychiatric hospitals, and a physical collapse. She died of a drug overdose in a London hotel. It's just painfully ironic, huh? The voice that tried to take us "over the rainbow" could never make it there herself.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stranded On This Side Of the Rainbow."
"The rainbow" means something a little different to all of us, but it ultimately represents the fulfillment, the worth, the love that we all want to have to fill us up inside. But Judy Garland's inability to ever get what her heart craved is not an isolated exception. You know that. In a sense, maybe you feel stranded on this side of the rainbow.
It isn't for lack of trying. It's just that every achievement has left you feeling hollow afterwards. Every relationship's left you still feeling unexplainably lonely. Every great experience, even spiritual experiences, has left you strangely unsatisfied. In a sense, you've been searching for as long as you can remember, but so far never really finding. The "rainbow" is still beyond your reach. It always will be until you belong to the person who gave you your life in the first place. Every other "rainbow" in our life is a terribly inadequate substitute for a love relationship with the God of the universe.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is talking to a woman who's been looking for the end of her search in relationships with men. You can fill in the blank and you can put in there whatever your "rainbow" has been. Jesus has run into this woman at a well where they were both looking for water, and in John 4:13-14, He says, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again." Just a minute here, that's the problem with every "rainbow," every "well" that we've thought would do it for us. We end up like "thirsty again."
Then Jesus goes on to say, "But whoever drinks the water I give Him, it will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." Jesus is offering to her and to you a spring inside that will never leave you thirsty again, a relationship with Him that will literally give you life here and life forever in heaven. We've cut ourselves off from our source because we've stubbornly lived our way instead of His way. And there would be no hope of belonging to the One we were made for, except that Jesus died on that cross to absorb the death penalty that you and I deserve for hijacking our life from God.
And He's coming to you today to offer you the relationship with Him that will end your search once and for all. He's reaching out to you, but you have to reach back. You have to like grab His hand as your only hope of being forgiven - your only hope of going to heaven. Would you like to belong to this Jesus, who loves you like no one loves you, who has power to walk out of His grave under His own power? Who's got power like that to give? You want to belong to Him from this day on, tell Him that right now where you are, "Jesus, beginning right now I'm yours. I'm pinning all my hopes on you."
Look, you're going to want more information, and it's available right there at our website - ANewStory.com. I want to urge you to go there as soon as you can today. Can you remember that? ANewStory.com. There I think you will find out how you can be sure before this day is over you belong to Jesus Christ.
If you're tired of seeking and you're ready to find, then make this your Jesus-day. He's everything your heart has always looked for and never found...until today.
Whether private or public, shame is always painful. And unless you deal with it, it is permanent. The eighth chapter of John tells us about a woman caught in the act of adultery. It was really a trap to snag Jesus. The woman was only the bait in the Pharisees’ game. Jesus responded by writing in the sand and saying, “Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.” Finally, Jesus and the woman are left alone and he said to her, “I also don’t judge you guilty.”
If you’ve ever wondered how God reacts when you fail, read these words and let them wash over your soul. Jesus left a message—not in the sand, but on a cross. Not with his hand, but with his blood. His message has two words– Not guilty.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
John 10:1-21
“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”
6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.
14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”
19-21 This kind of talk caused another split in the Jewish ranks. A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac—out of his head completely. Why bother listening to him?” But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, March 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
Insight
A set of three events illustrates the fast-paced, powerful nature of Jesus’s ministry and the emotional roller coaster it must have been for the disciples. First is the recounting of John the Baptist’s death, culminating with John’s disciples reporting his death to Jesus (Matthew 14:1–12). This is followed by the miraculous feeding of 5,000 men, plus women and children (vv. 13–21). After this miracle, Jesus sends the disciples away by boat (vv. 22–33), joining them later that night by walking to them on the stormy Galilee. This appearance prompts His men to worship Him as “the Son of God” (v. 33). By: Bill Crowder
Right There with Us
“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. Matthew 14:17
She was completely focused on the top shelf, where the glass jars of spaghetti sauce sat. I’d been standing beside her in the grocery aisle for a minute or two eyeing that same shelf, trying to decide. But she seemed oblivious to my presence, lost in her own predicament. Now I have no problem with top shelves because I’m a fairly tall man. She, on the other hand, was not tall, not at all. I spoke up and offered to help. Startled, she said, “Goodness, I didn’t even see you standing there. Yes, please help me.”
The disciples had quite the situation on their hands—hungry crowds, a remote place, and time slipping away—“It’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food” (Matthew 14:15). When challenged by Jesus to take care of the people themselves, they responded, “We have here only . . .” (v. 17). All they seemed to be aware of was their lack. Yet standing right beside them was Jesus, not just the multiplier of bread but the Bread of Life Himself.
We can get so wrapped up in our challenges and trying to figure them out for ourselves with our often-limited perspective that we miss the abiding presence of the risen Christ. From remote hillsides to grocery store aisles and everywhere else in between, He’s Immanuel—God right there with us, an ever-present help in trouble. By John Blase
Today's Reflection
How can you increase your awareness of Jesus’s presence? Why is it vital for us to gain His perspective in what we’re facing?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 04, 2019
Is This True of Me?
None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself… —Acts 20:24
It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.
What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 04, 2019
Stranded On This Side of the Rainbow - #8386
So what was the greatest song of the Twentieth Century? That was the question they asked on a major survey that was taken early in the twenty-first century. And the winner: Judy Garland's signature song from The Wizard of Oz believe it or not "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Let me sing that for you...no, I won't - blessed are the merciful. The tragedy is that Judy Garland herself could never seem to get there. She was an international star at the age of 17 and she remains one of the towering entertainers of the last century. But tragically, her search for health and happiness led her down a road of drug addiction, disappointing relationships, psychiatric hospitals, and a physical collapse. She died of a drug overdose in a London hotel. It's just painfully ironic, huh? The voice that tried to take us "over the rainbow" could never make it there herself.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stranded On This Side Of the Rainbow."
"The rainbow" means something a little different to all of us, but it ultimately represents the fulfillment, the worth, the love that we all want to have to fill us up inside. But Judy Garland's inability to ever get what her heart craved is not an isolated exception. You know that. In a sense, maybe you feel stranded on this side of the rainbow.
It isn't for lack of trying. It's just that every achievement has left you feeling hollow afterwards. Every relationship's left you still feeling unexplainably lonely. Every great experience, even spiritual experiences, has left you strangely unsatisfied. In a sense, you've been searching for as long as you can remember, but so far never really finding. The "rainbow" is still beyond your reach. It always will be until you belong to the person who gave you your life in the first place. Every other "rainbow" in our life is a terribly inadequate substitute for a love relationship with the God of the universe.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is talking to a woman who's been looking for the end of her search in relationships with men. You can fill in the blank and you can put in there whatever your "rainbow" has been. Jesus has run into this woman at a well where they were both looking for water, and in John 4:13-14, He says, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again." Just a minute here, that's the problem with every "rainbow," every "well" that we've thought would do it for us. We end up like "thirsty again."
Then Jesus goes on to say, "But whoever drinks the water I give Him, it will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." Jesus is offering to her and to you a spring inside that will never leave you thirsty again, a relationship with Him that will literally give you life here and life forever in heaven. We've cut ourselves off from our source because we've stubbornly lived our way instead of His way. And there would be no hope of belonging to the One we were made for, except that Jesus died on that cross to absorb the death penalty that you and I deserve for hijacking our life from God.
And He's coming to you today to offer you the relationship with Him that will end your search once and for all. He's reaching out to you, but you have to reach back. You have to like grab His hand as your only hope of being forgiven - your only hope of going to heaven. Would you like to belong to this Jesus, who loves you like no one loves you, who has power to walk out of His grave under His own power? Who's got power like that to give? You want to belong to Him from this day on, tell Him that right now where you are, "Jesus, beginning right now I'm yours. I'm pinning all my hopes on you."
Look, you're going to want more information, and it's available right there at our website - ANewStory.com. I want to urge you to go there as soon as you can today. Can you remember that? ANewStory.com. There I think you will find out how you can be sure before this day is over you belong to Jesus Christ.
