Max Lucado Daily: RECEIVE THE BREAD
Acts 2:38 records the sermon of the apostle Peter. In it, Peter said, “Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven.
We cherish pardon, don’t we? And God offers it. He does not give us what we deserve. He has drenched this world in grace. It has no end. It knows no limits. It empowers this life and enables us to live in the next. God offers second chances, like a soup kitchen offers meals to everyone who asks. And that includes you. Make sure you receive His pardon. And once you do, pass it on. We all need it.
1 Chronicles 19
Some time after this Nahash king of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him as king. David said, “I’d like to show some kindness to Hanun son of Nahash—treat him as well and as kindly as his father treated me.” So David sent condolences about his father’s death.
2-3 But when David’s servants arrived in Ammonite country and came to Hanun to bring condolences, the Ammonite leaders warned Hanun, “Do you for a minute suppose that David is honoring your father by sending you comforters? Don’t you know that he’s sent these men to snoop around the city and size it up so that he can capture it?”
4 So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved them clean, cut off their robes half way up their buttocks, and sent them packing.
5 When this was all reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, for they were seriously humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow out; only then come back.”
6-7 When it dawned on the Ammonites that as far as David was concerned, they stank to high heaven, they hired, at a cost of a thousand talents of silver (thirty-seven and a half tons!), chariots and horsemen from the Arameans of Naharaim, Maacah, and Zobah—thirty-two thousand chariots and drivers; plus the king of Maacah with his troops who came and set up camp at Medeba; the Ammonites, too, were mobilized from their cities and got ready for battle.
8 When David heard this, he dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force.
9-13 The Ammonites marched out and spread out in battle formation at the city gate; the kings who had come as allies took up a position in the open fields. When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans. The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to deal with the Ammonites. Then he said, “If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me; and if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I’ll come and help you. Courage! We’ll fight might and main for our people and for the cities of our God. And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!”
14-15 But when Joab and his soldiers moved in to fight the Arameans, they ran off in full retreat. Then the Ammonites, seeing the Arameans run for dear life, took to their heels and ran from Abishai into the city.
So Joab withdrew from the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
16 When the Arameans saw how badly they’d been beaten by Israel, they picked up the pieces and regrouped; they sent for the Arameans who were across the river; Shophach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, led them.
17-19 When all this was reported to David, he mustered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, advanced, and prepared to fight. The Arameans went into battle formation, ready for David, and the fight was on. But the Arameans again scattered before Israel. David killed seven thousand chariot drivers and forty thousand infantry. He also killed Shophach, the army commander. When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 13, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 9:27–38
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”m
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.n
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;o 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”p 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.q
32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessedr and could not talks was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”t
34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”u
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.v 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,w because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.x 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvesty is plentiful but the workers are few.z 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Insight
God’s sovereignty is described three times in Matthew 9:37–38. First, God is the Lord of the harvest. This means He owns the field and watches over it, and the results of the harvest are given to Him.
He’s also the one who hires and sends the workers. The workers perform the work, but they don’t go of their own accord—the Lord of the harvest sends them. Finally, the field belongs to Him. The field is His, He sends the workers, and the harvest goes to Him.
Everyone Needs Compassion
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36
When Jeff was a new believer in Jesus and fresh out of college, he worked for a major oil company. In his role as a salesman, he traveled; and in his travels he heard people’s stories—many of them heartbreaking. He realized that what his customers most needed wasn’t oil, but compassion. They needed God. This led Jeff to attend seminary to learn more about the heart of God and eventually to become a pastor.
Jeff’s compassion had its source in Jesus. In Matthew 9:27–33 we get a glimpse of Christ’s compassion in the miraculous healing of two blind men and one demon-possessed man. Throughout His earthly ministry, He went about preaching the gospel and healing “through all the towns and villages” (v. 35). Why? “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (v. 36).
The world today is still full of troubled and hurting people who need the Savior’s gentle care. Like a shepherd who leads, protects, and cares for his sheep, Jesus extends His compassion to all who come to Him (11:28). No matter where we are in life and what we’re experiencing, in Him we find a heart overflowing with tenderness and care. And when we’ve been a beneficiary of God’s loving compassion, we can’t help but want to extend it to others. By: Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
When have you experienced God’s tender care? Who can you reach out to in compassion?
Heavenly Father, we’re so grateful You had compassion on us! We would be lost without You. Help us to extend Your overflowing compassion to others.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 13, 2020
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)
When He was alone…the twelve asked Him about the parable. —Mark 4:10
His Solitude with Us. When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship— when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Notice Jesus Christ’s training of the Twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. His disciples constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them, but they didn’t understand until after they received the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26).
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
Bible in a Year: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 13, 2020
The Only Payment Plan You Can Afford - #8611
Metal mouth! Yeah, that's what they called my daughter in Junior High. Of course, there were plenty of kids you could call that. Those pre-teen and early teen years? Those are braces years a lot of times. All our kids got to take their turn at braces, and we were thankful, frankly, that we had a friend who was an orthodontist. The work was important, but the bills? They were challenging! Our friend allowed us to pay in installments, but even that was hard sometimes. We still had this large unpaid balance the day our latest bill arrived. We opened it and we couldn't believe the three beautiful words that were stamped across the bill - PAID IN FULL!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Only Payment Plan You Can Afford."
Now, I've had that experience twice in my life, once when the man I owed declared my bill "paid," and the second time was when the God I owed declared my bill "paid."
Our word for the day from the Word of God comes from John 19:30. Jesus has been hanging on that awful cross for six brutal hours, He's now breathing His last and it says, "When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished,' and with that, He bowed His head and He gave up His spirit." Now, if you were to read that three word sentence in the original Greek language, it's one word, tetelestai.
It's an interesting word that Jesus shouted from the cross. In fact, some archaeologists a few years ago dug up this tax collectors office that was really intact, and it still had the tax records there. There were two stacks and one of them had the word, tetelestai, on the top. In other words "paid in full." Those people didn't owe anything anymore.
Now, Jesus declared that His death was a payment, a full payment! He said, "It's paid in full," the price was paid by the life of God's one and only Son. It was a bill I couldn't pay myself, it's a bill you can't pay; none of us can.
The Bible describes the reason why we have such a massive debt with God. It says, "The wages of sin is death." Now, some of us religious folks will say, "Hey, I don't think that applies to me!" Well, the bad news is, the Bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." Sin is a whole lot more than just breaking some religious rules. It's taking this life God was supposed to run and running it our way instead. It's my way instead of God's way. And the penalty is clear, and it's sobering - it is death - separation from the God who made us now and ultimately forever, and that's hell.
You and I have this overwhelming sin bill with God and eternal separation from God's the only way to pay for it. Our religion doesn't even come close to covering it. But that verse has some good news, the one that says, "The wages of sin is death," it says, "But the gift of God is eternal life." Now, how can that be? It's like my orthodontist friend, the one we owed the debt to declared our bill "paid," in this case, at the cost of Jesus' life. When He was hanging on that cross, Jesus was absorbing every sin we've ever committed and all of its' penalty.
