Max Lucado Daily: RELY ON HIS ENERGY
Paul once asked the Galatian church a question. “You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish” (Galatians 3:3).
I used to think there were two kinds of people: the saved and unsaved. Paul describes a third: the saved, but unspiritual. They blend in with nonbelievers. They let God save them, but not change them. Their lives are marked by joyless days, contentious relationships, and thirsty hearts. No wonder they’re tired.
Paul gives the solution in five rich words. “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Do you desire God’s Spirit? Ask. The Spirit fills as prayers flow. Try this! Invite the Holy Spirit into every room of your heart!
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 6
During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.”
5-6 The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—
Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,
Philip,
Procorus,
Nicanor,
Timon,
Parmenas,
Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.
Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task.
7 The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.
8-10 Stephen, brimming with God’s grace and energy, was doing wonderful things among the people, unmistakable signs that God was among them. But then some men from the meeting place whose membership was made up of freed slaves, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and some others from Cilicia and Asia, went up against him trying to argue him down. But they were no match for his wisdom and spirit when he spoke.
11 So in secret they bribed men to lie: “We heard him cursing Moses and God.”
12-14 That stirred up the people, the religious leaders, and religion scholars. They grabbed Stephen and took him before the High Council. They put forward their bribed witnesses to testify: “This man talks nonstop against this Holy Place and God’s Law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear this place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.”
15 As all those who sat on the High Council looked at Stephen, they found they couldn’t take their eyes off him—his face was like the face of an angel!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Acts 2:1-12
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.
5-11 There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;
Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene;
Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;
Even Cretans and Arabs!
“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”
12 Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”
Insight
In the span of just eight weeks, the disciples had endured an emotional rollercoaster. Imagine experiencing the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem only to witness His arrest and crucifixion (Matthew 21–26; Mark 11–14; Luke 19–22; John 12–13). Then came His resurrection—irrefutable proof that He is the Messiah—followed by His departure from this earth. Given such turmoil, we might forgive the disciples for misunderstanding Christ’s instructions about establishing His kingdom. They expected a political solution to their problems—Israel’s liberation from Roman oppression and their rightful place in the world as God’s chosen people (Acts 1:6). But Jesus had something better in mind. He promised them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth” (v. 8). Acts 2 shows how the Holy Spirit ignited that promise.
God of All People
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Acts 2:5
Former Newsboys lead vocalist Peter Furler describes the performance of the band’s praise song “He Reigns.” The song paints a vivid picture of believers from every tribe and nation coming together to worship God in unity. Furler observed that whenever the Newsboys sang it he could sense the moving of the Holy Spirit in the gathering of believers.
Furler’s description of his experiences with “He Reigns” would likely have resonated with the crowds who converged on Jerusalem at Pentecost. When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), things began to happen beyond anyone’s experience. As a result, Jews representing every nation came together in confusion, because each one heard their own language being spoken to make God’s wonders known (vv. 5–6, 11). Peter explained to the crowd that this was in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy in which God said, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (v. 17).
This all-inclusive display of God’s awesome power made the crowd receptive to Peter’s declaration of the gospel, leading to three thousand converts that day alone (v. 41). Following this spectacular kickoff, these new believers then returned to their corner of the world, taking the good news with them.
The good news still resounds today—God’s message of hope for all people. As we praise God together, His Spirit moves among us, bringing people of every nation together in wonderful unity. He reigns! By Remi Oyedele
Reflect & Pray
In what ways do you see God’s image in other people? How can you view people from every tribe and nation through the lens of Jesus?
Dear heavenly Father, help me to reflect Your heart for all of Your people.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Come to Me… —Matthew 11:28
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“…and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically. Disciples Indeed, 387 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Wounded, But Still Fighting - #8457
Tommy Rieman was a teenager pumping gas in Independence, Kentucky, when he enlisted in the United States Army. Today, he wears the Purple Heart and the Silver Star of an American hero. He was, in fact, introduced to the nation during President Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address. There's been been a lot of disagreement about the war in Iraq, but there wass no disagreement about the heroism of soldiers like Sgt. Rieman. The day his squad was ambushed by enemy fire in the midst of a reconnaissance mission, they were outnumbered ten to one. Their vehicles kept moving as Sgt. Rieman dove into the backseat and used his body as a shield to protect his gunner. As they sped away from the ambush, they found themselves ambushed again by some fifty enemy attackers. Rieman was shot in the right arm, he was shot in the chest, he had shrapnel wounds to his chest and stomach and ear, and his squad was out of ammo. In spite of all those wounds, Tommy Rieman began firing away with his grenade launcher at their attackers. Finally, the enemy's guns fell silent. Then Sgt. Rieman began tending to his wounded.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Wounded, But Still Fighting."
That's a hero. Someone who's been wounded - even badly wounded - and they still keep fighting. That's what spiritual heroes do, too. You may be one of them. Or you may be in a position to rise to be one right now.
There's no greater example of this wounded but fighting kind of warrior than the great Apostle Paul, of course. Listen to his powerful personal testimony, recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 4, beginning with verse 8, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." He continues his testimony in chapter 6 with this report: "As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger...dying, yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
I read this and I ask myself, "So what's your excuse, Ron?" Paul had been wounded over and over again - deeply wounded, but he's still in there fighting just like Jesus. Just like so many of His followers over the years who've been bloodied, but unbowed.
Sadly, some of us get wounded and we don't respond like, in Paul's words, "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:1). It's all too easy to respond to being hit with self-pity and self-centeredness and bitterness. It's the "poor me" thing, which simply focuses you on your wounds, letting them define who you are and even how you treat other people. Some people respond with bitterness and anger and stinky attitudes. Others get wounded and they start shutting down or giving up. And some who've been wounded become the wounders of others.
But a spiritual warrior realizes that the fight is more important than his feelings, the cause is more important than my condition. It could be that your wounds have made you start to give up the fight. Don't do it. Keep fighting for your marriage, keep fighting for that child of yours, keep fighting for the hard hearts you've been praying for, keep fighting for that ministry, that church, that calling from God. You serve a Savior who was attacked, brutalized and crushed, and yet He refused to turn back
until He'd won the battle for your soul. Yes, you're wounded, but keep fighting. One day the battle will be over. You'll be home, and you will be rewarded by the King of all kings.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
Song of Solomon 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A HEART HEADED HOME
The apostle Paul wrote, “God sent [Christ] to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so he could adopt us as his very own children” (Galatians 4:5).
Heaven knows no stepchildren or grandchildren. God says we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). What Christ inherits, you inherit. We are adopted but not yet transported. We have a new family, but not our heavenly house. He has claimed us, but has yet to come for us. What do we do in the meantime?
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2 to “let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.” Let today be a day full of heaven-thoughts. Every homeless day carries us closer to the day our Father will come. You, my friend, are headed home.
Read more Come Thirsty
Song of Solomon 3
Restless in bed and sleepless through the night,
I longed for my lover.
I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.
So I got up, went out and roved the city,
hunting through streets and down alleys.
I wanted my lover in the worst way!
I looked high and low, and didn’t find him.
And then the night watchmen found me
as they patrolled the darkened city.
“Have you seen my dear lost love?” I asked.
No sooner had I left them than I found him,
found my dear lost love.
I threw my arms around him and held him tight,
wouldn’t let him go until I had him home again,
safe at home beside the fire.
5 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.
6-10 What’s this I see, approaching from the desert,
raising clouds of dust,
Filling the air with sweet smells
and pungent aromatics?
Look! It’s Solomon’s carriage,
carried and guarded by sixty soldiers,
sixty of Israel’s finest,
All of them armed to the teeth,
trained for battle,
ready for anything, anytime.
King Solomon once had a carriage built
from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.
He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold.
The cushions were covered with a purple fabric,
the interior lined with tooled leather.
11 Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem.
Oh, sisters of Zion, don’t miss this!
My King-Lover,
dressed and garlanded for his wedding,
his heart full, bursting with joy!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 11:23-31
The desires of good people lead straight to the best,
but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.
24 The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
25 The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.
26 Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!
Blessings on all who play fair and square!
27 The one who seeks good finds delight;
the student of evil becomes evil.
28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
29 Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.
30 A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;
a violent life destroys souls.
31 If good people barely make it,
what’s in store for the bad!
Insight
While the book of Proverbs contains many pithy sayings that are unrelated to each other (with the exception of chapters 1–9 and 31), there are also a surprising amount of ideas that are linked together. For example, 11:23–31 compares the righteous and the wicked and the generous and the greedy. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will be refreshed. People will curse those who hoard grain but bless the generous (vv. 24–26). In verse 28, however, it’s interesting that generosity and righteousness are linked together. “Those who trust in their riches [those unwilling to share or to be generous] will fall, but the righteous [those who share] will thrive like a green leaf.” Here the greedy are contrasted to the righteous, not to the generous. A love of money seems to have a deep impact on our character.
Sharing Slices
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
Steve, a sixty-two-year-old homeless military veteran, made his way to a warm climate where sleeping outdoors was tolerable year-round. One evening, as he displayed his hand-drawn art—his attempt to earn some money—a young woman approached and offered him several slices of pizza. Steve gratefully accepted. Moments later, Steve shared his bounty with another hungry, homeless person. Almost immediately, the same young woman resurfaced with another plate of food, acknowledging that he had been generous with what he’d been given.
Steve’s story illustrates the principle found in Proverbs 11:25 that when we’re generous with others, we’re likely to experience generosity as well. But we shouldn’t give with expecting something in return; rarely does our generosity return to us as quickly and obviously as it did for him. Rather, we give to help others in loving response to God’s instruction to do so (Philippians 2:3–4; 1 John 3:17). And when we do, God is pleased. While He’s under no obligation to refill our wallets or bellies, He often finds a way to refresh us—sometimes materially, other times spiritually.
Steve shared his second plate of pizza too with a smile and open hands. Despite his lack of resources, he is an example of what it means to live generously, willing to cheerfully share what we have with others instead of hoarding it for ourselves. As God leads and empowers us, may the same be said of us. By Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
With whom can you share today? How have you been blessed through another’s generosity?
We can be generous with what God’s given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 10, 2019
And After That What’s Next To Do?
…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 10, 2019
Looking Great, Having Little - #8456
We were between ministry engagements, and we took a short timeout in a picturesque mountain community in the Southeast. It's the oldest town in the area and its buildings make you feel like you've stepped back into the 1890s. It's got rambling Victorian mansions, soaring spires, it's got this classic railroad station. We stopped to ask a local man directions, and somewhere in the middle of his answer he made this observation about his town, "You know, this place is sort of like a movie set. There really isn't much here, but it sure does look pretty."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Great, Having Little."
Now, sadly, there are a lot of lives like that man's description of his town. There really isn't much there, but they sure do look pretty - especially all dressed up for church, turning on the charm, making a great impression, or saying and doing all the right Christian things. But, as God reminds us in 1 Samuel 16:7, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." And there's many an empty heart hiding behind an impressive exterior.