If you're tired of seeking and you're ready to find, then make this your Jesus-day. He's everything your heart has always looked for and never found...until today.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Psalm 22, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: He Became Sin for Us
What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Discouragement. Anxiety! Haven't our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. Anxiety? He never worried. Guilt? He was never guilty. Fear? He never left the presence of God, He never knew the fruits of sin until He became sin for us.
Can't you hear the emotion in His prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner. And these are words we should say… but these are words we don't have to say because Jesus said them for us.
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 22
1-2 God, God . . . my God!
Why did you dump me
miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
3-5 And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel’s praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.
6-8 And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
“Let’s see how God handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let him help him!”
9-11 And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother’s breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you’ve been my God.
Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.
12-13 Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.
14-15 I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.
I’m dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.
16-18 Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.
19-21 You, God—don’t put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!
Don’t let them cut my throat;
don’t let those mongrels devour me.
If you don’t show up soon,
I’m done for—gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.
22-24 Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.
25-26 Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at God’s table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don’t ever quit!”
27-28 From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to God.
Long-lost families
are falling on their faces before him.
God has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.
29 All the power-mongers are before him
—worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
—worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
—worshiping!
30-31 Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.
Insight
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians begins in a way that is full of empathy for people like us. He refers nine times to the comfort we all need so that we can comfort and encourage one another (1:3–7). Paul goes on to describe a comfort of Christ that is given to those who suffer with Christ (1:5, 8–9). The rest of Paul’s letter shows that these words of comfort include those who join Christ in self-sacrifice without excluding those who hurt for lesser reasons. The apostle shows, as Jesus so often did, that in all our needs, anxieties, and wrongs, there’s a way to find the reassurance of a God who groans with us and for us—even before pain and trouble open our heart to Him ( Romans 8:18–39). By: Mart DeHaan
A Purpose in Pain?
[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4
When Siu Fen discovered she had kidney failure and would need dialysis for the rest of her life, she wanted to give up. Retired and single, the longtime believer in Jesus saw no point in prolonging her life. But friends convinced her to persevere and go for dialysis and trust in God to help her.
Two years later, she found her experience coming into play when she visited a friend from church with a debilitating disease. The woman felt alone, as few could truly understand what she was going through. But Siu Fen was able to identify with her physical and emotional pain and could connect with her in a personal way. Her own journey enabled her to walk alongside the woman, giving her a special measure of comfort others couldn’t. “Now I see how God can still use me,” she said.
It can be hard to understand why we suffer. Yet God can use our affliction in unexpected ways. As we turn to Him for comfort and love in the midst of trials, it also empowers us to help others. No wonder Paul learned to see purpose in his own suffering: It gave him the opportunity to receive God’s comfort, which he could then use to bless others (2 Corinthians 1:3–5). We’re not asked to deny our pain and suffering, but we can take heart in God’s ability to use it for good. By Leslie Koh
Today's Reflection
How has God used you to bring comfort to another? How has your faith helped you to persevere?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 03, 2019
His Commission to Us
Feed My sheep. —John 21:17
This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us. Disciples Indeed, 388 R
What is the fruit of sin? Step into the briar patch of humanity and feel a few thistles. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Discouragement. Anxiety! Haven't our hearts been caught in these brambles?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. Anxiety? He never worried. Guilt? He was never guilty. Fear? He never left the presence of God, He never knew the fruits of sin until He became sin for us.
Can't you hear the emotion in His prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner. And these are words we should say… but these are words we don't have to say because Jesus said them for us.
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 22
1-2 God, God . . . my God!
Why did you dump me
miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
3-5 And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel’s praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.
6-8 And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
“Let’s see how God handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let him help him!”
9-11 And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother’s breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you’ve been my God.
Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.
12-13 Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.
14-15 I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.
I’m dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.
16-18 Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.
19-21 You, God—don’t put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!
Don’t let them cut my throat;
don’t let those mongrels devour me.
If you don’t show up soon,
I’m done for—gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.
22-24 Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.
25-26 Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at God’s table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don’t ever quit!”
27-28 From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to God.
Long-lost families
are falling on their faces before him.
God has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.
29 All the power-mongers are before him
—worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
—worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
—worshiping!
30-31 Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, March 03, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.
Insight
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians begins in a way that is full of empathy for people like us. He refers nine times to the comfort we all need so that we can comfort and encourage one another (1:3–7). Paul goes on to describe a comfort of Christ that is given to those who suffer with Christ (1:5, 8–9). The rest of Paul’s letter shows that these words of comfort include those who join Christ in self-sacrifice without excluding those who hurt for lesser reasons. The apostle shows, as Jesus so often did, that in all our needs, anxieties, and wrongs, there’s a way to find the reassurance of a God who groans with us and for us—even before pain and trouble open our heart to Him ( Romans 8:18–39). By: Mart DeHaan
A Purpose in Pain?
[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4
When Siu Fen discovered she had kidney failure and would need dialysis for the rest of her life, she wanted to give up. Retired and single, the longtime believer in Jesus saw no point in prolonging her life. But friends convinced her to persevere and go for dialysis and trust in God to help her.
Two years later, she found her experience coming into play when she visited a friend from church with a debilitating disease. The woman felt alone, as few could truly understand what she was going through. But Siu Fen was able to identify with her physical and emotional pain and could connect with her in a personal way. Her own journey enabled her to walk alongside the woman, giving her a special measure of comfort others couldn’t. “Now I see how God can still use me,” she said.
It can be hard to understand why we suffer. Yet God can use our affliction in unexpected ways. As we turn to Him for comfort and love in the midst of trials, it also empowers us to help others. No wonder Paul learned to see purpose in his own suffering: It gave him the opportunity to receive God’s comfort, which he could then use to bless others (2 Corinthians 1:3–5). We’re not asked to deny our pain and suffering, but we can take heart in God’s ability to use it for good. By Leslie Koh
Today's Reflection
How has God used you to bring comfort to another? How has your faith helped you to persevere?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, March 03, 2019
His Commission to Us
Feed My sheep. —John 21:17
This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us. Disciples Indeed, 388 R
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Psalm 21 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: We Have a Problem
Can you live without sin for one day? No? How about one hour? Can you do it? No…nor can I. And if we can't live without sin, we have a problem. Proverbs 10:16 says that we are evil and "evil people are paid with punishment." What can we do? Observe what Jesus does with our filth. He carries it to the Cross.
God speaks in Isaiah 50:6, "I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting." Mingled with His blood and sweat was the essence of our sin. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn't they have taken the spittle away? They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. The One who chose the nails also chose the saliva. Why? The sinless One took on the face of a sinner, so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 21
A David Psalm
21 1-7 Your strength, God, is the king’s strength.
Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.
You gave him exactly what he wanted;
you didn’t hold back.
You filled his arms with gifts;
you gave him a right royal welcome.
He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
and then made it a long life as a bonus.
You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
then dressed him in rainbow colors.
You pile blessings on him;
you make him glad when you smile.
Is it any wonder the king loves God?
that he’s sticking with the Best?
8-12 With a fistful of enemies in one hand
and a fistful of haters in the other,
You radiate with such brilliance
that they cringe as before a furnace.
Now the furnace swallows them whole,
the fire eats them alive!
You purge the earth of their progeny,
you wipe the slate clean.
All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
have fizzled—every one.
You sent them packing;
they couldn’t face you.
13 Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it.
We are out singing the good news!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Proverbs 4:5-19
When I was a boy at my father’s knee,
the pride and joy of my mother,
He would sit me down and drill me:
“Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live!
Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding!
Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch!
Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life;
love her—she keeps her eye on you.
Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!
Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;
never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.
She’ll garland your life with grace,
she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”
10-15 Dear friend, take my advice;
it will add years to your life.
I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,
I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.
I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys,
or wasting time making wrong turns.
Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip.
Guard it well—your life is at stake!
Don’t take Wicked Bypass;
don’t so much as set foot on that road.
Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.
Make a detour and be on your way.
16-17 Evil people are restless
unless they’re making trouble;
They can’t get a good night’s sleep
unless they’ve made life miserable for somebody.