Eternal life is described by God as a gift, and the gift isn't yours until you take it. If there's never been a time when you've told Jesus you're putting your total trust in Him to forgive your sin and get you to heaven, then your deadly sin bill remains on your record this very day. But that could change this very day in these next few moments, if you would tell
Jesus you want Him to be your Savior from your sin.
This could be the day that you're forgiven, that you begin your relationship with Him and change your eternal address from hell to heaven. There's some wonderful information I'd love to give you at our website. At this threshold it's for you. ANewStory.com. I hope you'll go there as soon as you can today.
There's this little song that says, "He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away, and now I sing a brand new song, amazing grace, Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay." Well, He's waiting to hear from you. He's waiting to stamp your bill forever "paid in full!"
Monday, January 13, 2020
Sunday, January 12, 2020
1 Chronicles 18 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: God Can Use You
If God chose only righteous people to change the world, you could count them all on one finger—Jesus! Instead he included others in his plan—sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect. God used and uses people to change the world. People! Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all!
If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used, and take heart. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God can use you. Because you’re imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes. Because you’re a sinner, you can speak of forgiveness. God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength. And when the world sees the ungodly turn godly, they know God must love them too.
God can use you, my friend!
From Max on Life
1 Chronicles 18
In the days that followed, David struck hard at the Philistines, bringing them to their knees, captured Gath, and took control of the surrounding countryside.
2 He also fought and defeated Moab. The Moabites came under David’s rule and paid regular tribute.
3-4 On his way to restore his sovereignty at the Euphrates River, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah (over toward Hamath). David captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand infantry from him. He hamstrung all the chariot horses, but saved back a hundred.
5-6 When the Arameans from Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. David set up a puppet government in Aram-Damascus. The Arameans became subjects of David and were forced to bring tribute. God gave victory to David wherever he marched.
7-8 David plundered the gold shields that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. He also looted Tebah and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, of a huge quantity of bronze that Solomon later used to make the Great Bronze Sea, the Pillars, and bronze equipment in The Temple.
9-11 Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah. He sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. Tou and Hadadezer were old enemies. Hadoram brought David various things made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David consecrated these things along with the silver and gold that he had plundered from other nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
12-13 Abishai son of Zeruiah fought and defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt—eighteen thousand of them. He set up a puppet government in Edom and the Edomites became subjects under David.
God gave David victory wherever he marched.
14-17 Thus David ruled over all of Israel. He ruled well, fair and evenhanded in all his duties and relationships.
Joab son of Zeruiah was head of the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of public records;
Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests;
Shavsha was secretary;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the special forces, the Kerethites and Pelethites;
And David’s sons held high positions, close to the king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord.a
Praise the Lord,x my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;y
I will sing praisez to my God as long as I live.a
3 Do not put your trust in princes,b
in human beings,c who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;d
on that very day their plans come to nothing.e
5 Blessed are thosef whose helpg is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heavenh and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithfuli forever.
7 He upholdsj the cause of the oppressedk
and gives food to the hungry.l
The Lord sets prisoners free,m
8 the Lord gives sightn to the blind,o
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,p
the Lord loves the righteous.q
9 The Lord watches over the foreignerr
and sustains the fatherlesss and the widow,t
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reignsu forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Insight
Psalm 146 doesn’t include a superscription, which means we don’t have information about the author’s identity or the circumstances surrounding the song’s composition. What we do know, however, is how Psalm 146 was viewed by the religious community. While many scholars believe Psalm 1 was intentionally written to open the book of Psalms, Psalms 145–150 were praise songs selected to close the Hebrew hymnal. This closing flourish of praise has been called by one writer “the endless hallelujah.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary agrees, stating that these songs are “the grand doxology of the entire collection, for praise plays a greater part of Psalms 145–150 than in most of the others. The word ‘praise’ occurs 46 times in these six psalms.” By: Bill Crowder
A Lifestyle of Praise
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Psalm 146:2
Wallace Stegner’s mother died at the age of fifty. When Wallace was eighty, he finally wrote her a note—“Letter, Much Too Late”—in which he praised the virtues of a woman who grew up, married, and raised two sons in the harshness of the early Western United States. She was the kind of wife and mother who was an encourager, even to those that were less than desirable. Wallace remembered the strength his mother displayed by way of her voice. Stegner wrote: “You never lost an opportunity to sing.” As long as she lived, Stegner’s mother sang, grateful for blessings large and small.
The psalmist too took opportunities to sing. He sang when the days were good, and when they weren’t so good. The songs were not forced or coerced, but a natural response to the “Maker of heaven and earth” (146:6) and how He “gives food to the hungry” (v. 7) and “gives sight to the blind” (v. 8) and “sustains the fatherless and the widow” (v. 9). This is really a lifestyle of singing, one that builds strength over time as daily trust is placed in “the God of Jacob” who “remains faithful forever” (vv. 5–6).
The quality of our voices isn’t the point, but our response to God’s sustaining goodness—a lifestyle of praise. As the old hymn puts it: “There’s within my heart a melody.” By: John Blase
Reflect & Pray
How can you make singing praises to God a regular part of your day? What’s your favorite song of praise? Tell us why on our Facebook page.
Maker of heaven and earth, when I pause and reflect, Your provision for and protection of me is overwhelming. May my life be a continuous song of praise to You for as long as I live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R
If God chose only righteous people to change the world, you could count them all on one finger—Jesus! Instead he included others in his plan—sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect. God used and uses people to change the world. People! Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all!
If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used, and take heart. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God can use you. Because you’re imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes. Because you’re a sinner, you can speak of forgiveness. God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength. And when the world sees the ungodly turn godly, they know God must love them too.
God can use you, my friend!
From Max on Life
1 Chronicles 18
In the days that followed, David struck hard at the Philistines, bringing them to their knees, captured Gath, and took control of the surrounding countryside.
2 He also fought and defeated Moab. The Moabites came under David’s rule and paid regular tribute.
3-4 On his way to restore his sovereignty at the Euphrates River, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah (over toward Hamath). David captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand infantry from him. He hamstrung all the chariot horses, but saved back a hundred.
5-6 When the Arameans from Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. David set up a puppet government in Aram-Damascus. The Arameans became subjects of David and were forced to bring tribute. God gave victory to David wherever he marched.
7-8 David plundered the gold shields that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. He also looted Tebah and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, of a huge quantity of bronze that Solomon later used to make the Great Bronze Sea, the Pillars, and bronze equipment in The Temple.
9-11 Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah. He sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. Tou and Hadadezer were old enemies. Hadoram brought David various things made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David consecrated these things along with the silver and gold that he had plundered from other nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
12-13 Abishai son of Zeruiah fought and defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt—eighteen thousand of them. He set up a puppet government in Edom and the Edomites became subjects under David.
God gave David victory wherever he marched.
14-17 Thus David ruled over all of Israel. He ruled well, fair and evenhanded in all his duties and relationships.