Revelation 3, beginning with verse 15, is where we find our word for today from the Word of God and it gives us a disturbing example of the deadly difference there can be between what people see and what God sees. To the outside observer, the church at Laodicea was rich, successful, and experiencing God's blessing. But Jesus said to them, "I know your deeds, that you are neither hot or cold...because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of My mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'" That's the image they had. "But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." There's the reality. Like a movie set. There really isn't much there, but it sure does look pretty.
It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that because you've impressed other people that Jesus is impressed. Not necessarily. It takes a lot of personal courage and honesty to look in the mirror and say, "You know, I'm not what everyone thinks I am. I'm pretty empty behind this image that I portray." That's painful, but it's the beginning of reality, and it's an open door for Jesus to come behind the set and start to build a deep, real, fulfilling relationship with Him. It's so wonderfully liberating to let Jesus show you what He sees when He looks at you and to let Him start building a you that only He can build.
It could be that behind all your Christianity, you really have missed Christ. You really don't have a relationship with Christ. You know He died to pay for your sins, you agree with Jesus, but somehow you've missed the step of actually committing your life to Him, of turning from running your own life to letting Him run your life. There's never been that time when you really gave you to Jesus, has there? And there's no way into heaven without doing that, no matter how spiritually impressive you look.
Maybe this is the day for you to actually move from just believing about Jesus to belonging to Jesus, from a religion that's all about Him, to a relationship with Him. It's all the difference in the world! Then tell Him right now, where you are today, "Jesus, I'm not running things any more. I am Yours. You died for my sins, You rose from the dead, and You are my only hope." At that moment, He comes into your life, and your life will never be the same. And you will be anchored to an unloseable love, and you'll know finally that what has only been on the outside is now in your heart for real and it's there to stay.
Why don't you get started on that relationship today? Make this your Jesus day! Tell Him, "Jesus I'm Yours." Go to our website, you'll find a lot of assurance and a lot of help there in getting started with Jesus. It's ANewStory.com, would you go there today?
I'll tell you, there's something very liberating, even life saving, when you finally face reality. And it's time to face the reality that behind all the Christianity, maybe Jesus isn't there. Well, today you can have the real thing.
The apostle Paul wrote, “God sent [Christ] to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so he could adopt us as his very own children” (Galatians 4:5).
Heaven knows no stepchildren or grandchildren. God says we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). What Christ inherits, you inherit. We are adopted but not yet transported. We have a new family, but not our heavenly house. He has claimed us, but has yet to come for us. What do we do in the meantime?
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2 to “let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.” Let today be a day full of heaven-thoughts. Every homeless day carries us closer to the day our Father will come. You, my friend, are headed home.
Read more Come Thirsty
Song of Solomon 3
Restless in bed and sleepless through the night,
I longed for my lover.
I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.
So I got up, went out and roved the city,
hunting through streets and down alleys.
I wanted my lover in the worst way!
I looked high and low, and didn’t find him.
And then the night watchmen found me
as they patrolled the darkened city.
“Have you seen my dear lost love?” I asked.
No sooner had I left them than I found him,
found my dear lost love.
I threw my arms around him and held him tight,
wouldn’t let him go until I had him home again,
safe at home beside the fire.
5 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.
6-10 What’s this I see, approaching from the desert,
raising clouds of dust,
Filling the air with sweet smells
and pungent aromatics?
Look! It’s Solomon’s carriage,
carried and guarded by sixty soldiers,
sixty of Israel’s finest,
All of them armed to the teeth,
trained for battle,
ready for anything, anytime.
King Solomon once had a carriage built
from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.
He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold.
The cushions were covered with a purple fabric,
the interior lined with tooled leather.
11 Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem.
Oh, sisters of Zion, don’t miss this!
My King-Lover,
dressed and garlanded for his wedding,
his heart full, bursting with joy!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 10, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Proverbs 11:23-31
The desires of good people lead straight to the best,
but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.
24 The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
25 The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.
26 Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!
Blessings on all who play fair and square!
27 The one who seeks good finds delight;
the student of evil becomes evil.
28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
29 Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.
30 A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;
a violent life destroys souls.
31 If good people barely make it,
what’s in store for the bad!
Insight
While the book of Proverbs contains many pithy sayings that are unrelated to each other (with the exception of chapters 1–9 and 31), there are also a surprising amount of ideas that are linked together. For example, 11:23–31 compares the righteous and the wicked and the generous and the greedy. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will be refreshed. People will curse those who hoard grain but bless the generous (vv. 24–26). In verse 28, however, it’s interesting that generosity and righteousness are linked together. “Those who trust in their riches [those unwilling to share or to be generous] will fall, but the righteous [those who share] will thrive like a green leaf.” Here the greedy are contrasted to the righteous, not to the generous. A love of money seems to have a deep impact on our character.
Sharing Slices
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
Steve, a sixty-two-year-old homeless military veteran, made his way to a warm climate where sleeping outdoors was tolerable year-round. One evening, as he displayed his hand-drawn art—his attempt to earn some money—a young woman approached and offered him several slices of pizza. Steve gratefully accepted. Moments later, Steve shared his bounty with another hungry, homeless person. Almost immediately, the same young woman resurfaced with another plate of food, acknowledging that he had been generous with what he’d been given.
Steve’s story illustrates the principle found in Proverbs 11:25 that when we’re generous with others, we’re likely to experience generosity as well. But we shouldn’t give with expecting something in return; rarely does our generosity return to us as quickly and obviously as it did for him. Rather, we give to help others in loving response to God’s instruction to do so (Philippians 2:3–4; 1 John 3:17). And when we do, God is pleased. While He’s under no obligation to refill our wallets or bellies, He often finds a way to refresh us—sometimes materially, other times spiritually.
Steve shared his second plate of pizza too with a smile and open hands. Despite his lack of resources, he is an example of what it means to live generously, willing to cheerfully share what we have with others instead of hoarding it for ourselves. As God leads and empowers us, may the same be said of us. By Kirsten Holmberg
Reflect & Pray
With whom can you share today? How have you been blessed through another’s generosity?
We can be generous with what God’s given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 10, 2019
And After That What’s Next To Do?
…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 10, 2019
Looking Great, Having Little - #8456
We were between ministry engagements, and we took a short timeout in a picturesque mountain community in the Southeast. It's the oldest town in the area and its buildings make you feel like you've stepped back into the 1890s. It's got rambling Victorian mansions, soaring spires, it's got this classic railroad station. We stopped to ask a local man directions, and somewhere in the middle of his answer he made this observation about his town, "You know, this place is sort of like a movie set. There really isn't much here, but it sure does look pretty."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Great, Having Little."
Now, sadly, there are a lot of lives like that man's description of his town. There really isn't much there, but they sure do look pretty - especially all dressed up for church, turning on the charm, making a great impression, or saying and doing all the right Christian things. But, as God reminds us in 1 Samuel 16:7, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." And there's many an empty heart hiding behind an impressive exterior.
Revelation 3, beginning with verse 15, is where we find our word for today from the Word of God and it gives us a disturbing example of the deadly difference there can be between what people see and what God sees. To the outside observer, the church at Laodicea was rich, successful, and experiencing God's blessing. But Jesus said to them, "I know your deeds, that you are neither hot or cold...because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of My mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'" That's the image they had. "But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." There's the reality. Like a movie set. There really isn't much there, but it sure does look pretty.
It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that because you've impressed other people that Jesus is impressed. Not necessarily. It takes a lot of personal courage and honesty to look in the mirror and say, "You know, I'm not what everyone thinks I am. I'm pretty empty behind this image that I portray." That's painful, but it's the beginning of reality, and it's an open door for Jesus to come behind the set and start to build a deep, real, fulfilling relationship with Him. It's so wonderfully liberating to let Jesus show you what He sees when He looks at you and to let Him start building a you that only He can build.
It could be that behind all your Christianity, you really have missed Christ. You really don't have a relationship with Christ. You know He died to pay for your sins, you agree with Jesus, but somehow you've missed the step of actually committing your life to Him, of turning from running your own life to letting Him run your life. There's never been that time when you really gave you to Jesus, has there? And there's no way into heaven without doing that, no matter how spiritually impressive you look.
Maybe this is the day for you to actually move from just believing about Jesus to belonging to Jesus, from a religion that's all about Him, to a relationship with Him. It's all the difference in the world! Then tell Him right now, where you are today, "Jesus, I'm not running things any more. I am Yours. You died for my sins, You rose from the dead, and You are my only hope." At that moment, He comes into your life, and your life will never be the same. And you will be anchored to an unloseable love, and you'll know finally that what has only been on the outside is now in your heart for real and it's there to stay.
Why don't you get started on that relationship today? Make this your Jesus day! Tell Him, "Jesus I'm Yours." Go to our website, you'll find a lot of assurance and a lot of help there in getting started with Jesus. It's ANewStory.com, would you go there today?
I'll tell you, there's something very liberating, even life saving, when you finally face reality. And it's time to face the reality that behind all the Christianity, maybe Jesus isn't there. Well, today you can have the real thing.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Song of Solomon 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: His First Choice
You are God's child. He saw you, picked you, and placed you! Jesus said, "You did not choose me, I chose you!" You are God's child. Replacement or fill-in? Hardly. You are His first choice. The choice wasn't obligatory, required, compulsory, forced, or compelled. He selected you because He wanted to. You are His open, willful, voluntary choice. He walked onto the auction block where you stood, and He proclaimed, This child is mine!
1 Peter 1:19 says He bought you, "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." You are His child forever. Your struggles will not last forever-but you will. The promise is in 2 Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him." Believe it. Clutch it. Tattoo it on the interior of your heart! You are God's child.
From You'll Get Through This
Song of Solomon 2
I’m just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon,
a lotus blossom from the valley pools.
The Man
2 A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—
that’s my dear friend among the girls in the village.
The Woman
3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,
my lover stands above the young men in town.
All I want is to sit in his shade,
to taste and savor his delicious love.
He took me home with him for a festive meal,
but his eyes feasted on me!
5-6 Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly!
Apricots, raisins—anything. I’m about to faint with love!
His left hand cradles my head,
and his right arm encircles my waist!
7 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.
8-10 Look! Listen! There’s my lover!
Do you see him coming?
Vaulting the mountains,
leaping the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle, graceful;
like a young stag, virile.
Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate,
all ears, all eyes—ready!
My lover has arrived
and he’s speaking to me!
The Man
10-14 Get up, my dear friend,
fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Look around you: Winter is over;
the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.
Oh, get up, dear friend,
my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Come, my shy and modest dove—
leave your seclusion, come out in the open.
Let me see your face,
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is soothing
and your face is ravishing.
The Woman
15 Then you must protect me from the foxes,
foxes on the prowl,
Foxes who would like nothing better
than to get into our flowering garden.
16-17 My lover is mine, and I am his.
Nightly he strolls in our garden,
Delighting in the flowers
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
Turn to me, dear lover.
Come like a gazelle.