Perversity is their food and drink,
violence their drug of choice.
18-19 The ways of right-living people glow with light;
the longer they live, the brighter they shine.
But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—
travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.
Insight
In Proverbs 4, Solomon encourages his sons to pursue wisdom and then emphasizes its benefits. Wisdom will watch over and protect (v. 6). She will exalt and honor the one who finds her (v. 8). She will adorn those who find her with “garland” and a “crown”—symbols of respect and dignity (v. 9). She will keep those who pursue her from stumbling and from stepping on the path of evildoers (vv. 12, 14). With all these benefits, it’s no wonder we’re to pursue wisdom no matter the cost. It’s worth everything we have (v. 7). By: J.R. Hudberg
Searching for Treasure
[Wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. Proverbs 3:14
Buried treasure. It sounds like something out of a children’s storybook. But eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn claims to have left a box of jewels and gold, worth up to $2 million, somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Many people have gone in search of it. In fact, four people have lost their lives trying to find the hidden riches.
The author of Proverbs gives us reason to stop and think: Does any kind of treasure merit such a quest? In Proverbs 4, a father writing to his sons about how to live well suggests that wisdom is one thing worth seeking at any cost (v. 7). Wisdom, he says, will lead us through life, keep us from stumbling, and crown us with honor (vv. 8–12). Writing hundreds of years later, James, half-brother of Jesus and leader in the early church, also emphasized the importance of wisdom. “The wisdom that comes from heaven,” he writes, “is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). When we seek wisdom, we find all kinds of good things flourishing in our lives.
To seek wisdom is ultimately to seek God, the source of all wisdom and understanding. And the wisdom that comes from above is worth more than any buried treasure we could ever imagine. By Amy Peterson
Today's Reflection
Are you actively seeking God’s wisdom? How can you do so today?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 02, 2019
Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?
He said to him the third time, "…do you love Me?" —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Can you live without sin for one day? No? How about one hour? Can you do it? No…nor can I. And if we can't live without sin, we have a problem. Proverbs 10:16 says that we are evil and "evil people are paid with punishment." What can we do? Observe what Jesus does with our filth. He carries it to the Cross.
God speaks in Isaiah 50:6, "I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting." Mingled with His blood and sweat was the essence of our sin. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn't they have taken the spittle away? They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. The One who chose the nails also chose the saliva. Why? The sinless One took on the face of a sinner, so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!
From He Chose the Nails
Psalm 21
A David Psalm
21 1-7 Your strength, God, is the king’s strength.
Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.
You gave him exactly what he wanted;
you didn’t hold back.
You filled his arms with gifts;
you gave him a right royal welcome.
He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
and then made it a long life as a bonus.
You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
then dressed him in rainbow colors.
You pile blessings on him;
you make him glad when you smile.
Is it any wonder the king loves God?
that he’s sticking with the Best?
8-12 With a fistful of enemies in one hand
and a fistful of haters in the other,
You radiate with such brilliance
that they cringe as before a furnace.
Now the furnace swallows them whole,
the fire eats them alive!
You purge the earth of their progeny,
you wipe the slate clean.
All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
have fizzled—every one.
You sent them packing;
they couldn’t face you.
13 Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it.
We are out singing the good news!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, March 02, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Proverbs 4:5-19
When I was a boy at my father’s knee,
the pride and joy of my mother,
He would sit me down and drill me:
“Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live!
Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding!
Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch!
Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life;
love her—she keeps her eye on you.
Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!
Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;
never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.
She’ll garland your life with grace,
she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”
10-15 Dear friend, take my advice;
it will add years to your life.
I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,
I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.
I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys,
or wasting time making wrong turns.
Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip.
Guard it well—your life is at stake!
Don’t take Wicked Bypass;
don’t so much as set foot on that road.
Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.
Make a detour and be on your way.
16-17 Evil people are restless
unless they’re making trouble;
They can’t get a good night’s sleep
unless they’ve made life miserable for somebody.
Perversity is their food and drink,
violence their drug of choice.
18-19 The ways of right-living people glow with light;
the longer they live, the brighter they shine.
But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker—
travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.
Insight
In Proverbs 4, Solomon encourages his sons to pursue wisdom and then emphasizes its benefits. Wisdom will watch over and protect (v. 6). She will exalt and honor the one who finds her (v. 8). She will adorn those who find her with “garland” and a “crown”—symbols of respect and dignity (v. 9). She will keep those who pursue her from stumbling and from stepping on the path of evildoers (vv. 12, 14). With all these benefits, it’s no wonder we’re to pursue wisdom no matter the cost. It’s worth everything we have (v. 7). By: J.R. Hudberg
Searching for Treasure
[Wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. Proverbs 3:14
Buried treasure. It sounds like something out of a children’s storybook. But eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn claims to have left a box of jewels and gold, worth up to $2 million, somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Many people have gone in search of it. In fact, four people have lost their lives trying to find the hidden riches.
The author of Proverbs gives us reason to stop and think: Does any kind of treasure merit such a quest? In Proverbs 4, a father writing to his sons about how to live well suggests that wisdom is one thing worth seeking at any cost (v. 7). Wisdom, he says, will lead us through life, keep us from stumbling, and crown us with honor (vv. 8–12). Writing hundreds of years later, James, half-brother of Jesus and leader in the early church, also emphasized the importance of wisdom. “The wisdom that comes from heaven,” he writes, “is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). When we seek wisdom, we find all kinds of good things flourishing in our lives.
To seek wisdom is ultimately to seek God, the source of all wisdom and understanding. And the wisdom that comes from above is worth more than any buried treasure we could ever imagine. By Amy Peterson
Today's Reflection
Are you actively seeking God’s wisdom? How can you do so today?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, March 02, 2019
Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?
He said to him the third time, "…do you love Me?" —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Friday, March 1, 2019
Psalm 20, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: BRUISED REEDS AND SMOLDERING WICKS
Look at a bruised reed at the water’s edge—once slender, sturdy, and tall— now bowed and bent. Are you a bruised reed? You were upright and sturdy, rooted in the riverbed of confidence. Then you were bruised by harsh words, a friend’s anger, a spouse’s betrayal, religion’s rigidity, or your own failure.
Is there anything closer to death than the smoldering wick on a candle? Once you blazed with faith. Then they said your ideas were foolish, your dreams were too lofty.
But the theme of the New Testament is that God is the friend of the wounded heart and the keeper of your dreams. Christ met people at all points of pain. By His touch bruised reeds straightened and smoldering wicks were ignited.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 20
A David Psalm
20 1-4 God answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.
5 When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!
6 That clinches it—help’s coming,
an answer’s on the way,
everything’s going to work out.
7-8 See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we’re making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
9 Make the king a winner, God;
the day we call, give us your answer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:John 21:17-25
Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”
20-21 Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”
22-23 Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”
24 This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.
25 There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.
Insight
Some scholars speculate that John 21 was written (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) at a later time than the first 20 chapters and was added to clarify a misunderstanding. Apparently, some believed that Jesus had promised John he wouldn’t die until Jesus returned, and that rumor had spread widely. The so-called “second ending” (ch. 21) was intended to address that false idea by clarifying Jesus’s words (vv. 22–23). By: Bill Crowder
No Comparison
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
“One of these days I’m going to put it all on Facebook—not just the good stuff!”
My friend Sue’s comment—made casually over lunch with her husband—caused me to laugh out loud and also to think. Social media can be a good thing, helping us stay in touch with and pray for friends across the years and miles. But if we’re not careful, it can also create an unrealistic outlook on life. When much of what we see posted is a “highlight reel” of “the good stuff,” we can be misled into thinking others’ lives are without trouble, and wonder where our own went wrong.
Comparing ourselves with others is a sure recipe for unhappiness. When the disciples compared themselves to each other (see Luke 9:46; 22:24), Jesus quickly discouraged it. Soon after His resurrection, Jesus told Peter how he would suffer for his faith. Peter then turned to John and asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:21–22).