Joab son of Zeruiah was head of the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of public records;
Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests;
Shavsha was secretary;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the special forces, the Kerethites and Pelethites;
And David’s sons held high positions, close to the king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord.a
Praise the Lord,x my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;y
I will sing praisez to my God as long as I live.a
3 Do not put your trust in princes,b
in human beings,c who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;d
on that very day their plans come to nothing.e
5 Blessed are thosef whose helpg is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heavenh and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithfuli forever.
7 He upholdsj the cause of the oppressedk
and gives food to the hungry.l
The Lord sets prisoners free,m
8 the Lord gives sightn to the blind,o
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,p
the Lord loves the righteous.q
9 The Lord watches over the foreignerr
and sustains the fatherlesss and the widow,t
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reignsu forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Insight
Psalm 146 doesn’t include a superscription, which means we don’t have information about the author’s identity or the circumstances surrounding the song’s composition. What we do know, however, is how Psalm 146 was viewed by the religious community. While many scholars believe Psalm 1 was intentionally written to open the book of Psalms, Psalms 145–150 were praise songs selected to close the Hebrew hymnal. This closing flourish of praise has been called by one writer “the endless hallelujah.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary agrees, stating that these songs are “the grand doxology of the entire collection, for praise plays a greater part of Psalms 145–150 than in most of the others. The word ‘praise’ occurs 46 times in these six psalms.” By: Bill Crowder
A Lifestyle of Praise
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Psalm 146:2
Wallace Stegner’s mother died at the age of fifty. When Wallace was eighty, he finally wrote her a note—“Letter, Much Too Late”—in which he praised the virtues of a woman who grew up, married, and raised two sons in the harshness of the early Western United States. She was the kind of wife and mother who was an encourager, even to those that were less than desirable. Wallace remembered the strength his mother displayed by way of her voice. Stegner wrote: “You never lost an opportunity to sing.” As long as she lived, Stegner’s mother sang, grateful for blessings large and small.
The psalmist too took opportunities to sing. He sang when the days were good, and when they weren’t so good. The songs were not forced or coerced, but a natural response to the “Maker of heaven and earth” (146:6) and how He “gives food to the hungry” (v. 7) and “gives sight to the blind” (v. 8) and “sustains the fatherless and the widow” (v. 9). This is really a lifestyle of singing, one that builds strength over time as daily trust is placed in “the God of Jacob” who “remains faithful forever” (vv. 5–6).
The quality of our voices isn’t the point, but our response to God’s sustaining goodness—a lifestyle of praise. As the old hymn puts it: “There’s within my heart a melody.” By: John Blase
Reflect & Pray
How can you make singing praises to God a regular part of your day? What’s your favorite song of praise? Tell us why on our Facebook page.
Maker of heaven and earth, when I pause and reflect, Your provision for and protection of me is overwhelming. May my life be a continuous song of praise to You for as long as I live.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)
When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34
Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R
Saturday, January 11, 2020
1 Chronicles 17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Come Clean With God
No way around it! Confession is coming clean with God!
Check out the Old Testament example. As if David’s affair with Bathsheba wasn’t enough. As if the murder of her husband wasn’t enough! David danced around the truth. He denied his wrongdoing and it took a prophet to make David see what he didn’t want to see. And when he did, he didn’t like it one bit! At that point, David waved the white flag. No more combat with God. No more arguing with God—he confessed! He came clean with God! And what did God do? In David’s own words, “… and You forgave me! All my guilt is gone!” (Psalm 32:5).
Want to get rid of guilt? Come clean with God!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
From Max on Life
1 Chronicles 17
After the king had made himself at home, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look at this: Here I am comfortable in a luxurious palace of cedar and the Chest of the Covenant of God sits under a tent.”
2 Nathan told David, “Whatever is on your heart, go and do it; God is with you.”
3-6 But that night, the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, This is God’s word on the matter: You will not build me a ‘house’ to live in. Why, I haven’t lived in a ‘house’ from the time I brought up the children of Israel from Egypt till now; I’ve gone from one tent and makeshift shelter to another. In all my travels with all Israel, did I ever say to any of the leaders I commanded to shepherd Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’
7-10 “So here is what you are to tell my servant David: The God-of-the-Angel-Armies has this word for you: I took you from the pasture, tagging after sheep, and made you prince over my people Israel. I was with you everywhere you went and mowed your enemies down before you; and now I’m about to make you famous, ranked with the great names on earth. I’m going to set aside a place for my people Israel and plant them there so they’ll have their own home and not be knocked around anymore; nor will evil nations afflict them as they always have, even during the days I set judges over my people Israel. And finally, I’m going to conquer all your enemies.
10-14 “And now I’m telling you this: God himself will build you a house! When your life is complete and you’re buried with your ancestors, then I’ll raise up your child to succeed you, a child from your own body, and I’ll firmly establish his rule. He will build a house to honor me, and I will guarantee his kingdom’s rule forever. I’ll be a father to him, and he’ll be a son to me. I will never remove my gracious love from him as I did from the one who preceded you. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will always be there, rock solid.”
15 Nathan gave David a complete and accurate report of everything he heard and saw in the vision.
16-27 King David went in, took his place before God, and prayed:
Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life? But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming, for you’ve also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow and looked on me, Master God, as a Somebody. What’s left for David to say to this—to your honoring your servant, even though you know me, just as I am? O God, out of the goodness of your heart, you’ve taken your servant to do this great thing and put your great work on display. There’s none like you, God, no God but you, nothing to compare with what we’ve heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique on earth, whom God set out to redeem as his own people (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt? You established for yourself a people—your very own Israel!—your people forever. And you, God, became their God.
So now, great God, this word that you have spoken to me and my family, guarantee it forever! Do exactly what you’ve promised! Then your reputation will be confirmed and flourish always as people exclaim, “The God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!” And the house of your servant David will remain rock solid under your watchful presence. You, my God, have told me plainly, “I will build you a house.” That’s how I was able to find the courage to pray this prayer to you. God, being the God you are, you have spoken all these wonderful words to me. As if that weren’t enough, you’ve blessed my family so that it will continue in your presence always. Because you have blessed it, God, it’s really blessed—blessed for good!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 2:1–12
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,z during the time of King Herod,a Magia from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?b We saw his starc when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehemd in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’b”e
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.f Then they opened their treasures and presented him with giftsg of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warnedh in a dreami not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Insight
Herod apparently knew that the prophecies about the Messiah must be true. That’s why he asked the “chief priests and teachers of the law” to tell him where the Messiah would be born (Matthew 2:4–6). Yet, having learned what the Scriptures prophesied, Herod tried to thwart that prophecy by killing the baby boys in Bethlehem. By: Tim Gustafson
The Only King
They bowed down and worshiped him. Matthew 2:11
As five-year-old Eldon listened to the pastor talk about Jesus leaving heaven and coming to earth, he gasped when the pastor thanked Him in prayer for dying for our sins. “Oh, no! He died?” the boy said in surprise.
From the start of Christ’s life on earth, there were people who wanted Him dead. Wise men came to Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod inquiring, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). When the king heard this, he became fearful of one day losing his position to Jesus. So he sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger around Bethlehem. But God protected His Son and sent an angel to warn His parents to leave the area. They fled, and He was saved (vv. 13–18).