Leap like a wild stag
on delectable mountains!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 6:16-20
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Insight
Unlike many of Paul’s letters, Ephesians isn’t directed at any particular heresy. Instead, the letter emphasizes Paul’s longing for the Ephesian believers to grasp the high calling God has for the church (1:18–23; 3:16–19). Through their union with Christ through the Spirit, believers experience reconciliation with God and each other (2:14–19), a miraculous unity that foreshadows the unity God is bringing “to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (1:10; see 4:13).
But being faithful to this radically countercultural calling does not come naturally, so Paul repeatedly urges believers to deepen their roots in Christ’s love (3:16–19) so they can resist the destructive lifestyles around them (6:17–19). To truly witness God’s reign, the church, with the courage and discipline of soldiers, must cultivate practices of justice, peacemaking, and an unwavering commitment to the truth through the power of Christ’s Spirit (6:10–18).
Abby’s Prayer
I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1
When Abby was a sophomore in high school, she and her mom heard a news story about a young man who’d been critically injured in a plane accident—an accident that took the lives of his father and stepmother. Although they didn’t know this person, Abby’s mom said, “We just need to pray for him and his family.” And they did.
Fast forward a few years, and one day Abby walked into a class at her university. A student offered her the seat next to him. That student was Austin Hatch, the plane crash victim Abby had prayed for. Soon they were dating, and in 2018 they were married.
“It’s crazy to think that I was praying for my future husband,” Abby said in an interview shortly before they were married. It can be easy to limit our prayers to our own personal needs and for those closest to us, without taking the time to pray for others. However, Paul, writing to the Christians at Ephesus, told them to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kind of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). And 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us to pray “for all people,” including those in authority.
Let’s pray for others—even people we don’t know. It’s one of the ways we can “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). By Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
Who are the people—some you may not even know personally—who need your prayers today? How will you carve out some time to talk with God about their needs?
Jesus, open my heart to the needs of people around me—even those I don’t know. Take my heartfelt concern and intervene for them as only You can.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Then What’s Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives… —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom….” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
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
You are God's child. He saw you, picked you, and placed you! Jesus said, "You did not choose me, I chose you!" You are God's child. Replacement or fill-in? Hardly. You are His first choice. The choice wasn't obligatory, required, compulsory, forced, or compelled. He selected you because He wanted to. You are His open, willful, voluntary choice. He walked onto the auction block where you stood, and He proclaimed, This child is mine!
1 Peter 1:19 says He bought you, "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." You are His child forever. Your struggles will not last forever-but you will. The promise is in 2 Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him." Believe it. Clutch it. Tattoo it on the interior of your heart! You are God's child.
From You'll Get Through This
Song of Solomon 2
I’m just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon,
a lotus blossom from the valley pools.
The Man
2 A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—
that’s my dear friend among the girls in the village.
The Woman
3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,
my lover stands above the young men in town.
All I want is to sit in his shade,
to taste and savor his delicious love.
He took me home with him for a festive meal,
but his eyes feasted on me!
5-6 Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly!
Apricots, raisins—anything. I’m about to faint with love!
His left hand cradles my head,
and his right arm encircles my waist!
7 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.
8-10 Look! Listen! There’s my lover!
Do you see him coming?
Vaulting the mountains,
leaping the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle, graceful;
like a young stag, virile.
Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate,
all ears, all eyes—ready!
My lover has arrived
and he’s speaking to me!
The Man
10-14 Get up, my dear friend,
fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Look around you: Winter is over;
the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.
Oh, get up, dear friend,
my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Come, my shy and modest dove—
leave your seclusion, come out in the open.
Let me see your face,
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is soothing
and your face is ravishing.
The Woman
15 Then you must protect me from the foxes,
foxes on the prowl,
Foxes who would like nothing better
than to get into our flowering garden.
16-17 My lover is mine, and I am his.
Nightly he strolls in our garden,
Delighting in the flowers
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
Turn to me, dear lover.
Come like a gazelle.
Leap like a wild stag
on delectable mountains!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ephesians 6:16-20
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
Insight
Unlike many of Paul’s letters, Ephesians isn’t directed at any particular heresy. Instead, the letter emphasizes Paul’s longing for the Ephesian believers to grasp the high calling God has for the church (1:18–23; 3:16–19). Through their union with Christ through the Spirit, believers experience reconciliation with God and each other (2:14–19), a miraculous unity that foreshadows the unity God is bringing “to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (1:10; see 4:13).
But being faithful to this radically countercultural calling does not come naturally, so Paul repeatedly urges believers to deepen their roots in Christ’s love (3:16–19) so they can resist the destructive lifestyles around them (6:17–19). To truly witness God’s reign, the church, with the courage and discipline of soldiers, must cultivate practices of justice, peacemaking, and an unwavering commitment to the truth through the power of Christ’s Spirit (6:10–18).
Abby’s Prayer
I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1
When Abby was a sophomore in high school, she and her mom heard a news story about a young man who’d been critically injured in a plane accident—an accident that took the lives of his father and stepmother. Although they didn’t know this person, Abby’s mom said, “We just need to pray for him and his family.” And they did.
Fast forward a few years, and one day Abby walked into a class at her university. A student offered her the seat next to him. That student was Austin Hatch, the plane crash victim Abby had prayed for. Soon they were dating, and in 2018 they were married.
“It’s crazy to think that I was praying for my future husband,” Abby said in an interview shortly before they were married. It can be easy to limit our prayers to our own personal needs and for those closest to us, without taking the time to pray for others. However, Paul, writing to the Christians at Ephesus, told them to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kind of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). And 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us to pray “for all people,” including those in authority.
Let’s pray for others—even people we don’t know. It’s one of the ways we can “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). By Dave Branon
Reflect & Pray
Who are the people—some you may not even know personally—who need your prayers today? How will you carve out some time to talk with God about their needs?
Jesus, open my heart to the needs of people around me—even those I don’t know. Take my heartfelt concern and intervene for them as only You can.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Then What’s Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives… —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom….” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
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
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Song of Solomon 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Looking Upward
Genesis tells us, When Joseph had come to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic. They took him and cast him into a pit. . .and they sat down to eat a meal. (37:23-25)
Joseph's hands were bound, his ankles tied, and his voice became hoarse from screaming. It wasn't that his brothers didn't hear him. Twenty-two years later, when a famine tamed their swagger, they would confess, "we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear" (Gen 42:21).
You're a version of Joseph. You carry something of God within you-something the world needs. If Satan can neutralize you, he can mute your influence. Life in the pit stinks! Yet it forces you to look upward. Someone from up there must come down here and give you a hand. God did for Joseph, and He will do the same for you!
From You'll Get Through This
Song of Solomon 1
The Song—best of all songs—Solomon’s song!
The Woman
2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!
4 Take me away with you! Let’s run off together!
An elopement with my King-Lover!
We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing,
we’ll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?
5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,
oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,
Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,
time-softened like Solomon’s Temple hangings.
Don’t look down on me because I’m dark,
darkened by the sun’s harsh rays.
My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.
They made me care for the face of the earth,
but I had no time to care for my own face.
7 Tell me where you’re working
—I love you so much—
Tell me where you’re tending your flocks,
where you let them rest at noontime.
Why should I be the one left out,
outside the orbit of your tender care?
The Man
8 If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women,
it’s all right. Stay with your flocks.
Lead your lambs to good pasture.
Stay with your shepherd neighbors.
9-11 You remind me of Pharaoh’s
well-groomed and satiny mares.
Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks;
strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.
I’m making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry
that will mark and accent your beauty.
The Woman
12-14 When my King-Lover lay down beside me,
my fragrance filled the room.
His head resting between my breasts—
the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh.
My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers
picked just for me from the fields of Engedi.
The Man
15 Oh, my dear friend! You’re so beautiful!
And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!
The Woman
16-17 And you, my dear lover—you’re so handsome!
And the bed we share is like a forest glen.
We enjoy a canopy of cedars
enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old
planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows,
blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered.
Insight
One of the key themes of Ecclesiastes is found in the phrase “under the sun.” It’s found in today’s reading in verses 3 and 9, as well as twenty-seven other times in the book. What does it mean? It refers to that which is done on earth according to the system, values, and mindset of this world. It sets what happens “under the sun” in contrast to that which is rooted in and resonates with the heart of heaven. Since Ecclesiastes is a book of despair, the point is that we don’t find true meaning or purpose until we begin to live according to the heart of our Father in heaven, as opposed to the broken systems of this world.
Knocking Down Pins
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. Ecclesiastes 1:9
I was intrigued when I noticed a tattoo of a bowling ball knocking down pins on my friend Erin’s ankle. Erin was inspired to get this unique tattoo after listening to Sara Groves’s song, “Setting Up the Pins.” The clever lyrics encourage listeners to find joy in the repetitive, routine tasks that sometimes feel as pointless as manually setting up bowling pins over and over again, only to have someone knock them down.
Laundry. Cooking. Mowing the lawn. Life seems full of tasks that, once completed, have to be done again—and again. This isn’t a new struggle but an old frustration, one wrestled with in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. The book opens with the writer complaining about the endless cycles of daily human life as futile (1:2–3), even meaningless, because “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again” (v. 9).
Yet, like my friend, the writer was able to regain a sense of joy and meaning by remembering our ultimate fulfillment comes as we “fear [reverence] God and keep his commandments” (12:13). There’s comfort in knowing that God values even the ordinary, seemingly mundane aspects of life and will reward our faithfulness (v. 14).
What are the “pins” you’re continually setting up? In those times when repetitive tasks begin to feel tiring, may we take a moment to offer each task to God as an offering of love. By Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
How might you do a task differently today knowing God values it? How does knowing this bring meaning to the mundane?
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving value to the ordinary activities of life. Help us to find joy in the tasks before us today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 08, 2019
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (John 7:17).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
Genesis tells us, When Joseph had come to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic. They took him and cast him into a pit. . .and they sat down to eat a meal. (37:23-25)
Joseph's hands were bound, his ankles tied, and his voice became hoarse from screaming. It wasn't that his brothers didn't hear him. Twenty-two years later, when a famine tamed their swagger, they would confess, "we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear" (Gen 42:21).
You're a version of Joseph. You carry something of God within you-something the world needs. If Satan can neutralize you, he can mute your influence. Life in the pit stinks! Yet it forces you to look upward. Someone from up there must come down here and give you a hand. God did for Joseph, and He will do the same for you!
From You'll Get Through This
Song of Solomon 1
The Song—best of all songs—Solomon’s song!
The Woman
2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!
4 Take me away with you! Let’s run off together!
An elopement with my King-Lover!
We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing,
we’ll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?
5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,
oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,
Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,
time-softened like Solomon’s Temple hangings.
Don’t look down on me because I’m dark,
darkened by the sun’s harsh rays.
My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.
They made me care for the face of the earth,
but I had no time to care for my own face.
7 Tell me where you’re working
—I love you so much—
Tell me where you’re tending your flocks,
where you let them rest at noontime.
Why should I be the one left out,
outside the orbit of your tender care?