Jesus pointed Peter to the best remedy for unhealthy comparisons. When our minds are focused on God and all He’s done for us, self-focused thoughts fall gently away and we long to follow Him. In place of the world’s competitive strain and stress, He gives us His loving presence and peace. Nothing can compare with Him. By James Banks
Today's Reflection
How can you use social media in a God-honoring way? How can a real relationship with God keep you from making unhealthy comparisons?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 01, 2019
The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 01, 2019
Mail From Someone Who Loves You - #8385
I used to laugh at my roommate in college when he'd get a love letter from his girlfriend. He was kind of weird all day. He'd go off and he'd read that thing, you know, four or five times. And I'd go, "Hey, Buddy, there's nothing new in there. It says the same thing every time." Well, there was no laughing when I was separated from the woman I loved and ended up marrying. No, Karen and I were separated for the summers, and boy, I'll tell you what. I would write a letter to her just about every day, and she'd write a letter to me just about every day. I've got a whole suitcase full of those letters it's still nice to go back and read. Because I'll tell you, what made my day was going to that mailbox and getting some mail and knowing there would probably be mail there from somebody who loved me very much.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Mail From Someone Who Loves You."
Actually, you get mail every day from someone who loves you very much, but you could. It's actually mail from Almighty God Himself! It's contained in the Word of God - the Bible. See, God's messages are in His Book. Maybe you say, "Well, yeah, but that's not new information." Well, right, God's messages in the Bible are timeless information. They're always there, they are as true today as they were the day He authored them. and they've been true for generation after generation after generation. But, on the other hand, God's messages are always breaking news, too, because your situation is different today than the last time you may have read that verse.
God has a way through His Holy Spirit of personalizing that message. Of course, God's Holy Spirit, who knows all about the Bible and knows all about you, will miraculously use one of God's messages to change how you see your situation, and it might even change the situation! Timeless information, yes. But it is also breaking news for your situation.
Yes, you've got mail from God. But, like any message you might receive through email or text, you'll never get the message if you don't check in to see what God has to say today. So many days have been so unnecessarily confusing, frustrating and messed up because you didn't pick up your mail from God.
There's a great picture of how God sends His messages to us in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 16:14. God's ancient people were traveling through the wilderness in need of food. And God supplied their need by sending this miracle food called manna – which interestingly enough the Hebrew word means, "What is it?" "Hey, let's go get some 'what is it' Honey." The Bible says, "When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?'"
"Moses said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: Each one is to gather as much as he needs...No one is to keep any of it until morning.' However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggot," the Bible says, "and it began to smell." In the New Testament, manna is actually used to symbolize spiritual food from God. And the "collection" principle is still the same – pick up a fresh batch each new day.
Yesterday's messages from God? Well, they're not going to do for today, because He's got fresh manna for you, fresh messages for the needs of this fresh new day. That's one of the main ways "His new mercies come every morning."
Some days your mail from God are going to give you perspective on what's going on in your life. Other days it will give you a corrective to steer you back on course from a detour you're almost about to take. But it's daily bread! You'll have to want God's messages enough to turn off some of the other messages for a little while: all the stuff you get on your phone, and the text, and the TV, and the Internet, and newspaper, and music – all of which can end up stealing all or most of your time with God.
If you'll open God's Word with the eagerness and the anticipation of someone who is opening their love letter, I can guarantee you that you will always have mail, holy mail, life-changing mail - messages from the God of the universe to your heart.
Look at a bruised reed at the water’s edge—once slender, sturdy, and tall— now bowed and bent. Are you a bruised reed? You were upright and sturdy, rooted in the riverbed of confidence. Then you were bruised by harsh words, a friend’s anger, a spouse’s betrayal, religion’s rigidity, or your own failure.
Is there anything closer to death than the smoldering wick on a candle? Once you blazed with faith. Then they said your ideas were foolish, your dreams were too lofty.
But the theme of the New Testament is that God is the friend of the wounded heart and the keeper of your dreams. Christ met people at all points of pain. By His touch bruised reeds straightened and smoldering wicks were ignited.
Read more He Still Moves Stones
Psalm 20
A David Psalm
20 1-4 God answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.
5 When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!
6 That clinches it—help’s coming,
an answer’s on the way,
everything’s going to work out.
7-8 See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we’re making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
9 Make the king a winner, God;
the day we call, give us your answer.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 01, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:John 21:17-25
Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”
20-21 Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind. When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?”
22-23 Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?”
24 This is the same disciple who was eyewitness to all these things and wrote them down. And we all know that his eyewitness account is reliable and accurate.
25 There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.
Insight
Some scholars speculate that John 21 was written (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) at a later time than the first 20 chapters and was added to clarify a misunderstanding. Apparently, some believed that Jesus had promised John he wouldn’t die until Jesus returned, and that rumor had spread widely. The so-called “second ending” (ch. 21) was intended to address that false idea by clarifying Jesus’s words (vv. 22–23). By: Bill Crowder
No Comparison
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
“One of these days I’m going to put it all on Facebook—not just the good stuff!”
My friend Sue’s comment—made casually over lunch with her husband—caused me to laugh out loud and also to think. Social media can be a good thing, helping us stay in touch with and pray for friends across the years and miles. But if we’re not careful, it can also create an unrealistic outlook on life. When much of what we see posted is a “highlight reel” of “the good stuff,” we can be misled into thinking others’ lives are without trouble, and wonder where our own went wrong.
Comparing ourselves with others is a sure recipe for unhappiness. When the disciples compared themselves to each other (see Luke 9:46; 22:24), Jesus quickly discouraged it. Soon after His resurrection, Jesus told Peter how he would suffer for his faith. Peter then turned to John and asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:21–22).
Jesus pointed Peter to the best remedy for unhealthy comparisons. When our minds are focused on God and all He’s done for us, self-focused thoughts fall gently away and we long to follow Him. In place of the world’s competitive strain and stress, He gives us His loving presence and peace. Nothing can compare with Him. By James Banks
Today's Reflection
How can you use social media in a God-honoring way? How can a real relationship with God keep you from making unhealthy comparisons?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 01, 2019
The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 01, 2019
Mail From Someone Who Loves You - #8385
I used to laugh at my roommate in college when he'd get a love letter from his girlfriend. He was kind of weird all day. He'd go off and he'd read that thing, you know, four or five times. And I'd go, "Hey, Buddy, there's nothing new in there. It says the same thing every time." Well, there was no laughing when I was separated from the woman I loved and ended up marrying. No, Karen and I were separated for the summers, and boy, I'll tell you what. I would write a letter to her just about every day, and she'd write a letter to me just about every day. I've got a whole suitcase full of those letters it's still nice to go back and read. Because I'll tell you, what made my day was going to that mailbox and getting some mail and knowing there would probably be mail there from somebody who loved me very much.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Mail From Someone Who Loves You."
Actually, you get mail every day from someone who loves you very much, but you could. It's actually mail from Almighty God Himself! It's contained in the Word of God - the Bible. See, God's messages are in His Book. Maybe you say, "Well, yeah, but that's not new information." Well, right, God's messages in the Bible are timeless information. They're always there, they are as true today as they were the day He authored them. and they've been true for generation after generation after generation. But, on the other hand, God's messages are always breaking news, too, because your situation is different today than the last time you may have read that verse.
God has a way through His Holy Spirit of personalizing that message. Of course, God's Holy Spirit, who knows all about the Bible and knows all about you, will miraculously use one of God's messages to change how you see your situation, and it might even change the situation! Timeless information, yes. But it is also breaking news for your situation.
Yes, you've got mail from God. But, like any message you might receive through email or text, you'll never get the message if you don't check in to see what God has to say today. So many days have been so unnecessarily confusing, frustrating and messed up because you didn't pick up your mail from God.
There's a great picture of how God sends His messages to us in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 16:14. God's ancient people were traveling through the wilderness in need of food. And God supplied their need by sending this miracle food called manna – which interestingly enough the Hebrew word means, "What is it?" "Hey, let's go get some 'what is it' Honey." The Bible says, "When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?'"
"Moses said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: Each one is to gather as much as he needs...No one is to keep any of it until morning.' However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggot," the Bible says, "and it began to smell." In the New Testament, manna is actually used to symbolize spiritual food from God. And the "collection" principle is still the same – pick up a fresh batch each new day.