When Jesus completed His ministry, He was crucified for the sins of the world. The sign placed above His cross, though meant in mockery, read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (27:37). Yet three days later He rose in victory from the grave. After ascending to heaven, He sat down on the throne as King of kings and Lord of lords (Philippians 2:8–11).
The King died for our sins—yours, mine, and Eldon’s. Let’s allow Him to rule in our hearts. By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean for you to have Jesus as your King? Are there areas of your life where He’s not?
Jesus, thank You for willingly dying for our sins and offering forgiveness. Teach us to submit to Your rule.
To learn more about Christ’s life, visit christianuniversity.org/tgs.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 11, 2020
What My Obedience to God Costs Other People
As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon…, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. —Luke 23:26
If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, “You call this Christianity?” We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, “I will never accept anything from anyone.” But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, “I will not cause other people to suffer”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R
No way around it! Confession is coming clean with God!
Check out the Old Testament example. As if David’s affair with Bathsheba wasn’t enough. As if the murder of her husband wasn’t enough! David danced around the truth. He denied his wrongdoing and it took a prophet to make David see what he didn’t want to see. And when he did, he didn’t like it one bit! At that point, David waved the white flag. No more combat with God. No more arguing with God—he confessed! He came clean with God! And what did God do? In David’s own words, “… and You forgave me! All my guilt is gone!” (Psalm 32:5).
Want to get rid of guilt? Come clean with God!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
From Max on Life
1 Chronicles 17
After the king had made himself at home, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look at this: Here I am comfortable in a luxurious palace of cedar and the Chest of the Covenant of God sits under a tent.”
2 Nathan told David, “Whatever is on your heart, go and do it; God is with you.”
3-6 But that night, the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, This is God’s word on the matter: You will not build me a ‘house’ to live in. Why, I haven’t lived in a ‘house’ from the time I brought up the children of Israel from Egypt till now; I’ve gone from one tent and makeshift shelter to another. In all my travels with all Israel, did I ever say to any of the leaders I commanded to shepherd Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’
7-10 “So here is what you are to tell my servant David: The God-of-the-Angel-Armies has this word for you: I took you from the pasture, tagging after sheep, and made you prince over my people Israel. I was with you everywhere you went and mowed your enemies down before you; and now I’m about to make you famous, ranked with the great names on earth. I’m going to set aside a place for my people Israel and plant them there so they’ll have their own home and not be knocked around anymore; nor will evil nations afflict them as they always have, even during the days I set judges over my people Israel. And finally, I’m going to conquer all your enemies.
10-14 “And now I’m telling you this: God himself will build you a house! When your life is complete and you’re buried with your ancestors, then I’ll raise up your child to succeed you, a child from your own body, and I’ll firmly establish his rule. He will build a house to honor me, and I will guarantee his kingdom’s rule forever. I’ll be a father to him, and he’ll be a son to me. I will never remove my gracious love from him as I did from the one who preceded you. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will always be there, rock solid.”
15 Nathan gave David a complete and accurate report of everything he heard and saw in the vision.
16-27 King David went in, took his place before God, and prayed:
Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life? But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming, for you’ve also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow and looked on me, Master God, as a Somebody. What’s left for David to say to this—to your honoring your servant, even though you know me, just as I am? O God, out of the goodness of your heart, you’ve taken your servant to do this great thing and put your great work on display. There’s none like you, God, no God but you, nothing to compare with what we’ve heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique on earth, whom God set out to redeem as his own people (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt? You established for yourself a people—your very own Israel!—your people forever. And you, God, became their God.
So now, great God, this word that you have spoken to me and my family, guarantee it forever! Do exactly what you’ve promised! Then your reputation will be confirmed and flourish always as people exclaim, “The God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!” And the house of your servant David will remain rock solid under your watchful presence. You, my God, have told me plainly, “I will build you a house.” That’s how I was able to find the courage to pray this prayer to you. God, being the God you are, you have spoken all these wonderful words to me. As if that weren’t enough, you’ve blessed my family so that it will continue in your presence always. Because you have blessed it, God, it’s really blessed—blessed for good!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 2:1–12
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,z during the time of King Herod,a Magia from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?b We saw his starc when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehemd in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’b”e
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.f Then they opened their treasures and presented him with giftsg of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warnedh in a dreami not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Insight
Herod apparently knew that the prophecies about the Messiah must be true. That’s why he asked the “chief priests and teachers of the law” to tell him where the Messiah would be born (Matthew 2:4–6). Yet, having learned what the Scriptures prophesied, Herod tried to thwart that prophecy by killing the baby boys in Bethlehem. By: Tim Gustafson
The Only King
They bowed down and worshiped him. Matthew 2:11
As five-year-old Eldon listened to the pastor talk about Jesus leaving heaven and coming to earth, he gasped when the pastor thanked Him in prayer for dying for our sins. “Oh, no! He died?” the boy said in surprise.
From the start of Christ’s life on earth, there were people who wanted Him dead. Wise men came to Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod inquiring, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). When the king heard this, he became fearful of one day losing his position to Jesus. So he sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger around Bethlehem. But God protected His Son and sent an angel to warn His parents to leave the area. They fled, and He was saved (vv. 13–18).
When Jesus completed His ministry, He was crucified for the sins of the world. The sign placed above His cross, though meant in mockery, read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (27:37). Yet three days later He rose in victory from the grave. After ascending to heaven, He sat down on the throne as King of kings and Lord of lords (Philippians 2:8–11).
The King died for our sins—yours, mine, and Eldon’s. Let’s allow Him to rule in our hearts. By: Anne Cetas
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean for you to have Jesus as your King? Are there areas of your life where He’s not?
Jesus, thank You for willingly dying for our sins and offering forgiveness. Teach us to submit to Your rule.
To learn more about Christ’s life, visit christianuniversity.org/tgs.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 11, 2020
What My Obedience to God Costs Other People
As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon…, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. —Luke 23:26
If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, “You call this Christianity?” We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, “I will never accept anything from anyone.” But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, “I will not cause other people to suffer”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R
Friday, January 10, 2020
1 Corinthians 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE BREAD OF LIFE
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again” (John 6:35).
You know, the grain-to-bread process is a demanding one. Bread is the end result of planting, harvesting, and heating. Jesus endured an identical process. He was born into this world. And then He was cut down, bruised, and beaten on the threshing floor of Calvary. He passed through the fire of God’s wrath, for our sake. Jesus “suffered because of others’ sins … He went through it all— was put to death and then made alive— to bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18 MSG).
Bread of Life? Jesus lived up to the title. But you know, an unopened loaf does a person no good. Have you received the bread? Have you received God’s forgiveness?
1 Corinthians 12
What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
4-11 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
12-13 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
14-18 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
19-24 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
27-31 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:
apostles
prophets
teachers
miracle workers
healers
helpers
organizers
those who pray in tongues.
But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.