The Man
8 If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women,
it’s all right. Stay with your flocks.
Lead your lambs to good pasture.
Stay with your shepherd neighbors.
9-11 You remind me of Pharaoh’s
well-groomed and satiny mares.
Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks;
strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.
I’m making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry
that will mark and accent your beauty.
The Woman
12-14 When my King-Lover lay down beside me,
my fragrance filled the room.
His head resting between my breasts—
the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh.
My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers
picked just for me from the fields of Engedi.
The Man
15 Oh, my dear friend! You’re so beautiful!
And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!
The Woman
16-17 And you, my dear lover—you’re so handsome!
And the bed we share is like a forest glen.
We enjoy a canopy of cedars
enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, June 08, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old
planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows,
blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered.
Insight
One of the key themes of Ecclesiastes is found in the phrase “under the sun.” It’s found in today’s reading in verses 3 and 9, as well as twenty-seven other times in the book. What does it mean? It refers to that which is done on earth according to the system, values, and mindset of this world. It sets what happens “under the sun” in contrast to that which is rooted in and resonates with the heart of heaven. Since Ecclesiastes is a book of despair, the point is that we don’t find true meaning or purpose until we begin to live according to the heart of our Father in heaven, as opposed to the broken systems of this world.
Knocking Down Pins
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. Ecclesiastes 1:9
I was intrigued when I noticed a tattoo of a bowling ball knocking down pins on my friend Erin’s ankle. Erin was inspired to get this unique tattoo after listening to Sara Groves’s song, “Setting Up the Pins.” The clever lyrics encourage listeners to find joy in the repetitive, routine tasks that sometimes feel as pointless as manually setting up bowling pins over and over again, only to have someone knock them down.
Laundry. Cooking. Mowing the lawn. Life seems full of tasks that, once completed, have to be done again—and again. This isn’t a new struggle but an old frustration, one wrestled with in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. The book opens with the writer complaining about the endless cycles of daily human life as futile (1:2–3), even meaningless, because “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again” (v. 9).
Yet, like my friend, the writer was able to regain a sense of joy and meaning by remembering our ultimate fulfillment comes as we “fear [reverence] God and keep his commandments” (12:13). There’s comfort in knowing that God values even the ordinary, seemingly mundane aspects of life and will reward our faithfulness (v. 14).
What are the “pins” you’re continually setting up? In those times when repetitive tasks begin to feel tiring, may we take a moment to offer each task to God as an offering of love. By Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
How might you do a task differently today knowing God values it? How does knowing this bring meaning to the mundane?
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving value to the ordinary activities of life. Help us to find joy in the tasks before us today.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, June 08, 2019
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know…” (John 7:17).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists, but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus. Facing Reality, 34 R
Friday, June 7, 2019
Acts 5:22-42, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE SHADOW OF DEATH
Ducking the shadow of death dominates our days. Sleep more. Exercise regularly. Eat less fat, more protein. But you know, no one ducks death forever. God’s perspective is different in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “The day you die is better than the day you are born.” And Psalms 116:15 tells us, “When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him.”
Is your fear of dying robbing your joy of living? Why don’t you do this: give God your death. Envision your final minutes and offer them to him. “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.” With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 5:22-42
Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”
24 The chief of the Temple police and the high priests were puzzled. “What’s going on here anyway?”
25-26 Just then someone showed up and said, “Did you know that the men you put in jail are back in the Temple teaching the people?” The chief and his police went and got them, but they handled them gently, fearful that the people would riot and turn on them.
27-28 Bringing them back, they stood them before the High Council. The Chief Priest said, “Didn’t we give you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying your best to blame us for the death of this man.”
29-32 Peter and the apostles answered, “It’s necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail.”
33-37 When they heard that, they were furious and wanted to kill them on the spot. But one of the council members stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of God’s Law who was honored by everyone. He ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time, then said, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. Not long ago Theudas made something of a splash, claiming to be somebody, and got about four hundred men to join him. He was killed, his followers dispersed, and nothing came of it. A little later, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and acquired a following. He also fizzled out and the people following him were scattered to the four winds.
38-39 “So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!”
40-42 That convinced them. They called the apostles back in. After giving them a thorough whipping, they warned them not to speak in Jesus’ name and sent them off. The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Every day they were in the Temple and homes, teaching and preaching Christ Jesus, not letting up for a minute.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 07, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 19:1-4
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.
Insight
In C. S. Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms, he refers to Psalm 19 as the greatest poem in the Hebrew songbook with some of the most beautiful lyrics in the world. He goes on to note, however, that it can be easy to miss the connection and progression of “six verses about Nature, five about the Law, and four of personal prayer.” According to Lewis, “The key phrase on which the whole poem depends is ‘there is nothing hid from the heat thereof’ ” (v. 6 kjv). Like the relentless light and heat of the Middle Eastern sun, the words of our Creator (v. 1), Lord (v. 7), and Redeemer (v. 14) pursue the runaway thoughts that hide in our hearts (vv. 11–14). Hearing God’s voice, the poet and songwriter prays, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14).
Don’t Miss the Chance
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
“Don’t ever miss the chance to show your babies the moon!” she said. Before our mid-week prayer service began, a group of us talked about the previous night’s harvest moon. The full moon was striking, as it seemed to sit on the horizon. Mrs. Webb was the eldest voice in our conversation, a gray-haired lover of God’s grand creation. She knew my wife and I had two children in our home at the time, and she wanted to help me train them in a way worth going. Don’t ever miss the chance to show your babies the moon!
Mrs. Webb would’ve made a good psalmist. Her brand of attentiveness is reflected in David’s description of the heavenly bodies that “have no speech . . . . Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:3–4). Neither the psalmist nor Mrs. Webb had any intention of worshiping the moon or the stars, but rather the creative hands behind them. The heavens and skies reveal nothing less than the glory of God (v. 1).
We too can encourage those around us—from babies and teenagers to spouses and neighbors—to stop, look, and listen, for declarations and proclamations of God’s glory are all around us. Drawing attention to the work of His hands in turn leads to worshiping the awesome God behind the whole show. Don’t ever miss the chance. By John Blase
Reflect & Pray
How can you slow down and notice the work of God’s hands right now? How can you encourage others to do the same?
If we stop, look, and listen, we’ll see creation declaring God’s glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 07, 2019
The Greatest Source of Power
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13
Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.
However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 07, 2019
Taming the Final Frontier - #8455
I know advertisers have to hate it, but the truth is that a lot of times we remember their commercial, but we forget their product. Recently, I saw a commercial like that. The ad really impressed me, but I have no idea what they were advertising. Anyway, it showed some scenes from explorations of space and some appropriate galactic scenery. And then, these words appeared on the screen, "The last frontier isn't space." OK, then what is it? The next words answered that question. "It's the human imagination."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taming the Final Frontier."
I'd say that idea is close, but it's not the prize winner. The last frontier isn't outer space - in fact, it's inner space...what's inside you and me. Which includes our imagination, but a whole lot more. God's view would seem to be that the "last frontier is the human heart." That is the vast and violent wilderness that remains untamed inside us. And it's usually the people closest to us who can attest to the fact that our dark side is alive and well and yes, it is untamed. They get to see it and feel it all too often.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Jeremiah 17:9, our Creator says this: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Then God reveals that He isn't going to judge us based on the exterior that humans can see. He says, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind."
What the Lord finds in our heart may be things others can't see, but things we know all too well - things we are either ashamed of, or ought to be ashamed of. God knows all about the stubborn selfishness in our heart. He's knows about those unspeakable desires, the lust, the arrogance, the anger, the moral pollution. But it's not just God who knows that dark side of us. The people around us do too - ften the people we love. They experience it through the way we treat them sometimes, the devastating things we say, the meanness, the self-centeredness, the dirt.
Beneath our carefully cultivated image, beneath our impressive religiosity, is this untamed monster that God has called "sin." And no person, no matter how religious, can have a relationship with a perfect God or live in His perfect heaven with this sin not dealt with. But God, who knows all about us, knew that all of our best human efforts to tame the monster, all of our best efforts at being good, were no match for the beast inside us.
So, God sent His Son to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. In 1 John 4:9-10, He put it this way: "God sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." When Jesus died on the cross, He absorbed all the guilt, all the depravity, and all the hellish death penalty for our sin. So we could have every wrong thing we've ever done erased from God's records. So we could live the rest of our life totally forgiven, possessing His power to beat what's always beaten us, and knowing we are going to heaven when we die.
So if you're tired of that darkness in your heart, if you're ready to put your total trust in Jesus Christ to forgive you and change you as only He can, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, I believe when You died on the cross it was for me. I believe you are alive. I am inviting You into my life. I am Yours from this day on."
If you're at the point where you want to begin with Jesus, you need to get to our website. It's called ANewStory.com because there's information there that will help you be sure you belong to Him.
Something very miraculous, something transforming happens when Jesus enters the darkness in our heart. The lights go on. The darkness isn't winning anymore, and He's waiting to make that miracle your miracle.
Ducking the shadow of death dominates our days. Sleep more. Exercise regularly. Eat less fat, more protein. But you know, no one ducks death forever. God’s perspective is different in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “The day you die is better than the day you are born.” And Psalms 116:15 tells us, “When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him.”
Is your fear of dying robbing your joy of living? Why don’t you do this: give God your death. Envision your final minutes and offer them to him. “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.” With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 5:22-42
Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”
24 The chief of the Temple police and the high priests were puzzled. “What’s going on here anyway?”
25-26 Just then someone showed up and said, “Did you know that the men you put in jail are back in the Temple teaching the people?” The chief and his police went and got them, but they handled them gently, fearful that the people would riot and turn on them.
27-28 Bringing them back, they stood them before the High Council. The Chief Priest said, “Didn’t we give you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying your best to blame us for the death of this man.”
29-32 Peter and the apostles answered, “It’s necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail.”
33-37 When they heard that, they were furious and wanted to kill them on the spot. But one of the council members stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of God’s Law who was honored by everyone. He ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time, then said, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. Not long ago Theudas made something of a splash, claiming to be somebody, and got about four hundred men to join him. He was killed, his followers dispersed, and nothing came of it. A little later, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and acquired a following. He also fizzled out and the people following him were scattered to the four winds.
38-39 “So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!”
40-42 That convinced them. They called the apostles back in. After giving them a thorough whipping, they warned them not to speak in Jesus’ name and sent them off. The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Every day they were in the Temple and homes, teaching and preaching Christ Jesus, not letting up for a minute.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, June 07, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 19:1-4
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.
Insight
In C. S. Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms, he refers to Psalm 19 as the greatest poem in the Hebrew songbook with some of the most beautiful lyrics in the world. He goes on to note, however, that it can be easy to miss the connection and progression of “six verses about Nature, five about the Law, and four of personal prayer.” According to Lewis, “The key phrase on which the whole poem depends is ‘there is nothing hid from the heat thereof’ ” (v. 6 kjv). Like the relentless light and heat of the Middle Eastern sun, the words of our Creator (v. 1), Lord (v. 7), and Redeemer (v. 14) pursue the runaway thoughts that hide in our hearts (vv. 11–14). Hearing God’s voice, the poet and songwriter prays, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14).