Yesterday's messages from God? Well, they're not going to do for today, because He's got fresh manna for you, fresh messages for the needs of this fresh new day. That's one of the main ways "His new mercies come every morning."
Some days your mail from God are going to give you perspective on what's going on in your life. Other days it will give you a corrective to steer you back on course from a detour you're almost about to take. But it's daily bread! You'll have to want God's messages enough to turn off some of the other messages for a little while: all the stuff you get on your phone, and the text, and the TV, and the Internet, and newspaper, and music – all of which can end up stealing all or most of your time with God.
If you'll open God's Word with the eagerness and the anticipation of someone who is opening their love letter, I can guarantee you that you will always have mail, holy mail, life-changing mail - messages from the God of the universe to your heart.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Psalm 17, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: FINISHING STRONG
The Christian race is demanding, grueling, and sometimes agonizing. It takes a massive effort to finish strong. But many don’t. They may come to church and warm a pew, but their hearts aren’t in the race.
Jesus is the classic example of one who endured, in spite of temptation, accusations, and shame. The devil tempted Jesus nonstop for forty days. Jesus’ own family called him a lunatic. And, on the cross, he bore the collective shame of all humanity. How did he endure? By focusing on “the joy that God put before him.” That was the prize of heaven! And what he saw gave him strength to finish… and and finish strong.
Someday we will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And in that moment, the race will have been worth it.
Read more Just Like Jesus
Psalm 17
A David Prayer
17 1-2 Listen while I build my case, God,
the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.
Show the world I’m innocent—
in your heart you know I am.
3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night—
You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.
My words don’t run loose.
4-5 I’m not trying to get my way
in the world’s way.
I’m trying to get your way,
your Word’s way.
I’m staying on your trail;
I’m putting one foot
In front of the other.
I’m not giving up.
6-7 I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.
So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.
8-9 Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers
From the wicked who are out to get me,
from mortal enemies closing in.
10-14 Their hearts are hard as nails,
their mouths blast hot air.
They are after me, nipping my heels,
determined to bring me down,
Lions ready to rip me apart,
young lions poised to pounce.
Up, God: beard them! break them!
By your sword, free me from their clutches;
Barehanded, God, break these mortals,
these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.
I’d like to see their bellies
swollen with famine food,
The weeds they’ve sown
harvested and baked into famine bread,
With second helpings for their children
and crusts for their babies to chew on.
15 And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I’ll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 51:1-7
A David Psalm, After He Was Confronted by Nathan About the Affair with Bathsheba
51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
Insight
Psalm 51 is one of the seven penitential psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), so called because the writer in repentant sorrow confesses his sins and turns to the Lord for forgiveness. The subheading to this psalm reads: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” David’s sin and confrontation is recorded in 2 Samuel 11–12. Many scholars believe David penned both Psalms 32 and 51 after repenting from his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. Psalm 32 describes David’s spiritual dryness during the year when he refused to confess his sins (vv. 3–4), and the delight and sense of release after he acknowledged them (vv. 1–2, 5–11). In Psalm 51, after Nathan confronts him, David confesses his sins and pours his heart out to God and asks for forgiveness. Psalm 51 has become the model prayer for forgiveness of sin. By: K. T. Sim
Great News!
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love. Psalm 51:1
The article in the local newspaper was short but heartwarming. After attending a faith-based program on building stronger family ties, a group of prison inmates were given a rare treat of an open visit with their families. Some hadn’t seen their children in years. Instead of talking through a glass panel, they could touch and hold their loved ones. The tears flowed freely as families grew closer and wounds began to heal.
For most readers, it was just a story. But for these families, holding one another was a life-changing event—and for some, the process of forgiveness and reconciliation was begun.
God’s forgiveness of our sin and offer of reconciliation, made possible through His Son, is more than a mere fact of the Christian faith. The article’s news of reconciliation reminds us that Jesus’s sacrifice is great news not just for the world, but for you and me.
In times when we’re overwhelmed by guilt for something we’ve done, however, it’s news we can cling to desperately. That’s when the fact of God’s unending mercy becomes personal news: because of Jesus’s dying on our behalf, we can come to the Father washed clean, “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). In such times, when we know we don’t deserve His mercy, we can hold on to the only thing we can depend on: God’s unfailing love and compassion (v. 1). By Leslie Koh
Today's Reflection
Father, I’m sorry if I’ve taken Your mercy and love for granted. Thank You for this wonderful gift and privilege that I don’t deserve yet You’ve promised unconditionally.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 28, 2019
“Do You Now Believe?”
"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them. Workmen of God, 1341 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope - #8384
It's never fun when the plane you're flying on hits turbulence, especially if the fellow next to you has like a weak stomach. It's really not fun when an entire airline hits turbulence. Several have over the years, including one of America's largest and one that had been kind of my airline of preference. It was a bit of a shocker to read that their indebtedness had reached such a critical point they were actually considering the protection of bankruptcy to try to recover. Bankruptcy is a word we're hearing way too often. You know? Then I saw the headline that confirmed the seriousness of their situation. Here's what it said: "Airline Seeks Rescue in Bankruptcy."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope."
Seems strange, doesn't it? The hope of rescue depending on declaring you're bankrupt. But it's the only hope some businesses have of recovering. Declaring bankruptcy is also the only hope you or I have of escaping the awful consequences of running our own lives instead of letting God run them. Our moral debt to God is so far beyond our ability to pay.
The spiritual economics of heaven and hell are spelled out starkly in Romans 6:23, our word for today from the Word of God. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Just three chapters earlier, God makes it clear that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That "all" means there's no one who's excluded, not you, not me, not the most religious person listening today. We've all earned those "wages of sin" which is "death." That's spiritual death, which means total separation from the God who has made us...forever.
But after that awful statement about what our sin costs, the light suddenly goes on when God talks about "eternal life." So it's possible I don't have to suffer the penalty that I deserve for hijacking my life from my Creator. It is possible, but it is the gift of God. That's "gift," as in there's nothing I can do to earn it; someone else paid for it. Jesus paid for it. He died on the cross to pay for it. He took the death penalty that I deserve - that you deserve. That's why He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" God the Father was turning His back on God the Son so He would never have to turn His back on you!
But there's only one road to that spiritual rescue. You've got to declare your spiritual bankruptcy, admitting there's nothing you can do to pay the debt for the sinning you've done. And that means the surrender of all our spiritual, religious pride, of any hope we've been putting in our religion, or our church, or our Christianness. As great a person as people may think we are, in God's eyes, we're bankrupt, or He wouldn't have sent His Son to die to pay our debt. We may look great, but we're spiritually broke.
Has there ever been a time when you've come to God with nothing in your hands and just said, "Lord, my only hope is what your Son did on the cross for me. So, by faith, I give You my life. I turn from running my own life. I claim Jesus as the total payment for every sin I have ever committed." Until that moment of surrender, your bill with God stands unpaid, and you still carry that awful death penalty.
Don't you want to get that settled today; the one day you know you have to do it? Well, then, tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. Thank you for dying in my place." I would really encourage you to go visit our website today, because it's all about how to begin this relationship with the only One who can save you from your sin. I hope you'll go there - ANewStory.com.
What a wonderful day for you to come to the Savior to declare your bankruptcy. See, your bill has been paid on an old rugged cross. Think of this: you can go to bed tonight debt-free in God's sight! Forgiven and free!
The Christian race is demanding, grueling, and sometimes agonizing. It takes a massive effort to finish strong. But many don’t. They may come to church and warm a pew, but their hearts aren’t in the race.
Jesus is the classic example of one who endured, in spite of temptation, accusations, and shame. The devil tempted Jesus nonstop for forty days. Jesus’ own family called him a lunatic. And, on the cross, he bore the collective shame of all humanity. How did he endure? By focusing on “the joy that God put before him.” That was the prize of heaven! And what he saw gave him strength to finish… and and finish strong.
Someday we will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And in that moment, the race will have been worth it.