But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 10, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Timothy 1:6–14
Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.n 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,o but gives us power,p love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamedq of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.r Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel,s by the power of God. 9 He has savedt us and calledu us to a holy life—not because of anything we have donev but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealedw through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,x who has destroyed deathy and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospelz I was appointeda a herald and an apostle and a teacher.b 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame,c because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guardd what I have entrusted to him until that day.e
13 What you heard from me,f keepg as the patternh of sound teaching,i with faith and love in Christ Jesus.j 14 Guardk the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.l
Insight
Paul’s second letter to Timothy gives us a chance to reflect on the last recorded words of a battle-scarred apostle. Abandoned by fellow believers in Jesus and imprisoned in Rome (2 Timothy 1:15–18), Paul urges a young man he loved like a son (v. 2) to remain strong in the face of looming opposition and hardship (v. 8). In the process, he reminds Timothy of the commissioning ceremony by which he and other church leaders (v. 6; 1 Timothy 4:14) had recognized Timothy’s readiness to join them in leading others and suffering for the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8–14). By: Mart DeHaan
Here Be Dragons?
The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Legend has it that at the edges of medieval maps, marking the boundaries of the world the maps’ creators knew at the time, there’d be inscribed the words “Here be dragons”—often alongside vivid illustrations of the terrifying beasts supposedly lurking there.
There’s not much evidence medieval cartographers actually wrote these words, but I like to think they could have. Maybe because “here be dragons” sounds like something I might’ve written at the time—a grim warning that even if I didn’t know exactly what would happen if I ventured into the great unknown, it likely wouldn’t be good!
But there’s one glaring problem with my preferred policy of self-protection and risk-aversion: it’s the opposite of the courage to which I’m called as a believer in Jesus (2 Timothy 1:7).
One might even say I’m misguided about what’s really dangerous. As Paul explained, in a broken world bravely following Christ will sometimes be painful (v. 8). But as those brought from death to life and entrusted with the Spirit’s life flowing in and through us (vv. 9–10,14), how could we not?
When God gives us a gift this staggering, to fearfully shrink back would be the real tragedy—far worse than anything we might face when we follow Christ’s leading into uncharted territory (vv. 6–8, 12). He can be trusted with our hearts and our future (v. 12). By: Monica La Rose
Reflect & Pray
Is there a particularly debilitating fear God may be calling you to confront? How might the support and love of other believers encourage you as you walk through your fears?
Loving God, thank You for the new life You’ve given us, for freedom from all that would cripple us in fear and shame. Help us to find peace in You.
For further study, read Hope: Choosing Faith Instead of Fear at discoveryseries.org/q0733.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 10, 2020
The Opened Sight
I now send you, to open their eyes…that they may receive forgiveness of sins… —Acts 26:17-18
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “…that they may receive forgiveness of sins….” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion— only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “…an inheritance among those who are sanctified….” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 10, 2020
No Business Re-creating - #8610
Aunt Betty's wedding ring had been in the family for three generations, and it was passed down to my wife. There's probably no piece of jewelry that she treasured more than this one. But she couldn't wear it because Aunt Betty's ring size was a lot larger than my wife's little fingers. So Karen identified a jeweler whose craftsmanship she trusted and she entrusted this heirloom to him to be downsized. To be honest, she was a little nervous leaving it with anyone, but she did commit it to this jeweler. When he called that the ring was ready, she could hardly wait to see what he had done with it. Well, the diamonds were intact, the ring looked the same, but it fit her perfectly. He didn't make it into a necklace or a pendant. He didn't change the setting of the stones. Of course not. He took what was entrusted to him and just made it better.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Business Re-creating."
A jeweler shouldn't try to re-create a piece of jewelry into something else. Not when the one who trusted it to him just wanted him to enhance what it already was. We understand that about jewelry, but sometimes we don't seem to understand that about the child God has entrusted to us! God gave them to us to enhance what He made them to be. Sometimes we keep trying to make them into something else - what we want them to be!
The problem is a lot of parents didn't get the child they wanted. You wanted an athlete and you got a scholar, you wanted a musician and you got a mechanic, you wanted a quiet one and you got a loud one, you wanted a loud one and you got a quiet one. The list just goes on and on. So maybe you didn't get the child you wanted, but you got the one God wanted!
You got what is described in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:10. In fact, you could put the name of your child, and each of your children, right in this verse. It says, "We are God's workmanship" If you'd like, put the name of a child of yours right there at the beginning, __________ is "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" - or for "___________ to do."
Your business is to step back and recognize the unique person God made when He made your son or when He made your daughter with all their personal strengths, their great qualities, and with all the limitations and weaknesses He gave them, too. Then your job is to hold up a mirror regularly for them and let them see the incredible person God made when He made them. Affirm who God made them to be, praise them, compliment them even when you need to correct them. Do it in the context of affirming who they are.
A mom came to me once, and she was concerned about the offbeat sense of humor her eight-year-old son has. (That could have been my Mom.) Actually, she asked me if I was like that at that age. I'm still not sure what that was all about, but this boy seems like an anomaly in a family that's otherwise pretty serious. But I encouraged her to fan the flame of his sense of humor. It's something God can use mightily to open doors and hearts her son's whole life.
Our son used to frustrate us when he'd come to us with a whole itinerary he had planned out meticulously for him and his friends, but only asking us after everything was already set up. We needed to correct that a little, but actually, you know what? Looking back, I'm glad we didn't put out the flame of a budding planner. God's using him as a strategist and a planner mightily now. Same
abilities, but he's using them in a trailblazing ministry way!
So remember, God didn't trust the treasure of that child to you to reshape him into what you want him or her to be. God gave you that child for you to develop and enhance the person God made them to be. Don't try to re-create the workmanship that God has created!
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again” (John 6:35).
You know, the grain-to-bread process is a demanding one. Bread is the end result of planting, harvesting, and heating. Jesus endured an identical process. He was born into this world. And then He was cut down, bruised, and beaten on the threshing floor of Calvary. He passed through the fire of God’s wrath, for our sake. Jesus “suffered because of others’ sins … He went through it all— was put to death and then made alive— to bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18 MSG).
Bread of Life? Jesus lived up to the title. But you know, an unopened loaf does a person no good. Have you received the bread? Have you received God’s forgiveness?
1 Corinthians 12
What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
4-11 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
12-13 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
14-18 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
19-24 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
27-31 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:
apostles
prophets
teachers
miracle workers
healers
helpers
organizers
those who pray in tongues.
But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.
But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, January 10, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
2 Timothy 1:6–14
Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.n 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,o but gives us power,p love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamedq of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.r Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel,s by the power of God. 9 He has savedt us and calledu us to a holy life—not because of anything we have donev but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealedw through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,x who has destroyed deathy and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospelz I was appointeda a herald and an apostle and a teacher.b 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame,c because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guardd what I have entrusted to him until that day.e
13 What you heard from me,f keepg as the patternh of sound teaching,i with faith and love in Christ Jesus.j 14 Guardk the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.l
Insight
Paul’s second letter to Timothy gives us a chance to reflect on the last recorded words of a battle-scarred apostle. Abandoned by fellow believers in Jesus and imprisoned in Rome (2 Timothy 1:15–18), Paul urges a young man he loved like a son (v. 2) to remain strong in the face of looming opposition and hardship (v. 8). In the process, he reminds Timothy of the commissioning ceremony by which he and other church leaders (v. 6; 1 Timothy 4:14) had recognized Timothy’s readiness to join them in leading others and suffering for the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8–14). By: Mart DeHaan
Here Be Dragons?