Don’t Miss the Chance
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
“Don’t ever miss the chance to show your babies the moon!” she said. Before our mid-week prayer service began, a group of us talked about the previous night’s harvest moon. The full moon was striking, as it seemed to sit on the horizon. Mrs. Webb was the eldest voice in our conversation, a gray-haired lover of God’s grand creation. She knew my wife and I had two children in our home at the time, and she wanted to help me train them in a way worth going. Don’t ever miss the chance to show your babies the moon!
Mrs. Webb would’ve made a good psalmist. Her brand of attentiveness is reflected in David’s description of the heavenly bodies that “have no speech . . . . Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:3–4). Neither the psalmist nor Mrs. Webb had any intention of worshiping the moon or the stars, but rather the creative hands behind them. The heavens and skies reveal nothing less than the glory of God (v. 1).
We too can encourage those around us—from babies and teenagers to spouses and neighbors—to stop, look, and listen, for declarations and proclamations of God’s glory are all around us. Drawing attention to the work of His hands in turn leads to worshiping the awesome God behind the whole show. Don’t ever miss the chance. By John Blase
Reflect & Pray
How can you slow down and notice the work of God’s hands right now? How can you encourage others to do the same?
If we stop, look, and listen, we’ll see creation declaring God’s glory.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, June 07, 2019
The Greatest Source of Power
Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… —John 14:13
Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.
However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me…”— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do….” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, June 07, 2019
Taming the Final Frontier - #8455
I know advertisers have to hate it, but the truth is that a lot of times we remember their commercial, but we forget their product. Recently, I saw a commercial like that. The ad really impressed me, but I have no idea what they were advertising. Anyway, it showed some scenes from explorations of space and some appropriate galactic scenery. And then, these words appeared on the screen, "The last frontier isn't space." OK, then what is it? The next words answered that question. "It's the human imagination."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taming the Final Frontier."
I'd say that idea is close, but it's not the prize winner. The last frontier isn't outer space - in fact, it's inner space...what's inside you and me. Which includes our imagination, but a whole lot more. God's view would seem to be that the "last frontier is the human heart." That is the vast and violent wilderness that remains untamed inside us. And it's usually the people closest to us who can attest to the fact that our dark side is alive and well and yes, it is untamed. They get to see it and feel it all too often.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Jeremiah 17:9, our Creator says this: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Then God reveals that He isn't going to judge us based on the exterior that humans can see. He says, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind."
What the Lord finds in our heart may be things others can't see, but things we know all too well - things we are either ashamed of, or ought to be ashamed of. God knows all about the stubborn selfishness in our heart. He's knows about those unspeakable desires, the lust, the arrogance, the anger, the moral pollution. But it's not just God who knows that dark side of us. The people around us do too - ften the people we love. They experience it through the way we treat them sometimes, the devastating things we say, the meanness, the self-centeredness, the dirt.
Beneath our carefully cultivated image, beneath our impressive religiosity, is this untamed monster that God has called "sin." And no person, no matter how religious, can have a relationship with a perfect God or live in His perfect heaven with this sin not dealt with. But God, who knows all about us, knew that all of our best human efforts to tame the monster, all of our best efforts at being good, were no match for the beast inside us.
So, God sent His Son to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. In 1 John 4:9-10, He put it this way: "God sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." When Jesus died on the cross, He absorbed all the guilt, all the depravity, and all the hellish death penalty for our sin. So we could have every wrong thing we've ever done erased from God's records. So we could live the rest of our life totally forgiven, possessing His power to beat what's always beaten us, and knowing we are going to heaven when we die.
So if you're tired of that darkness in your heart, if you're ready to put your total trust in Jesus Christ to forgive you and change you as only He can, would you tell Him that right now? "Jesus, I believe when You died on the cross it was for me. I believe you are alive. I am inviting You into my life. I am Yours from this day on."
If you're at the point where you want to begin with Jesus, you need to get to our website. It's called ANewStory.com because there's information there that will help you be sure you belong to Him.
Something very miraculous, something transforming happens when Jesus enters the darkness in our heart. The lights go on. The darkness isn't winning anymore, and He's waiting to make that miracle your miracle.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Proverbs 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: DEFINED BY GOD’S GRACE
In Galatians 2:16 the Apostle Paul says, “No one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” We become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by trusting in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-9 explains how we are defined by God’s grace. “He gave us life” so we are spiritually alive. We are “seated with him in the heavenly realms”—heavenly positioned. We are “one with Christ,” connected to God. We are billboards of mercy because we are “examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us.” And we are honored children saved “by his special favor.”
Are you defined by God’s grace? Your deeds don’t save you. Your deeds don’t keep you saved. Grace does. Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 31
The words of King Lemuel,
the strong advice his mother gave him:
2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!
Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!
Don’t dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women,
promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.
4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,
gulping wine and swilling beer,
Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,
and the people who depend on them are hurt.
Use wine and beer only as sedatives,
to kill the pain and dull the ache
Of the terminally ill,
for whom life is a living death.
8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Wilderness and desert will sing joyously,
the badlands will celebrate and flower—
Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom,
a symphony of song and color.
Mountain glories of Lebanon—a gift.
Awesome Carmel, stunning Sharon—gifts.
God’s resplendent glory, fully on display.
God awesome, God majestic.
3-4 Energize the limp hands,
strengthen the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
“Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
on his way to put things right
And redress all wrongs.
He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
5-7 Blind eyes will be opened,
deaf ears unstopped,
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis,
thirsty ground a splashing fountain.
Even lowly jackals will have water to drink,
and barren grasslands flourish richly.
8-10 There will be a highway
called the Holy Road.
No one rude or rebellious
is permitted on this road.
It’s for God’s people exclusively—
impossible to get lost on this road.
Not even fools can get lost on it.
No lions on this road,
no dangerous wild animals—
Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
The people God has ransomed
will come back on this road.
They’ll sing as they make their way home to Zion,
unfading halos of joy encircling their heads,
Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness
as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.
Insight
The promise in Isaiah 35:5—the blind and the deaf would be healed—was intended to help Israel recognize the Messiah when He arrived. In Mark 6–8, we see two cycles of events. Each has a miraculous feeding, a debate with the religionists, and a healing miracle. The first cycle ends with Jesus healing a deaf man and the second with Him healing a blind man. Little wonder, then, that Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah (8:29), for He has fulfilled the promise of Isaiah 35.
Blooming in the Desert
They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:2
The Mojave Desert includes the expected sand dunes, dry canyons, mesas, and mountains of most deserts. But American biologist Edmund Jaeger observed that every few years an abundance of rain results in “such a wealth of blossoms that almost every foot of sand or gravelly soil is hidden beneath a blanket of flowers.” The Mojave wildflower show isn’t a yearly phenomenon, though. Researchers confirm the dry earth needs to be soaked by storms and warmed by the sun, at just the right times, before blooms will cover the desert with vibrant colors.
This image of God bringing forth life despite the arid terrain reminds me of the prophet Isaiah. He shared an encouraging vison of hope after delivering God’s message of judgment on all nations (Isaiah 35). Describing a future time when God will make all things right, the prophet said, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (v. 1). He declared God’s rescued people will enter His kingdom “with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (v. 10).
With our eternal future secured by God’s promises, we can trust Him through life’s seasons of drought and drenching storms. Deeply rooted in His love, we can grow, blooming into His likeness until, at just the right time, Jesus returns and sets all things right. By Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
What storms of life have you been facing? How is God showing you His presence? Look! He’s there.
Loving Father, thank You for assuring us You’re with us and working to grow us through every stormy moment of our lives.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Bad Ways to Do Good Things - #8454
When our friends got married some years ago, they decided they wanted to live and farm in a largely undeveloped area of the Ozark Mountains. They had some interesting neighbors - one in particular. He looked and talked and smelled like a true man of the mountains who had little use for "civilization." After they declined his invitation to dinner a few times, they finally consented. It was a memorable night. They stood on the porch of his cabin as he pointed to the hens running around the yard and said, "Tell me which chicken you want for dinner." They did and then they got to participate in executing the lucky winner. The conditions in which dinner was prepared would have given chest pains to any health inspector.
As they sat down at the table, they noticed a dark covering on one dish that they were about to eat. It turned out it was flies! After dinner, the two men sat in the living room and visited. My friend commented on the big holes all along the bottom of the cabin walls. His host explained that those holes were from the mice. He said, "They must be mighty big mice and there must be a lot of them." That's what my friend said. The host just smiled and said, "Oh, the holes are from me killing 'em. I just sit here with my old .22 and shoot 'em when they poke their head out!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bad Ways to Do Good Things."
Getting rid of mice - that's a good thing. Shooting up the house to get rid of them - that's a bad thing. But then, there are lots of bad ways to do good things. In fact, the Bible is full of examples from Moses killing an Egyptian to help free his people from slavery to Abraham trying to fulfill God's promise of a son by having a baby through his wife's servant.
There's a particularly haunting story about bad ways to do a good thing in our word for today from the Word of God. It's haunting because it exposes some of the most common mistakes we make in trying to get what we believe to be a good result. Just before Rebekah has her twin boys, Jacob and Esau, God promises her that, contrary to what usually happened in a Jewish family, "the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). Jacob, the second-born, will receive the blessing that she would expect Esau, the firstborn, to get.
But now father Isaac, who gives that blessing, is nearly blind and he appears to be dying. It looks like Esau's going to get the blessing, not Jacob. In Genesis 26, beginning with verse 14, Rebekah schemes to pass off smooth-skinned Jacob as Esau the hairy outdoorsman. The Bible says, "Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau...and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands...with the goatskins." She also gives Jacob his father's favorite meal to deliver. When Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob replied, "I am." And it worked! Jacob got the blessing. That's a good thing - the thing God promised. But it was done through manipulation and deception.
Here's the sobering question for you and me: do I sometimes manipulate people and situations to get a good thing to happen? The first syllable of manipulation tells the whole ugly story - man. I can't wait for God to do it His way. Human manipulation aborts the perfect processes of God. And it almost always demands some sacrifice of the truth, making things sound or look different than they really are.
By the way, Isaac didn't die for a lot more years. Rebekah's scheme ripped her family apart and made one brother ready to kill the other. Her favorite son, Jacob, had to leave for 20 years, during which he was repeatedly deceived and manipulated himself. And Rebekah never sees her precious son again. There's such a high price when you use a bad way to do a good thing! You may get what you want, but you'll lose more than you could ever imagine. Just ask Rebekah.
Christian writer Warren Wiersbe has an awesome insight on all of this. He says, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Here's the equation you can't afford to forget: a good thing + a bad way of getting it = a price too high to pay.