Read more Just Like Jesus
Psalm 17
A David Prayer
17 1-2 Listen while I build my case, God,
the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.
Show the world I’m innocent—
in your heart you know I am.
3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night—
You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.
My words don’t run loose.
4-5 I’m not trying to get my way
in the world’s way.
I’m trying to get your way,
your Word’s way.
I’m staying on your trail;
I’m putting one foot
In front of the other.
I’m not giving up.
6-7 I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.
So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.
8-9 Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers
From the wicked who are out to get me,
from mortal enemies closing in.
10-14 Their hearts are hard as nails,
their mouths blast hot air.
They are after me, nipping my heels,
determined to bring me down,
Lions ready to rip me apart,
young lions poised to pounce.
Up, God: beard them! break them!
By your sword, free me from their clutches;
Barehanded, God, break these mortals,
these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.
I’d like to see their bellies
swollen with famine food,
The weeds they’ve sown
harvested and baked into famine bread,
With second helpings for their children
and crusts for their babies to chew on.
15 And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I’ll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 51:1-7
A David Psalm, After He Was Confronted by Nathan About the Affair with Bathsheba
51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
Insight
Psalm 51 is one of the seven penitential psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), so called because the writer in repentant sorrow confesses his sins and turns to the Lord for forgiveness. The subheading to this psalm reads: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” David’s sin and confrontation is recorded in 2 Samuel 11–12. Many scholars believe David penned both Psalms 32 and 51 after repenting from his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. Psalm 32 describes David’s spiritual dryness during the year when he refused to confess his sins (vv. 3–4), and the delight and sense of release after he acknowledged them (vv. 1–2, 5–11). In Psalm 51, after Nathan confronts him, David confesses his sins and pours his heart out to God and asks for forgiveness. Psalm 51 has become the model prayer for forgiveness of sin. By: K. T. Sim
Great News!
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love. Psalm 51:1
The article in the local newspaper was short but heartwarming. After attending a faith-based program on building stronger family ties, a group of prison inmates were given a rare treat of an open visit with their families. Some hadn’t seen their children in years. Instead of talking through a glass panel, they could touch and hold their loved ones. The tears flowed freely as families grew closer and wounds began to heal.
For most readers, it was just a story. But for these families, holding one another was a life-changing event—and for some, the process of forgiveness and reconciliation was begun.
God’s forgiveness of our sin and offer of reconciliation, made possible through His Son, is more than a mere fact of the Christian faith. The article’s news of reconciliation reminds us that Jesus’s sacrifice is great news not just for the world, but for you and me.
In times when we’re overwhelmed by guilt for something we’ve done, however, it’s news we can cling to desperately. That’s when the fact of God’s unending mercy becomes personal news: because of Jesus’s dying on our behalf, we can come to the Father washed clean, “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). In such times, when we know we don’t deserve His mercy, we can hold on to the only thing we can depend on: God’s unfailing love and compassion (v. 1). By Leslie Koh
Today's Reflection
Father, I’m sorry if I’ve taken Your mercy and love for granted. Thank You for this wonderful gift and privilege that I don’t deserve yet You’ve promised unconditionally.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 28, 2019
“Do You Now Believe?”
"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We must keep ourselves in touch, not with theories, but with people, and never get out of touch with human beings, if we are going to use the word of God skilfully amongst them. Workmen of God, 1341 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope - #8384
It's never fun when the plane you're flying on hits turbulence, especially if the fellow next to you has like a weak stomach. It's really not fun when an entire airline hits turbulence. Several have over the years, including one of America's largest and one that had been kind of my airline of preference. It was a bit of a shocker to read that their indebtedness had reached such a critical point they were actually considering the protection of bankruptcy to try to recover. Bankruptcy is a word we're hearing way too often. You know? Then I saw the headline that confirmed the seriousness of their situation. Here's what it said: "Airline Seeks Rescue in Bankruptcy."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Declaring Bankruptcy - Finding Hope."
Seems strange, doesn't it? The hope of rescue depending on declaring you're bankrupt. But it's the only hope some businesses have of recovering. Declaring bankruptcy is also the only hope you or I have of escaping the awful consequences of running our own lives instead of letting God run them. Our moral debt to God is so far beyond our ability to pay.
The spiritual economics of heaven and hell are spelled out starkly in Romans 6:23, our word for today from the Word of God. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Just three chapters earlier, God makes it clear that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That "all" means there's no one who's excluded, not you, not me, not the most religious person listening today. We've all earned those "wages of sin" which is "death." That's spiritual death, which means total separation from the God who has made us...forever.
But after that awful statement about what our sin costs, the light suddenly goes on when God talks about "eternal life." So it's possible I don't have to suffer the penalty that I deserve for hijacking my life from my Creator. It is possible, but it is the gift of God. That's "gift," as in there's nothing I can do to earn it; someone else paid for it. Jesus paid for it. He died on the cross to pay for it. He took the death penalty that I deserve - that you deserve. That's why He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" God the Father was turning His back on God the Son so He would never have to turn His back on you!
But there's only one road to that spiritual rescue. You've got to declare your spiritual bankruptcy, admitting there's nothing you can do to pay the debt for the sinning you've done. And that means the surrender of all our spiritual, religious pride, of any hope we've been putting in our religion, or our church, or our Christianness. As great a person as people may think we are, in God's eyes, we're bankrupt, or He wouldn't have sent His Son to die to pay our debt. We may look great, but we're spiritually broke.
Has there ever been a time when you've come to God with nothing in your hands and just said, "Lord, my only hope is what your Son did on the cross for me. So, by faith, I give You my life. I turn from running my own life. I claim Jesus as the total payment for every sin I have ever committed." Until that moment of surrender, your bill with God stands unpaid, and you still carry that awful death penalty.
Don't you want to get that settled today; the one day you know you have to do it? Well, then, tell Him, "Jesus, I'm yours. Thank you for dying in my place." I would really encourage you to go visit our website today, because it's all about how to begin this relationship with the only One who can save you from your sin. I hope you'll go there - ANewStory.com.
What a wonderful day for you to come to the Savior to declare your bankruptcy. See, your bill has been paid on an old rugged cross. Think of this: you can go to bed tonight debt-free in God's sight! Forgiven and free!
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Psalm 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: WHEN HEAVEN CELEBRATES
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories of something lost and something found: a lost sheep; a lost coin; and a lost son. At the end of each story, Jesus describes a celebration. The point is clear. Jesus is happiest when the lost are found. Jesus rejoices because he knows what awaits the saved. In Heaven, you will at long last, have a heart just like his. Guiltless, fearless, tirelessly worshiping, and flawlessly discerning.
Jesus also rejoices that we are saved from hell. He says there’s only one sound there—and that is the “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Every person you meet has been given an invitation to dinner. When one says ‘yes,’ celebrate! When one hesitates, urge him to get ready. You don’t want anyone to miss the party.
Read more Just Like Jesus
Psalm 19
A David Psalm
19 1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.
3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
4-5 God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.
6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.
7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.
10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 21:14-16
Matthew 21:14-16 The Message (MSG)
12-14 Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:
My house was designated a house of prayer;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.
Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.
15-16 When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?”
Insight
After arriving in Jerusalem on what is known as Palm Sunday, Jesus made His way to the temple where He symbolically and prophetically reclaimed God’s house for its rightful purposes (Matthew 21:12). In doing so, He quoted the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (v. 13): “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer’ [Isaiah 56:7], but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’” [Jeremiah 7:11]. Jesus’s zeal for God’s house was such that—though risky—He did not let the mismanagement of the religious leaders go unchallenged. What may have been mercenary practices were—at least momentarily—replaced with marvelous acts of mercy (v. 14), deeds which were more consistent with the purposes of the Father’s house. Though the physically blind were healed, the blindness of the leaders remained, as noted by their indignation and words to Jesus (vv. 15–16). By: Arthur Jackson
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes. Psalm 8:2 esv
After watching ten-year-old Viola using a tree branch as a microphone to mimic a preacher, Michele decided to give Viola the opportunity to “preach” during a village outreach. Viola accepted. Michele, a missionary in South Sudan, wrote, “The crowd was enraptured. . . . A little girl who had been abandoned stood in authority before them as a daughter of the King of kings, powerfully sharing the reality of God’s Kingdom. Half the crowd came forward to receive Jesus” (Michele Perry, Love Has a Face).