The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Legend has it that at the edges of medieval maps, marking the boundaries of the world the maps’ creators knew at the time, there’d be inscribed the words “Here be dragons”—often alongside vivid illustrations of the terrifying beasts supposedly lurking there.
There’s not much evidence medieval cartographers actually wrote these words, but I like to think they could have. Maybe because “here be dragons” sounds like something I might’ve written at the time—a grim warning that even if I didn’t know exactly what would happen if I ventured into the great unknown, it likely wouldn’t be good!
But there’s one glaring problem with my preferred policy of self-protection and risk-aversion: it’s the opposite of the courage to which I’m called as a believer in Jesus (2 Timothy 1:7).
One might even say I’m misguided about what’s really dangerous. As Paul explained, in a broken world bravely following Christ will sometimes be painful (v. 8). But as those brought from death to life and entrusted with the Spirit’s life flowing in and through us (vv. 9–10,14), how could we not?
When God gives us a gift this staggering, to fearfully shrink back would be the real tragedy—far worse than anything we might face when we follow Christ’s leading into uncharted territory (vv. 6–8, 12). He can be trusted with our hearts and our future (v. 12). By: Monica La Rose
Reflect & Pray
Is there a particularly debilitating fear God may be calling you to confront? How might the support and love of other believers encourage you as you walk through your fears?
Loving God, thank You for the new life You’ve given us, for freedom from all that would cripple us in fear and shame. Help us to find peace in You.
For further study, read Hope: Choosing Faith Instead of Fear at discoveryseries.org/q0733.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 10, 2020
The Opened Sight
I now send you, to open their eyes…that they may receive forgiveness of sins… —Acts 26:17-18
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “…that they may receive forgiveness of sins….” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion— only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “…an inheritance among those who are sanctified….” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. The Place of Help, 1005 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, January 10, 2020
No Business Re-creating - #8610
Aunt Betty's wedding ring had been in the family for three generations, and it was passed down to my wife. There's probably no piece of jewelry that she treasured more than this one. But she couldn't wear it because Aunt Betty's ring size was a lot larger than my wife's little fingers. So Karen identified a jeweler whose craftsmanship she trusted and she entrusted this heirloom to him to be downsized. To be honest, she was a little nervous leaving it with anyone, but she did commit it to this jeweler. When he called that the ring was ready, she could hardly wait to see what he had done with it. Well, the diamonds were intact, the ring looked the same, but it fit her perfectly. He didn't make it into a necklace or a pendant. He didn't change the setting of the stones. Of course not. He took what was entrusted to him and just made it better.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Business Re-creating."
A jeweler shouldn't try to re-create a piece of jewelry into something else. Not when the one who trusted it to him just wanted him to enhance what it already was. We understand that about jewelry, but sometimes we don't seem to understand that about the child God has entrusted to us! God gave them to us to enhance what He made them to be. Sometimes we keep trying to make them into something else - what we want them to be!
The problem is a lot of parents didn't get the child they wanted. You wanted an athlete and you got a scholar, you wanted a musician and you got a mechanic, you wanted a quiet one and you got a loud one, you wanted a loud one and you got a quiet one. The list just goes on and on. So maybe you didn't get the child you wanted, but you got the one God wanted!
You got what is described in our word for today from the Word of God in Ephesians 2:10. In fact, you could put the name of your child, and each of your children, right in this verse. It says, "We are God's workmanship" If you'd like, put the name of a child of yours right there at the beginning, __________ is "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" - or for "___________ to do."
Your business is to step back and recognize the unique person God made when He made your son or when He made your daughter with all their personal strengths, their great qualities, and with all the limitations and weaknesses He gave them, too. Then your job is to hold up a mirror regularly for them and let them see the incredible person God made when He made them. Affirm who God made them to be, praise them, compliment them even when you need to correct them. Do it in the context of affirming who they are.
A mom came to me once, and she was concerned about the offbeat sense of humor her eight-year-old son has. (That could have been my Mom.) Actually, she asked me if I was like that at that age. I'm still not sure what that was all about, but this boy seems like an anomaly in a family that's otherwise pretty serious. But I encouraged her to fan the flame of his sense of humor. It's something God can use mightily to open doors and hearts her son's whole life.
Our son used to frustrate us when he'd come to us with a whole itinerary he had planned out meticulously for him and his friends, but only asking us after everything was already set up. We needed to correct that a little, but actually, you know what? Looking back, I'm glad we didn't put out the flame of a budding planner. God's using him as a strategist and a planner mightily now. Same
abilities, but he's using them in a trailblazing ministry way!
So remember, God didn't trust the treasure of that child to you to reshape him into what you want him or her to be. God gave you that child for you to develop and enhance the person God made them to be. Don't try to re-create the workmanship that God has created!
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Psalm 88, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: THE WORD WAS OUT
From Acts 2 we read: “Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them where filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (vs. 2-4).
What a moment on the Day of Pentecost. Whatever could this mean? Peter responded to that question with a trio of God-given endorsements of Christ. He talked about when Jesus healed bodies and called life out of Lazarus’ dead body. Then he deemed Christ worthy to serve as a sacrifice for humankind. But, then came the Resurrection— to be the beginning of life and the end of the grave. The word was out that the Word was out!
Psalm 88
A Korah Prayer of Heman
God, you’re my last chance of the day.
I spend the night on my knees before you.
Put me on your salvation agenda;
take notes on the trouble I’m in.
I’ve had my fill of trouble;
I’m camped on the edge of hell.
I’m written off as a lost cause,
one more statistic, a hopeless case.
Abandoned as already dead,
one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone—
I’m a black hole in oblivion.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
blinded by tears of pain and frustration.
9-12 I call to you, God; all day I call.
I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?
13-18 I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
the only friend I have left is Darkness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 7:24–27
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practicei is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Insight
Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount with the story of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24–27) for good reason. He’s telling His hearers that regardless of how they try to live up to the instructions He’s just given them, their efforts are in vain if they build on the wrong foundation. The right foundation is Jesus Himself. This helps us greatly as we consider the entire sermon. Christ had just told the people some remarkable things: “Blessed are those who mourn” (5:4); “Blessed are you when people . . . persecute you” (v. 11); “Love your enemies” (v. 44); “Do not worry” (6:25). Now Jesus cautions the people against thinking they can achieve this by their own efforts. Jesus accomplished what we can’t. He fulfilled both the Law and the Old Testament prophecies about Himself (5:17). Anything we do must be constructed on the bedrock of faith in Him. By: Tim Gustafson
The Leaning Tower
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24
You’ve probably heard of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but have you heard of the leaning tower of San Francisco? It’s called the Millennium Tower. Built in 2008, this fifty-eight-story skyscraper stands proudly—but slightly crookedly—in downtown San Francisco.