In Galatians 2:16 the Apostle Paul says, “No one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” We become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by trusting in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-9 explains how we are defined by God’s grace. “He gave us life” so we are spiritually alive. We are “seated with him in the heavenly realms”—heavenly positioned. We are “one with Christ,” connected to God. We are billboards of mercy because we are “examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us.” And we are honored children saved “by his special favor.”
Are you defined by God’s grace? Your deeds don’t save you. Your deeds don’t keep you saved. Grace does. Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 31
The words of King Lemuel,
the strong advice his mother gave him:
2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!
Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!
Don’t dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women,
promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.
4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,
gulping wine and swilling beer,
Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,
and the people who depend on them are hurt.
Use wine and beer only as sedatives,
to kill the pain and dull the ache
Of the terminally ill,
for whom life is a living death.
8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Wilderness and desert will sing joyously,
the badlands will celebrate and flower—
Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom,
a symphony of song and color.
Mountain glories of Lebanon—a gift.
Awesome Carmel, stunning Sharon—gifts.
God’s resplendent glory, fully on display.
God awesome, God majestic.
3-4 Energize the limp hands,
strengthen the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
“Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
on his way to put things right
And redress all wrongs.
He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
5-7 Blind eyes will be opened,
deaf ears unstopped,
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis,
thirsty ground a splashing fountain.
Even lowly jackals will have water to drink,
and barren grasslands flourish richly.
8-10 There will be a highway
called the Holy Road.
No one rude or rebellious
is permitted on this road.
It’s for God’s people exclusively—
impossible to get lost on this road.
Not even fools can get lost on it.
No lions on this road,
no dangerous wild animals—
Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
The people God has ransomed
will come back on this road.
They’ll sing as they make their way home to Zion,
unfading halos of joy encircling their heads,
Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness
as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.
Insight
The promise in Isaiah 35:5—the blind and the deaf would be healed—was intended to help Israel recognize the Messiah when He arrived. In Mark 6–8, we see two cycles of events. Each has a miraculous feeding, a debate with the religionists, and a healing miracle. The first cycle ends with Jesus healing a deaf man and the second with Him healing a blind man. Little wonder, then, that Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah (8:29), for He has fulfilled the promise of Isaiah 35.
Blooming in the Desert
They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:2
The Mojave Desert includes the expected sand dunes, dry canyons, mesas, and mountains of most deserts. But American biologist Edmund Jaeger observed that every few years an abundance of rain results in “such a wealth of blossoms that almost every foot of sand or gravelly soil is hidden beneath a blanket of flowers.” The Mojave wildflower show isn’t a yearly phenomenon, though. Researchers confirm the dry earth needs to be soaked by storms and warmed by the sun, at just the right times, before blooms will cover the desert with vibrant colors.
This image of God bringing forth life despite the arid terrain reminds me of the prophet Isaiah. He shared an encouraging vison of hope after delivering God’s message of judgment on all nations (Isaiah 35). Describing a future time when God will make all things right, the prophet said, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (v. 1). He declared God’s rescued people will enter His kingdom “with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (v. 10).
With our eternal future secured by God’s promises, we can trust Him through life’s seasons of drought and drenching storms. Deeply rooted in His love, we can grow, blooming into His likeness until, at just the right time, Jesus returns and sets all things right. By Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
What storms of life have you been facing? How is God showing you His presence? Look! He’s there.
Loving Father, thank You for assuring us You’re with us and working to grow us through every stormy moment of our lives.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. Not Knowing Whither, 900 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Bad Ways to Do Good Things - #8454
When our friends got married some years ago, they decided they wanted to live and farm in a largely undeveloped area of the Ozark Mountains. They had some interesting neighbors - one in particular. He looked and talked and smelled like a true man of the mountains who had little use for "civilization." After they declined his invitation to dinner a few times, they finally consented. It was a memorable night. They stood on the porch of his cabin as he pointed to the hens running around the yard and said, "Tell me which chicken you want for dinner." They did and then they got to participate in executing the lucky winner. The conditions in which dinner was prepared would have given chest pains to any health inspector.
As they sat down at the table, they noticed a dark covering on one dish that they were about to eat. It turned out it was flies! After dinner, the two men sat in the living room and visited. My friend commented on the big holes all along the bottom of the cabin walls. His host explained that those holes were from the mice. He said, "They must be mighty big mice and there must be a lot of them." That's what my friend said. The host just smiled and said, "Oh, the holes are from me killing 'em. I just sit here with my old .22 and shoot 'em when they poke their head out!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bad Ways to Do Good Things."
Getting rid of mice - that's a good thing. Shooting up the house to get rid of them - that's a bad thing. But then, there are lots of bad ways to do good things. In fact, the Bible is full of examples from Moses killing an Egyptian to help free his people from slavery to Abraham trying to fulfill God's promise of a son by having a baby through his wife's servant.
There's a particularly haunting story about bad ways to do a good thing in our word for today from the Word of God. It's haunting because it exposes some of the most common mistakes we make in trying to get what we believe to be a good result. Just before Rebekah has her twin boys, Jacob and Esau, God promises her that, contrary to what usually happened in a Jewish family, "the older will serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). Jacob, the second-born, will receive the blessing that she would expect Esau, the firstborn, to get.
But now father Isaac, who gives that blessing, is nearly blind and he appears to be dying. It looks like Esau's going to get the blessing, not Jacob. In Genesis 26, beginning with verse 14, Rebekah schemes to pass off smooth-skinned Jacob as Esau the hairy outdoorsman. The Bible says, "Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau...and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands...with the goatskins." She also gives Jacob his father's favorite meal to deliver. When Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob replied, "I am." And it worked! Jacob got the blessing. That's a good thing - the thing God promised. But it was done through manipulation and deception.
Here's the sobering question for you and me: do I sometimes manipulate people and situations to get a good thing to happen? The first syllable of manipulation tells the whole ugly story - man. I can't wait for God to do it His way. Human manipulation aborts the perfect processes of God. And it almost always demands some sacrifice of the truth, making things sound or look different than they really are.
By the way, Isaac didn't die for a lot more years. Rebekah's scheme ripped her family apart and made one brother ready to kill the other. Her favorite son, Jacob, had to leave for 20 years, during which he was repeatedly deceived and manipulated himself. And Rebekah never sees her precious son again. There's such a high price when you use a bad way to do a good thing! You may get what you want, but you'll lose more than you could ever imagine. Just ask Rebekah.
Christian writer Warren Wiersbe has an awesome insight on all of this. He says, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Here's the equation you can't afford to forget: a good thing + a bad way of getting it = a price too high to pay.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Proverbs 30, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S SALVATION SONG
The ultimate disaster is carrying your sins to your casket. Christ responds to universal sin with a universal sacrifice, taking on the sins of the entire world. But God’s salvation song has two verses. One, He took your place on the cross, which is the first stanza: God’s work for you. But he also takes his place in your heart, which is the second stanza: God’s work in you.
Paul explains, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). This has powerful implications. Sin may touch you, but it cannot claim you. It cannot condemn you. Trust this truth. Take frequent, refreshing drinks from his well of grace. Your heart is his home, and he is your master. Live with a smile, a skip, and a sparkle in your eye…because of Jesus Christ.
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 30
The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh
The skeptic swore, “There is no God!
No God!—I can do anything I want!
I’m more animal than human;
so-called human intelligence escapes me.
3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’
I see no evidence of a holy God.
Has anyone ever seen Anyone
climb into Heaven and take charge?
grab the winds and control them?
gather the rains in his bucket?
stake out the ends of the earth?
Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.
Come on now—tell me!”
5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;
he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don’t second-guess him;
he might take you to task and show up your lies.”
7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things
before I die; don’t refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
neither too much nor too little.
If I’m too full, I might get independent,
saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’
If I’m poor, I might steal
and dishonor the name of my God.”
10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers
behind their backs;
They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,
and then you’ll be the guilty one!
11 Don’t curse your father
or fail to bless your mother.
12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable
when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.
13 Don’t be stuck-up
and think you’re better than everyone else.
14 Don’t be greedy,
merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,
shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.
15-16 A leech has twin daughters
named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”
Three things are never satisfied,
no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—
hell,
a barren womb,
a parched land,
a forest fire.
17 An eye that disdains a father
and despises a mother—
that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures
and consumed by young eagles.
18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I’ll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.
20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:
she has sex with her client,
Takes a bath,
then asks, “Who’s next?”
21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,
yes, four things shake its foundations—
when the janitor becomes the boss,
when a fool gets rich,
when a whore is voted “woman of the year,”
when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.
24-28 There are four small creatures,
wisest of the wise they are—
ants—frail as they are,
get plenty of food in for the winter;
marmots—vulnerable as they are,
manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
locusts—leaderless insects,
yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
lizards—easy enough to catch,
but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.
29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,
four that are impressive in their bearing—
a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
a rooster, proud and strutting;
a billy goat;
a head of state in stately procession.
32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself
by offending people and making rude gestures,
Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.
Churned milk turns into butter;
riled emotions turn into fist fights.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 13:44-46
“God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
45-46 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
Insight
Jesus compares the “kingdom of heaven” to treasure and what a person will do to acquire it (Matthew 13:44). We might be tempted to focus on an earthbound understanding of treasure, but Jesus is emphasizing the sacrifice involved. The one who found this great treasure “sold all he had” just to obtain it. At another point Jesus noted, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (16:26). Living by Christ’s values means that everything else pales in comparison. The kingdom of heaven demands our total commitment to Jesus.
Finding Treasure
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Matthew 13:44
John and Mary were walking their dog on their property when they stumbled on a rusty can partially unearthed by recent rains. They took the can home and opened it, discovering a cache of gold coins over a century old! The couple returned to the spot and located seven more cans containing 1,427 coins in all. Then they protected their treasure by reburying it elsewhere.
The cache of coins (valued at $10 million) is called the Saddle Ridge Hoard, the largest find of its kind in US history. The story is strikingly reminiscent of a parable Jesus told: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44).
Tales of buried treasure have captured imaginations for centuries, though such discoveries rarely happen. But Jesus tells of a treasure accessible to all who confess their sins and receive and follow Him (John 1:12).
We’ll never come to an end of that treasure. As we leave our old lives and pursue God and His purposes, we encounter His worth. Through “the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7), God offers us treasure beyond imagination—new life as His sons and daughters, new purpose on earth, and the incomprehensible joy of eternity with Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
How are you treasuring your relationship with God? How can you share that treasure with others?
You are my greatest treasure, Jesus. I praise You for giving Your life for me on the cross, so that I could find forgiveness and new life in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
God’s Assurance
He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6
My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.
What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ”
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Being Someone's Miracle - #8453
I think my fascination started at a historic old life-saving station on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was there that I learned about the heroism of those crews who once manned those life-saving stations all along the maritime Atlantic coast. Their heroism actually gave birth to what we know today as the United States Coast Guard. Their motto says it all: "So others may live." Some of that modern-day heroism was portrayed in a movie called "The Guardian." It's a story about that elite group of 280 men and women who are known as rescue swimmers - the first responders who jump from choppers into violent seas to rescue people who otherwise would die there. In the movie, a veteran rescuer shows a film of a burning ship from which he helped to rescue some desperate crewmen. He frames the essence of their mission in some sobering words: "They're looking for a miracle to save them. You have to find a way to be that miracle."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Being Someone's Miracle."