The crowd that day hadn’t expected to hear a child preach. This incident brings to mind the phrase “out of the mouths of babes,” which comes from Psalm 8. David wrote, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes” (v. 2 esv). Jesus later quoted this verse in Matthew 21:16, after the chief priests and scribes criticized the children calling out praise to Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem. The children were a nuisance to these leaders. By quoting this Scripture, Jesus showed that God took seriously the praise of these children. They did what the leaders were unwilling to do: give glory to the longed-for Messiah.
As Viola and the children in the temple showed, God can use even a child to bring Him glory. Out of their willing hearts came a fountain of praise. By Linda Washington
Today's Reflection
How can I offer praise to God today? Why is He worthy of my praise?
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
“The well is deep” — and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ is always unyielding to my claim to my right to myself. The one essential element in all our Lord’s teaching about discipleship is abandon, no calculation, no trace of self-interest.
Disciples Indeed
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Taking Your Place on the Front Lines - #8383
My friend Bobby served as a Marine in Vietnam, and he told me something about his experience there that really got my attention. He said his assignment was doing electrical work on airplanes-which is not necessarily a front lines assignment. But there was a war going on all around them. So, when there was enemy activity, every soldier was trained to grab their weapon, take their position, and be prepared to fight. Their bottom line assignment was summed up in four words, "every Marine - a rifle."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taking Your Place on the Front Lines."
Nobody is just support troops. Everybody's needed on the front lines. That's the strategy for the most important battle of all time-the battle for the souls of lost men and women that rages in every generation.
God puts flesh-and-blood on that principle in a story in Numbers 32, beginning with vs 1. It's our word for today from the Word of God. Here's the story. God has delivered the Jews from slavery in Egypt, led them through the wilderness, and now He's brought them to the banks of the Jordan River, the threshold of their Promised Land. Soon the battle for the land will begin. Even before entering, each of Israel's twelve tribes has been allotted a certain area of the land as their inheritance. That's on the west side of Jordan. On the east side of the Jordan, the Reubenites and Gadites "who had very large herds and flocks saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead (That's the lands right there where they are on the east side of the Jordan) were suitable for livestock." Okay, so these guys who already have their land kind of.
They come to Moses with an idea-a dumb idea. They said the land they were on was "suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock...let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." Moses' answer cuts like steel: "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?" They said, "How about we just settle down here, skip the battle, and root for you guys out there on the front lines? How does that sound?" Moses basically says: "No way, man. Every Marine a rifle. No watchers here; only warriors." These folks got the message. They said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children." In other words, we'd like to stay here in our comfort zone-"but we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead...every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the Lord." Good choice.
Now, about that battle for a lost and dying world from God's perspective, no one can just watch this battle. Every child of God is supposed to be a warrior in it...including you. You can't just send a check and consider yourself off the hook. You can't just support others who are fighting for lives Jesus died to save. You've got to be fighting for some yourself. You can't delegate Christ's world-reaching Great Commission to a few spiritual daredevils called missionaries or full-time workers. This call is for all of us, wherever we live, whatever we do. You may say, "Well, I don't have the gift to tell others." If you belong to Jesus, you have the assignment! Remember, "we are Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
The truth is you're somebody's best chance of ever going to heaven, because you're the one with Jesus in their heart who is closest to that person at work, school, in your family, your neighborhood. If you don't tell them, chances are they'll never hear what Jesus did for them.
And your silence will be, in essence, an eternal death sentence for them. And beyond the people in your personal world, God wants you in the battle for the world beyond your own. You say, "Well, I can't possibly care about or support all the mission needs out there." That's right. But you know what you can do? You can say, "God, go ahead and place a piece of your broken heart for this world in my heart. Help me care about some need, and let me focus on that one." He'll do that, and you can begin to pray and give and help His soldiers who are fighting for those particular people.
No watchers in the battle for lost hearts, only warriors. Because everyone who belongs to Him, has a place on the front lines.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
John 9:24-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A HOPE-FILLED HEART
Jesus said, “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.”
In Gethsemane, Jesus faced betrayal on all levels. The disciples ran away. The people rejected him. And God didn’t answer his anguished appeal to avoid “the cup of suffering.” So, what did Christ do? He found enough good in the face of Judas to call him friend, and he can help us do the same with those who hurt us. He found purpose in the pain, seeing it as a necessary part of God’s greater plan.
Wouldn’t you love to have a hope-filled heart? God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.
Read more Just Like Jesus
John 9:24-41
They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.”
25 He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.”
26 They said, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”
28-29 With that they jumped all over him. “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.”
30-33 The man replied, “This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
34 They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?”
38 “Master, I believe,” the man said, and worshiped him.
39 Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”
40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Today's Scripture: Proverbs 23:9–12 (NIV)
Don’t bother talking sense to fools;
they’ll only poke fun at your words.
10-11 Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
or cheat orphans out of their property,
For they have a powerful Advocate
who will go to bat for them.
12 Give yourselves to disciplined instruction;
open your ears to tested knowledge.
Insight
Proverbs 23:9–12 point to the interrelated principles of seeking wisdom from those who can be trusted (v. 12) while discerning who cannot be trusted (v. 9). This principle of discerning others’ character and limiting contact with the foolish—due to the profound influence of close relationships—is echoed in 26:4–5. However, these verses show a subtle difference of the principle by placing side by side opposite guidelines! First, we are told not to answer according to a foolish person’s folly (v. 4); then, we are told to answer, lest by silence we become complicit in their harmful ideas and character (v. 5).
These seemingly contradictory guidelines illustrate a principle central to the Proverbs: true wisdom is not a set of rules to be applied blindly but requires continual reliance on the Lord’s guidance to discern each situation. By: Monica Brands
Working off Bad Information
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12
On a recent trip to New York City, my wife and I wanted to brave a snowy evening and hire a taxi for a three-mile ride from our hotel to a Cuban restaurant. After entering the details into the taxi service’s app, I gulped hard when the screen revealed the price for our short jaunt: $1,547.26. After recovering from the shock, I realized I had mistakenly requested a ride to our home—several hundred miles away!
If you’re working with the wrong information, you’re going to end up with disastrous results. Always. This is why Proverbs encourages us to “apply [our] heart to instruction and [our] ears to words of knowledge”—God’s wisdom (Proverbs 23:12). If we instead seek advice from those who are foolish, those who pretend to know more than they do and who have turned their back on God, we’ll be in trouble. They “scorn . . . prudent words” and can lead us astray with unhelpful, misguided, or even deceptive advice (v. 9).
Instead, we can bend our “ears to words of knowledge” (v. 12). We can open our heart and receive God’s liberating instruction, words of clarity and hope. When we listen to those who know the deep ways of God, they help us receive and follow divine wisdom. And God’s wisdom will never lead us astray but always encourages and leads us toward life and wholeness. By Winn Collier
Today's Reflection
God, bend my ears and heart toward wisdom. Help me be open to Your truth and push away every kind of foolishness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Our Misgivings About Jesus
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep." —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Too Close To The Edge - #8382
No matter how big you expect the Grand Canyon to be, it's bigger. And when our family has had the privilege to visit there, we've all been impressed with this awesome, divine masterpiece. One big problem there though has been our boys, because they think they're part mountain goat. Of course, mountain goats cannot read the signs that tell you to stay behind the fences. Apparently, our boys couldn't read them either. They always had this irresistible urge to venture out as far as possible on those rocks that overlook the canyon. Of course, one false step, and it's over – actually, you're all over. All our lectures about going too far for safety's sake made a lot more sense the morning after we had stopped at one particular overlook. The morning paper reported that on the same afternoon we had been there, two young men went to that same overlook and one never came back. He ended up dead at the bottom of the canyon. The reason? Yeah, you know. He got too close to the edge.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Close To The Edge."