The problem? Its engineers didn’t dig a deep enough foundation. So now they’re being forced to retrofit the foundation with repairs that may cost more than the entire tower did when it was originally built—a fix that some believe is necessary to keep it from collapsing during an earthquake.
The painful lesson here? Foundations matter. When your foundation isn’t solid, catastrophe could ensue. Jesus taught something similar near the end of His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:24–27, He contrasts two builders, one who built on a rock, another on sand. When a storm inevitably came, only the house with a solid foundation was left standing.
What does this mean for us? Jesus clearly states that our lives must be built through obedience and trust upon Him (v. 24). When we rest in Him, our lives can find solid ground through God’s power and unending grace.
Christ doesn’t promise us that we’ll never face storms. But He does say that when He’s our rock, those storms and torrents will never wash away our faith-fortified foundation in Him. By: Adam R. Holz
Reflect & Pray
How has your faith helped you to weather the worst storms you’ve faced? What are some practical ways you can strengthen your faith each day?
Father, storms are inevitable in life. Help us to choose to dwell daily in Scripture and strengthen our strong foundation in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Prayerful Inner-Searching
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
“Your whole spirit….” The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139. The psalmist implies— “O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me.”
Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.
We should more frequently allow our minds to meditate on these great, massive truths of God.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Help With Your Baggage - #8609
On some of my trips I can travel pretty light, but there have been some where I felt like a mule carrying the things I had to take. One trip I had to pack for three different seasons; professional settings, youth settings. Well, you get the idea. I was going to be gone for quite a while, of course, I had to basically take my office with me too. I had a lot of baggage! When I arrived, someone from the area met me at the gate and they said those magic words, "Let me help you with your bags." I did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Help With Your Baggage."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 11:28. It's a wonderful invitation from the lips of Jesus Christ. It's the first Bible verse I ever remember a Sunday School teacher having me memorize. Here's what Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." That invitation is echoed in another place in the Bible; it's in 1 Peter 5:7. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
Now, we all have baggage, the emotional kind. In fact, maybe you're carrying a lot of pain right now. Maybe you've got some crippling issues from your past. Or some bad news you got recently or just an overload of stress. It could be you carry baggage from a divorce - it could be your own or maybe your parents' divorce, or some form of abuse or a bad relationship. Some of us are trying to carry the weight of a serious medical condition, a financial crisis, maybe a family issue.
My friend John had some very heavy baggage. One day in a doctor's office, he heard one of those words we dread - cancer - a deadly cancer. After the diagnosis, well, he was supposed to have been gone three or four times. He had ten operations in eight years, but when you would talk to John you just can't believe what he'd gone through. He was like joyful. He was positive. He was interested in how you're doing.
It's just hard to believe he could be carrying such heavy weight, yet seem so light. He was an encouragement to other patients. That's what they told him. So his doctor called him in one day and said "Can you visit some of my other patients? They need what you have." What did he have? He made that clear. He told me about others that he knows who are falling under the weight of cancer.
Then he just made this simple observation. He said, "They're trying to handle it without a Savior." Woah! That's the difference for John - the Savior difference - the Jesus difference. He could be the difference for you. Let's look at the baggage you're carrying. I wonder if John's words describe you, trying to handle it without a Savior.
See you were never meant to carry that pain or that burden alone. Jesus says, "Come to me. I want to carry it." He's a burden bearer. He knows your pain. He understands it because He's been here. He's experienced everything from loneliness, to betrayal, to torture, to dying; and Jesus has dealt with the deadliest baggage of all that we carry; the sin in our lives. Because that will one day keep us out of heaven.
But the Bible says, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree." That tree was His cross. And the day you tell Him that you're trusting Him to be your own Savior from your own sin, that's the last day you will ever carry your burden alone. The strong arms of Jesus are reaching out to you right now, and He says, "Let me help you with your baggage. I can handle it. I already bore the weight of all your sins on my cross. The rest is easy." The promise of Jesus: "I will give you rest." You ready for that?
You begin your relationship with Him when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." I hope you'll do that today. Our website is there to help you have the information that will help you get this settled today, so you will never do another day face another challenge without a Savior.
If your soul's really tired today, would you let Jesus give you what only He can - rest and peace at last.
From Acts 2 we read: “Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them where filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (vs. 2-4).
What a moment on the Day of Pentecost. Whatever could this mean? Peter responded to that question with a trio of God-given endorsements of Christ. He talked about when Jesus healed bodies and called life out of Lazarus’ dead body. Then he deemed Christ worthy to serve as a sacrifice for humankind. But, then came the Resurrection— to be the beginning of life and the end of the grave. The word was out that the Word was out!
Psalm 88
A Korah Prayer of Heman
God, you’re my last chance of the day.
I spend the night on my knees before you.
Put me on your salvation agenda;
take notes on the trouble I’m in.
I’ve had my fill of trouble;
I’m camped on the edge of hell.
I’m written off as a lost cause,
one more statistic, a hopeless case.
Abandoned as already dead,
one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone—
I’m a black hole in oblivion.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
blinded by tears of pain and frustration.
9-12 I call to you, God; all day I call.
I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?
13-18 I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
the only friend I have left is Darkness.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 7:24–27
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practicei is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Insight
Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount with the story of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24–27) for good reason. He’s telling His hearers that regardless of how they try to live up to the instructions He’s just given them, their efforts are in vain if they build on the wrong foundation. The right foundation is Jesus Himself. This helps us greatly as we consider the entire sermon. Christ had just told the people some remarkable things: “Blessed are those who mourn” (5:4); “Blessed are you when people . . . persecute you” (v. 11); “Love your enemies” (v. 44); “Do not worry” (6:25). Now Jesus cautions the people against thinking they can achieve this by their own efforts. Jesus accomplished what we can’t. He fulfilled both the Law and the Old Testament prophecies about Himself (5:17). Anything we do must be constructed on the bedrock of faith in Him. By: Tim Gustafson
The Leaning Tower
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24
You’ve probably heard of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but have you heard of the leaning tower of San Francisco? It’s called the Millennium Tower. Built in 2008, this fifty-eight-story skyscraper stands proudly—but slightly crookedly—in downtown San Francisco.
The problem? Its engineers didn’t dig a deep enough foundation. So now they’re being forced to retrofit the foundation with repairs that may cost more than the entire tower did when it was originally built—a fix that some believe is necessary to keep it from collapsing during an earthquake.
The painful lesson here? Foundations matter. When your foundation isn’t solid, catastrophe could ensue. Jesus taught something similar near the end of His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:24–27, He contrasts two builders, one who built on a rock, another on sand. When a storm inevitably came, only the house with a solid foundation was left standing.
What does this mean for us? Jesus clearly states that our lives must be built through obedience and trust upon Him (v. 24). When we rest in Him, our lives can find solid ground through God’s power and unending grace.