Now, I can just imagine Jesus saying those words to me and to you about the people who are part of our lives day after day. "They're looking for a miracle to save them, and you have to find a way to be that miracle." Because they are, in God's words from the Bible, "lost" (Luke 19:10), also "condemned" it says (John 3:18). Another place says they "are being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:16). Ephesians says they are "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). That's people you know, people you see every day.
The folks around you probably don't realize they're dying spiritually. But they do know that something's missing, that life isn't working, that they don't have personal peace, or that they are living as one writer said, "lives of quiet desperation." They need a miracle to save them - they need a miracle with skin on. Someone close enough to rescue them from a life and an eternity without Christ. A spiritual rescuer who will take whatever risks necessary to bring them to the real Rescuer, Jesus Christ.
They need you. Just as another man in need of a miracle needed the people who could get him to Jesus. In fact that story is in Mark 2, beginning with verse 3 - it's our word for today from the Word of God. And in many ways, it's your story. It's the story of someone you know who has never met Jesus. "Some men came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus, because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was on. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" Later He told the paralyzed man to take up his mat and walk, and the miracle man, it says, "walked out in full view of them all."
But no life-changing can happen here, unless someone cares enough about this guy to get him to Jesus. You know people like that, and you've been divinely placed in their life to be God's designated bringer. It starts when you ask God for the passion of those four, through-the-roof friends, "I've got to get him to Jesus whatever it takes."
What does it mean to be their miracle? You pray daily for God to open up natural opportunities for you to talk about Jesus. Then you look for those opportunities as you go through the day. Don't count on getting them to a meeting because you need to reach them where they are. They may never come to our meeting. Use the power of your personal hope story to open their heart...your story of the difference that Jesus is making in your life. Most of all, pray every day by name for the lost people God has planted around you.
Yes, you'll be afraid. Yes, there will be obstacles. Yes, it may take a lot of patience and perseverance. But lives are at stake - every bit as much as they are for those people going down in those stormy seas. They need a miracle to save them. By God's grace, find a way to be that miracle!
The ultimate disaster is carrying your sins to your casket. Christ responds to universal sin with a universal sacrifice, taking on the sins of the entire world. But God’s salvation song has two verses. One, He took your place on the cross, which is the first stanza: God’s work for you. But he also takes his place in your heart, which is the second stanza: God’s work in you.
Paul explains, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). This has powerful implications. Sin may touch you, but it cannot claim you. It cannot condemn you. Trust this truth. Take frequent, refreshing drinks from his well of grace. Your heart is his home, and he is your master. Live with a smile, a skip, and a sparkle in your eye…because of Jesus Christ.
Read more Come Thirsty
Proverbs 30
The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh
The skeptic swore, “There is no God!
No God!—I can do anything I want!
I’m more animal than human;
so-called human intelligence escapes me.
3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’
I see no evidence of a holy God.
Has anyone ever seen Anyone
climb into Heaven and take charge?
grab the winds and control them?
gather the rains in his bucket?
stake out the ends of the earth?
Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.
Come on now—tell me!”
5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;
he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don’t second-guess him;
he might take you to task and show up your lies.”
7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things
before I die; don’t refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
neither too much nor too little.
If I’m too full, I might get independent,
saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’
If I’m poor, I might steal
and dishonor the name of my God.”
10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers
behind their backs;
They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,
and then you’ll be the guilty one!
11 Don’t curse your father
or fail to bless your mother.
12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable
when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.
13 Don’t be stuck-up
and think you’re better than everyone else.
14 Don’t be greedy,
merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,
shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.
15-16 A leech has twin daughters
named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”
Three things are never satisfied,
no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—
hell,
a barren womb,
a parched land,
a forest fire.
17 An eye that disdains a father
and despises a mother—
that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures
and consumed by young eagles.
18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I’ll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.
20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:
she has sex with her client,
Takes a bath,
then asks, “Who’s next?”
21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,
yes, four things shake its foundations—
when the janitor becomes the boss,
when a fool gets rich,
when a whore is voted “woman of the year,”
when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.
24-28 There are four small creatures,
wisest of the wise they are—
ants—frail as they are,
get plenty of food in for the winter;
marmots—vulnerable as they are,
manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
locusts—leaderless insects,
yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
lizards—easy enough to catch,
but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.
29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,
four that are impressive in their bearing—
a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
a rooster, proud and strutting;
a billy goat;
a head of state in stately procession.
32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself
by offending people and making rude gestures,
Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.
Churned milk turns into butter;
riled emotions turn into fist fights.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 13:44-46
“God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
45-46 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
Insight
Jesus compares the “kingdom of heaven” to treasure and what a person will do to acquire it (Matthew 13:44). We might be tempted to focus on an earthbound understanding of treasure, but Jesus is emphasizing the sacrifice involved. The one who found this great treasure “sold all he had” just to obtain it. At another point Jesus noted, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (16:26). Living by Christ’s values means that everything else pales in comparison. The kingdom of heaven demands our total commitment to Jesus.
Finding Treasure
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Matthew 13:44
John and Mary were walking their dog on their property when they stumbled on a rusty can partially unearthed by recent rains. They took the can home and opened it, discovering a cache of gold coins over a century old! The couple returned to the spot and located seven more cans containing 1,427 coins in all. Then they protected their treasure by reburying it elsewhere.
The cache of coins (valued at $10 million) is called the Saddle Ridge Hoard, the largest find of its kind in US history. The story is strikingly reminiscent of a parable Jesus told: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44).
Tales of buried treasure have captured imaginations for centuries, though such discoveries rarely happen. But Jesus tells of a treasure accessible to all who confess their sins and receive and follow Him (John 1:12).
We’ll never come to an end of that treasure. As we leave our old lives and pursue God and His purposes, we encounter His worth. Through “the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7), God offers us treasure beyond imagination—new life as His sons and daughters, new purpose on earth, and the incomprehensible joy of eternity with Him. By James Banks
Reflect & Pray
How are you treasuring your relationship with God? How can you share that treasure with others?
You are my greatest treasure, Jesus. I praise You for giving Your life for me on the cross, so that I could find forgiveness and new life in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
God’s Assurance
He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6
My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.
What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ”
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1459 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Being Someone's Miracle - #8453
I think my fascination started at a historic old life-saving station on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was there that I learned about the heroism of those crews who once manned those life-saving stations all along the maritime Atlantic coast. Their heroism actually gave birth to what we know today as the United States Coast Guard. Their motto says it all: "So others may live." Some of that modern-day heroism was portrayed in a movie called "The Guardian." It's a story about that elite group of 280 men and women who are known as rescue swimmers - the first responders who jump from choppers into violent seas to rescue people who otherwise would die there. In the movie, a veteran rescuer shows a film of a burning ship from which he helped to rescue some desperate crewmen. He frames the essence of their mission in some sobering words: "They're looking for a miracle to save them. You have to find a way to be that miracle."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Being Someone's Miracle."
Now, I can just imagine Jesus saying those words to me and to you about the people who are part of our lives day after day. "They're looking for a miracle to save them, and you have to find a way to be that miracle." Because they are, in God's words from the Bible, "lost" (Luke 19:10), also "condemned" it says (John 3:18). Another place says they "are being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:16). Ephesians says they are "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). That's people you know, people you see every day.
The folks around you probably don't realize they're dying spiritually. But they do know that something's missing, that life isn't working, that they don't have personal peace, or that they are living as one writer said, "lives of quiet desperation." They need a miracle to save them - they need a miracle with skin on. Someone close enough to rescue them from a life and an eternity without Christ. A spiritual rescuer who will take whatever risks necessary to bring them to the real Rescuer, Jesus Christ.
They need you. Just as another man in need of a miracle needed the people who could get him to Jesus. In fact that story is in Mark 2, beginning with verse 3 - it's our word for today from the Word of God. And in many ways, it's your story. It's the story of someone you know who has never met Jesus. "Some men came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus, because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was on. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" Later He told the paralyzed man to take up his mat and walk, and the miracle man, it says, "walked out in full view of them all."
But no life-changing can happen here, unless someone cares enough about this guy to get him to Jesus. You know people like that, and you've been divinely placed in their life to be God's designated bringer. It starts when you ask God for the passion of those four, through-the-roof friends, "I've got to get him to Jesus whatever it takes."
What does it mean to be their miracle? You pray daily for God to open up natural opportunities for you to talk about Jesus. Then you look for those opportunities as you go through the day. Don't count on getting them to a meeting because you need to reach them where they are. They may never come to our meeting. Use the power of your personal hope story to open their heart...your story of the difference that Jesus is making in your life. Most of all, pray every day by name for the lost people God has planted around you.
Yes, you'll be afraid. Yes, there will be obstacles. Yes, it may take a lot of patience and perseverance. But lives are at stake - every bit as much as they are for those people going down in those stormy seas. They need a miracle to save them. By God's grace, find a way to be that miracle!
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Acts 5:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE INFECTION OF SIN IS UNIVERSAL
No culture, no nation, no person sidesteps the infection of sin. You can blame the plague of sin on a godless decision. Adam and Eve ignored God’s will…and sin, with death on its coattails, entered the world. The sinful mind dismisses God and becomes self-centered. Sin, for a season, quenches thirst. But, given time, the thirst returns, more demanding than ever.
God refuses to compromise the spiritual purity of heaven. Here’s the awful truth. Lead a godless life, and expect a godless eternity. Spend life telling God to leave you alone, and he will. So what can we do? Acts 16:31 says, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus.” Christ not only became the sin offering, he overcame the punishment for sin—death—through his glorious resurrection from the dead.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 5:1-21
But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.
3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”
5-6 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
7-8 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”
“Yes,” she said, “that price.”
9-10 Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.
12-16 Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.
17-20 Provoked mightily by all this, the Chief Priest and those on his side, mainly the sect of Sadducees, went into action, arrested the apostles and put them in the town jail. But during the night an angel of God opened the jailhouse door and led them out. He said, “Go to the Temple and take your stand. Tell the people everything there is to say about this Life.”
Promptly obedient, they entered the Temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.
21-23 Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
John 14:25-31
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.
“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”
Insight
John 13–17 is known as the Upper Room Discourse or our Lord’s Farewell Discourse. After three years of ministry, the time for Christ’s departure had come (13:1). Within the next twenty-four hours He would be crucified, and within weeks He would return to His Father in heaven (14:3–4). Therefore, He seized this very special time to console, instruct, and encourage the men He had chosen to carry on His work. Not only did Jesus tell them that He would send the Holy Spirit (14:16–17, 26; 15:26; 16:7–11) to be their Advocate (one who would come alongside to aid and assist them), He shared other truths that would strengthen them as His representatives. Truths about serving and loving one another (13:1–15, 34–35; 15:12–17), about abiding in Him and bearing fruit (15:1–11), and about being hated and persecuted by the world (15:18–16:4).