God has a word today for someone who's hurting, who's depressed and might be getting too close to the edge. Maybe there's this voice inside you, or someone you know, that's saying, "Life just hurts too much. Maybe I should just check out once and for all." You're looking over the edge of that abyss called suicide.
You need to know where that voice is coming from. Our word for today from the Word of God is John 10:10. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." That was Jesus speaking. Two voices: one is the life-taker – that would be the devil, who wants to destroy you. The other is the life-giver – Jesus, who thought you were worth dying for. Any thoughts of ending your life, I can tell you, are from the Devil himself. And you cannot let him take you over the edge and rob you of all the tomorrows God has planned for you.
That edge of the cliff called suicide can only be a consideration if you do not realize how tragically expensive suicide is. First, it's the ultimate act of defiance toward the God who made you. In Psalm 139:13 and 16, it says, "You created my inmost being (God); You knit me together in my mother's womb... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Only the One who gave you your life has the right to end your life. And He's the One you meet the moment your life is over. You don't want to go into eternity defying the God you are about to meet.
Suicide, in many ways, is an ultimate act of selfishness toward the people who love you. You don't mean for it to be, but I've been on the other end of this. They never recover from the awful agony of this decision. Don't do this to them. You know, suicide is the ultimate waste of a life that Jesus actually gave His life for. He didn't die on the cross just to have us throw away the life He gave everything for. One last thing – suicide is an ultimate surrender to the spiritual enemy who hates you.
Look, maybe you've gotten too close to the edge recently. You've been thinking about suicide as an answer. A lot of people have, more than we realize. But, believe me, living is always better. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life." Right now, instead of giving up, would you give it all over to Jesus? Pour out all that pain and all that struggle at the feet of this One who loves you most. He said, "I was sent to bind up the brokenhearted." And please talk to someone today about your struggle – a pastor, someone on a hot line, a counselor who's maybe walked through this with a lot of other people. Whatever the risks there are of you reaching out and talking about it, they can't be as expensive as giving up.
The Lord wants you to live – to have all your tomorrows. That's why He sent you this message of life today where you could hear it. Please get away from the edge. Don't go near it again! In God's own words from His book, "Choose life!"
Jesus said, “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.”
In Gethsemane, Jesus faced betrayal on all levels. The disciples ran away. The people rejected him. And God didn’t answer his anguished appeal to avoid “the cup of suffering.” So, what did Christ do? He found enough good in the face of Judas to call him friend, and he can help us do the same with those who hurt us. He found purpose in the pain, seeing it as a necessary part of God’s greater plan.
Wouldn’t you love to have a hope-filled heart? God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.
Read more Just Like Jesus
John 9:24-41
They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.”
25 He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.”
26 They said, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”
28-29 With that they jumped all over him. “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.”
30-33 The man replied, “This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
34 They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?”
38 “Master, I believe,” the man said, and worshiped him.
39 Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”
40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Today's Scripture: Proverbs 23:9–12 (NIV)
Don’t bother talking sense to fools;
they’ll only poke fun at your words.
10-11 Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
or cheat orphans out of their property,
For they have a powerful Advocate
who will go to bat for them.
12 Give yourselves to disciplined instruction;
open your ears to tested knowledge.
Insight
Proverbs 23:9–12 point to the interrelated principles of seeking wisdom from those who can be trusted (v. 12) while discerning who cannot be trusted (v. 9). This principle of discerning others’ character and limiting contact with the foolish—due to the profound influence of close relationships—is echoed in 26:4–5. However, these verses show a subtle difference of the principle by placing side by side opposite guidelines! First, we are told not to answer according to a foolish person’s folly (v. 4); then, we are told to answer, lest by silence we become complicit in their harmful ideas and character (v. 5).
These seemingly contradictory guidelines illustrate a principle central to the Proverbs: true wisdom is not a set of rules to be applied blindly but requires continual reliance on the Lord’s guidance to discern each situation. By: Monica Brands
Working off Bad Information
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12
On a recent trip to New York City, my wife and I wanted to brave a snowy evening and hire a taxi for a three-mile ride from our hotel to a Cuban restaurant. After entering the details into the taxi service’s app, I gulped hard when the screen revealed the price for our short jaunt: $1,547.26. After recovering from the shock, I realized I had mistakenly requested a ride to our home—several hundred miles away!
If you’re working with the wrong information, you’re going to end up with disastrous results. Always. This is why Proverbs encourages us to “apply [our] heart to instruction and [our] ears to words of knowledge”—God’s wisdom (Proverbs 23:12). If we instead seek advice from those who are foolish, those who pretend to know more than they do and who have turned their back on God, we’ll be in trouble. They “scorn . . . prudent words” and can lead us astray with unhelpful, misguided, or even deceptive advice (v. 9).
Instead, we can bend our “ears to words of knowledge” (v. 12). We can open our heart and receive God’s liberating instruction, words of clarity and hope. When we listen to those who know the deep ways of God, they help us receive and follow divine wisdom. And God’s wisdom will never lead us astray but always encourages and leads us toward life and wholeness. By Winn Collier
Today's Reflection
God, bend my ears and heart toward wisdom. Help me be open to Your truth and push away every kind of foolishness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Our Misgivings About Jesus
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep." —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Too Close To The Edge - #8382
No matter how big you expect the Grand Canyon to be, it's bigger. And when our family has had the privilege to visit there, we've all been impressed with this awesome, divine masterpiece. One big problem there though has been our boys, because they think they're part mountain goat. Of course, mountain goats cannot read the signs that tell you to stay behind the fences. Apparently, our boys couldn't read them either. They always had this irresistible urge to venture out as far as possible on those rocks that overlook the canyon. Of course, one false step, and it's over – actually, you're all over. All our lectures about going too far for safety's sake made a lot more sense the morning after we had stopped at one particular overlook. The morning paper reported that on the same afternoon we had been there, two young men went to that same overlook and one never came back. He ended up dead at the bottom of the canyon. The reason? Yeah, you know. He got too close to the edge.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Close To The Edge."
God has a word today for someone who's hurting, who's depressed and might be getting too close to the edge. Maybe there's this voice inside you, or someone you know, that's saying, "Life just hurts too much. Maybe I should just check out once and for all." You're looking over the edge of that abyss called suicide.
You need to know where that voice is coming from. Our word for today from the Word of God is John 10:10. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." That was Jesus speaking. Two voices: one is the life-taker – that would be the devil, who wants to destroy you. The other is the life-giver – Jesus, who thought you were worth dying for. Any thoughts of ending your life, I can tell you, are from the Devil himself. And you cannot let him take you over the edge and rob you of all the tomorrows God has planned for you.
That edge of the cliff called suicide can only be a consideration if you do not realize how tragically expensive suicide is. First, it's the ultimate act of defiance toward the God who made you. In Psalm 139:13 and 16, it says, "You created my inmost being (God); You knit me together in my mother's womb... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Only the One who gave you your life has the right to end your life. And He's the One you meet the moment your life is over. You don't want to go into eternity defying the God you are about to meet.
Suicide, in many ways, is an ultimate act of selfishness toward the people who love you. You don't mean for it to be, but I've been on the other end of this. They never recover from the awful agony of this decision. Don't do this to them. You know, suicide is the ultimate waste of a life that Jesus actually gave His life for. He didn't die on the cross just to have us throw away the life He gave everything for. One last thing – suicide is an ultimate surrender to the spiritual enemy who hates you.
Look, maybe you've gotten too close to the edge recently. You've been thinking about suicide as an answer. A lot of people have, more than we realize. But, believe me, living is always better. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life." Right now, instead of giving up, would you give it all over to Jesus? Pour out all that pain and all that struggle at the feet of this One who loves you most. He said, "I was sent to bind up the brokenhearted." And please talk to someone today about your struggle – a pastor, someone on a hot line, a counselor who's maybe walked through this with a lot of other people. Whatever the risks there are of you reaching out and talking about it, they can't be as expensive as giving up.
The Lord wants you to live – to have all your tomorrows. That's why He sent you this message of life today where you could hear it. Please get away from the edge. Don't go near it again! In God's own words from His book, "Choose life!"
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