Can We Relax?
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
Darnell entered the physical therapist’s office knowing he would experience a lot of pain. The therapist stretched and bent his arm and held it in positions it hadn’t been in for months since his injury. After holding each uncomfortable position for a few seconds, she gently told him: “Okay, you can relax.” He said later, “I think I heard that at least fifty times in each therapy session: ‘Okay, you can relax.’ ”
Thinking of those words, Darnell realized they could apply to the rest of his life as well. He could relax in God’s goodness and faithfulness instead of worrying.
As Jesus neared His death, He knew His disciples would need to learn this. They’d soon face a time of upheaval and persecution. To encourage them, Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to live with them and remind them of what He had taught (John 14:26). And so He could say, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (v. 27).
There’s plenty we could be uptight about in our everyday lives. But we can grow in our trust in God by reminding ourselves that His Spirit lives in us—and He offers us His peace. As we draw on His strength, we can hear Him in the therapist’s words: “Okay, you can relax.” By Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What causes you stress? What characteristics of God can help you learn to trust Him more?
Teach me, Jesus, to trust Your faithfulness, to know Your presence, to experience Your peace—to relax.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
The Never-forsaking God
He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." —Hebrews 13:5
What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says? “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
“I will never leave you…”— not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again.
“I will never…forsake you.” Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful— just the everyday activities of life— do I hear God’s assurance even in these?
We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing— that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Rudderless - #8452
Our friends Roy and Judy have been married for almost 30 years. But there are two words that took a beating early in their marriage and they still get a rise out of Judy to this day believe it or not. The words "trust me." You know there's got to be a story here. Years ago, Roy decided to try his hand sailing one of those little Sunfish type sailboats. He wanted Judy to go with him. Her back was really bothering her, but he assured her that he knew what he was doing. Of course, every guy does! "Trust me," he said. One problem: as they sailed away, the rudder kept coming off. That's all. That's rudder, as in what steers the boat. Well, Judy was extremely unhappy when rudderlessness ultimately led them to capsizing - a boat with a ten-foot mast stuck upside down in six feet of water. Beautiful picture huh? So much for "trust me."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rudderless."
That poor young husband! It's tough to be trying to sail without a rudder to guide you. It's actually a feeling a lot of folks know, even if they've never been on a sailboat in their life. In fact, it's our lives that often seem rudderless - drifting with no real sense of direction. It doesn't matter how big or how small your life is, it can still feel rudderless.
There's this feeling that I call pointlessness - the recurring sense that my life, however full and however successful, just seems so pointless...missing the meaning that makes it all make sense. And along the way, there have been people and things that have seemed to say, "Trust me" but they let us down. We're victims of disappointed trust, all of us, aren't we? Not sure where the rudder is that will help us find some direction.
The Bible explains our sense of rudderlessness, our sense of pointlessness when it says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). We were created in such a way that our life can only make sense when the One who created us is running it. But we've taken command instead, happy to let God run the universe, but unwilling to let Him run us. So we're drifting, sometimes even shipwrecked. Away from the only person who has the plan for our life. We are, to use the Bible's word for it, "lost."
Then along comes Jesus. He said He had come to "seek and save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). That saving involved the total sacrifice of His life for us, dying on the cross to absorb the awful death penalty for our spiritual rebellion. His cross became the bridge to the Creator that we've been lonely for all these years. So, in John 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is able to say, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." In other words, the life you were made for.
When Jesus says, "Trust Me," you can, because this man loved you enough to die for you, He will never do you wrong. But you're rudderless until you anchor your life to Him. You do that by putting your total trust in Him to forgive every wrong thing you have ever done and to remove forever that wall between you and God. There's no religion involved here. This is a life-giving love relationship with Jesus Christ which you can begin right now, right where you are.
If you want to begin a relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him right now, "Jesus, I'm done running my life. I've tried that. I want to do it Your way. I believe You died for me. I believe You rose from the dead, You walked out of Your grave and I want You to walk into my life today. No one's ever loved me like You have. And beginning right now, I'm Yours."
Our website is for exactly someone like you at a moment like this and I would encourage you to go there and get the information from God's word that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus. That website is ANewStory.com.
The pointless voyage can end today if you'll let Jesus take the helm of your life. You know what will happen? He'll take you where you were made to be.
No culture, no nation, no person sidesteps the infection of sin. You can blame the plague of sin on a godless decision. Adam and Eve ignored God’s will…and sin, with death on its coattails, entered the world. The sinful mind dismisses God and becomes self-centered. Sin, for a season, quenches thirst. But, given time, the thirst returns, more demanding than ever.
God refuses to compromise the spiritual purity of heaven. Here’s the awful truth. Lead a godless life, and expect a godless eternity. Spend life telling God to leave you alone, and he will. So what can we do? Acts 16:31 says, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus.” Christ not only became the sin offering, he overcame the punishment for sin—death—through his glorious resurrection from the dead.
Read more Come Thirsty
Acts 5:1-21
But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.
3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn’t lie to men but to God.”
5-6 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
7-8 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, “Tell me, were you given this price for your field?”
“Yes,” she said, “that price.”
9-10 Peter responded, “What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you’re next.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.
12-16 Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.
17-20 Provoked mightily by all this, the Chief Priest and those on his side, mainly the sect of Sadducees, went into action, arrested the apostles and put them in the town jail. But during the night an angel of God opened the jailhouse door and led them out. He said, “Go to the Temple and take your stand. Tell the people everything there is to say about this Life.”
Promptly obedient, they entered the Temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.
21-23 Meanwhile, the Chief Priest and his cronies convened the High Council, Israel’s senate, and sent to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. When the police got there, they couldn’t find them anywhere in the jail. They went back and reported, “We found the jail locked tight as a drum and the guards posted at the doors, but when we went inside we didn’t find a soul.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Today's Scripture & Insight:
John 14:25-31
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.
“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”
Insight
John 13–17 is known as the Upper Room Discourse or our Lord’s Farewell Discourse. After three years of ministry, the time for Christ’s departure had come (13:1). Within the next twenty-four hours He would be crucified, and within weeks He would return to His Father in heaven (14:3–4). Therefore, He seized this very special time to console, instruct, and encourage the men He had chosen to carry on His work. Not only did Jesus tell them that He would send the Holy Spirit (14:16–17, 26; 15:26; 16:7–11) to be their Advocate (one who would come alongside to aid and assist them), He shared other truths that would strengthen them as His representatives. Truths about serving and loving one another (13:1–15, 34–35; 15:12–17), about abiding in Him and bearing fruit (15:1–11), and about being hated and persecuted by the world (15:18–16:4).
Can We Relax?
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
Darnell entered the physical therapist’s office knowing he would experience a lot of pain. The therapist stretched and bent his arm and held it in positions it hadn’t been in for months since his injury. After holding each uncomfortable position for a few seconds, she gently told him: “Okay, you can relax.” He said later, “I think I heard that at least fifty times in each therapy session: ‘Okay, you can relax.’ ”
Thinking of those words, Darnell realized they could apply to the rest of his life as well. He could relax in God’s goodness and faithfulness instead of worrying.
As Jesus neared His death, He knew His disciples would need to learn this. They’d soon face a time of upheaval and persecution. To encourage them, Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to live with them and remind them of what He had taught (John 14:26). And so He could say, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (v. 27).
There’s plenty we could be uptight about in our everyday lives. But we can grow in our trust in God by reminding ourselves that His Spirit lives in us—and He offers us His peace. As we draw on His strength, we can hear Him in the therapist’s words: “Okay, you can relax.” By Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What causes you stress? What characteristics of God can help you learn to trust Him more?
Teach me, Jesus, to trust Your faithfulness, to know Your presence, to experience Your peace—to relax.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
The Never-forsaking God
He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." —Hebrews 13:5
What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says? “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
“I will never leave you…”— not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again.
“I will never…forsake you.” Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful— just the everyday activities of life— do I hear God’s assurance even in these?
We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing— that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible is the only Book that gives us any indication of the true nature of sin, and where it came from. The Philosophy of Sin, 1107 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Rudderless - #8452
Our friends Roy and Judy have been married for almost 30 years. But there are two words that took a beating early in their marriage and they still get a rise out of Judy to this day believe it or not. The words "trust me." You know there's got to be a story here. Years ago, Roy decided to try his hand sailing one of those little Sunfish type sailboats. He wanted Judy to go with him. Her back was really bothering her, but he assured her that he knew what he was doing. Of course, every guy does! "Trust me," he said. One problem: as they sailed away, the rudder kept coming off. That's all. That's rudder, as in what steers the boat. Well, Judy was extremely unhappy when rudderlessness ultimately led them to capsizing - a boat with a ten-foot mast stuck upside down in six feet of water. Beautiful picture huh? So much for "trust me."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rudderless."
That poor young husband! It's tough to be trying to sail without a rudder to guide you. It's actually a feeling a lot of folks know, even if they've never been on a sailboat in their life. In fact, it's our lives that often seem rudderless - drifting with no real sense of direction. It doesn't matter how big or how small your life is, it can still feel rudderless.
There's this feeling that I call pointlessness - the recurring sense that my life, however full and however successful, just seems so pointless...missing the meaning that makes it all make sense. And along the way, there have been people and things that have seemed to say, "Trust me" but they let us down. We're victims of disappointed trust, all of us, aren't we? Not sure where the rudder is that will help us find some direction.
The Bible explains our sense of rudderlessness, our sense of pointlessness when it says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). We were created in such a way that our life can only make sense when the One who created us is running it. But we've taken command instead, happy to let God run the universe, but unwilling to let Him run us. So we're drifting, sometimes even shipwrecked. Away from the only person who has the plan for our life. We are, to use the Bible's word for it, "lost."
Then along comes Jesus. He said He had come to "seek and save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). That saving involved the total sacrifice of His life for us, dying on the cross to absorb the awful death penalty for our spiritual rebellion. His cross became the bridge to the Creator that we've been lonely for all these years. So, in John 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus is able to say, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." In other words, the life you were made for.
When Jesus says, "Trust Me," you can, because this man loved you enough to die for you, He will never do you wrong. But you're rudderless until you anchor your life to Him. You do that by putting your total trust in Him to forgive every wrong thing you have ever done and to remove forever that wall between you and God. There's no religion involved here. This is a life-giving love relationship with Jesus Christ which you can begin right now, right where you are.
If you want to begin a relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him right now, "Jesus, I'm done running my life. I've tried that. I want to do it Your way. I believe You died for me. I believe You rose from the dead, You walked out of Your grave and I want You to walk into my life today. No one's ever loved me like You have. And beginning right now, I'm Yours."
Our website is for exactly someone like you at a moment like this and I would encourage you to go there and get the information from God's word that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus. That website is ANewStory.com.
The pointless voyage can end today if you'll let Jesus take the helm of your life. You know what will happen? He'll take you where you were made to be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)