Christ doesn’t promise us that we’ll never face storms. But He does say that when He’s our rock, those storms and torrents will never wash away our faith-fortified foundation in Him. By: Adam R. Holz
Reflect & Pray
How has your faith helped you to weather the worst storms you’ve faced? What are some practical ways you can strengthen your faith each day?
Father, storms are inevitable in life. Help us to choose to dwell daily in Scripture and strengthen our strong foundation in You.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Prayerful Inner-Searching
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23
“Your whole spirit….” The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139. The psalmist implies— “O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me.”
Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.
We should more frequently allow our minds to meditate on these great, massive truths of God.
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
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Help With Your Baggage - #8609
On some of my trips I can travel pretty light, but there have been some where I felt like a mule carrying the things I had to take. One trip I had to pack for three different seasons; professional settings, youth settings. Well, you get the idea. I was going to be gone for quite a while, of course, I had to basically take my office with me too. I had a lot of baggage! When I arrived, someone from the area met me at the gate and they said those magic words, "Let me help you with your bags." I did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Help With Your Baggage."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 11:28. It's a wonderful invitation from the lips of Jesus Christ. It's the first Bible verse I ever remember a Sunday School teacher having me memorize. Here's what Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." That invitation is echoed in another place in the Bible; it's in 1 Peter 5:7. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
Now, we all have baggage, the emotional kind. In fact, maybe you're carrying a lot of pain right now. Maybe you've got some crippling issues from your past. Or some bad news you got recently or just an overload of stress. It could be you carry baggage from a divorce - it could be your own or maybe your parents' divorce, or some form of abuse or a bad relationship. Some of us are trying to carry the weight of a serious medical condition, a financial crisis, maybe a family issue.
My friend John had some very heavy baggage. One day in a doctor's office, he heard one of those words we dread - cancer - a deadly cancer. After the diagnosis, well, he was supposed to have been gone three or four times. He had ten operations in eight years, but when you would talk to John you just can't believe what he'd gone through. He was like joyful. He was positive. He was interested in how you're doing.
It's just hard to believe he could be carrying such heavy weight, yet seem so light. He was an encouragement to other patients. That's what they told him. So his doctor called him in one day and said "Can you visit some of my other patients? They need what you have." What did he have? He made that clear. He told me about others that he knows who are falling under the weight of cancer.
Then he just made this simple observation. He said, "They're trying to handle it without a Savior." Woah! That's the difference for John - the Savior difference - the Jesus difference. He could be the difference for you. Let's look at the baggage you're carrying. I wonder if John's words describe you, trying to handle it without a Savior.
See you were never meant to carry that pain or that burden alone. Jesus says, "Come to me. I want to carry it." He's a burden bearer. He knows your pain. He understands it because He's been here. He's experienced everything from loneliness, to betrayal, to torture, to dying; and Jesus has dealt with the deadliest baggage of all that we carry; the sin in our lives. Because that will one day keep us out of heaven.
But the Bible says, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree." That tree was His cross. And the day you tell Him that you're trusting Him to be your own Savior from your own sin, that's the last day you will ever carry your burden alone. The strong arms of Jesus are reaching out to you right now, and He says, "Let me help you with your baggage. I can handle it. I already bore the weight of all your sins on my cross. The rest is easy." The promise of Jesus: "I will give you rest." You ready for that?
You begin your relationship with Him when you say, "Jesus, I'm yours." I hope you'll do that today. Our website is there to help you have the information that will help you get this settled today, so you will never do another day face another challenge without a Savior.
If your soul's really tired today, would you let Jesus give you what only He can - rest and peace at last.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Psalm 87, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GET OUT OF YOUR SHELL
God loves all people groups and equips us to be his voice. He teaches us the vocabulary of distant lands, the dialect of the discouraged neighbor, the vernacular of the lonely heart, and the idiom of the young student. God outfits his followers to cross cultures and touch hearts. Pentecost makes this promise: if you are in Christ, God’s Spirit will speak through you.
Let God unshell you. Galatians 6:4 says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Discover your language. With whom do you feel most fluent? For whom do you feel most compassion? It’s amazing what happens when we get out of our shells.
Psalm 87
A Korah Psalm
He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain—
and oh, how God loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
the homes of Jacob put together!
God’s hometown—oh!
everyone there is talking about you!
4 I name them off, those among whom I’m famous:
Egypt and Babylon,
also Philistia,
even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word’s getting around; they point them out:
“This one was born again here!”
5 The word’s getting out on Zion:
“Men and women, right and left,
get born again in her!”
6 God registers their names in his book:
“This one, this one, and this one—
born again, right here.”
7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
“All my springs are in you!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Job 19:21–27
“Have pity on me, my friends,z have pity,
for the hand of God has strucka me.
22 Why do you pursueb me as God does?c
Will you never get enough of my flesh?d
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,e
24 that they were inscribed with an iron toolf onb lead,
or engraved in rock forever!g
25 I know that my redeemerc h lives,i
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.d
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yete inf my flesh I will see God;j
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyesk—I, and not another.
How my heart yearnsl within me!
Insight
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In Job 19:25, he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Leviticus 25:47–55; Ruth 3:9; Proverbs 23:10–11; Jeremiah 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus.
A Hundred Years from Now
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25
“I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now,” said screenwriter Rod Serling in 1975. Creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone, Serling wanted people to say of him, “He was a writer.” Most of us can identify with Serling’s desire to leave a legacy—something to give our lives a sense of meaning and permanence.
The story of Job shows us a man struggling with meaning amid life’s fleeting days. In a moment, not just his possessions but those most precious to him, his children, were taken. Then his friends accused him of deserving this fate. Job cried out: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23–24).
Job’s words have been “engraved in rock forever.” We have them in the Bible. Yet Job needed even more meaning in his life than the legacy he’d leave behind. He discovered it in the character of God. “I know that my redeemer lives,” Job declared, “and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (19:25). This knowledge gave him the right longing. “I myself will see him,” Job said. “How my heart yearns within me!” (v. 27).
In the end, Job didn’t find what he expected. He found much more—the Source of all meaning and permanence (42:1–6). By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
Why do you think Job wanted his words preserved forever? How do you want people to remember you one hundred years from now?
God, everything is fleeting except for You. We praise You for Your unshakable character. Show us what is truly important.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Is My Sacrifice Living?
Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
How to Shape Up the Neighborhood - #8608
One of the cities that symbolizes the charm of the Old South for me is Charleston, South Carolina. When you go down to the harbor and hire a carriage ride to go to the old part of the city, you feel like you're suddenly back in like "Gone With the Wind" or something. These antebellum homes and mansions are classic. I thought it was great that this historic part of the city had been so well preserved over the years, until the carriage driver told me what really happened. These old buildings had actually deteriorated terribly over the years and the area had become pretty shabby until some people took an interest in financing a renewal.
According to our driver, they only had a limited amount of money, so they decided to invest in one building. Now the owner used those funds to convert this dilapidated old building into a historic masterpiece. "Well, that's only one building. What about the neighborhood?" Well, it's interesting. The fellow next door was so inspired by what had happened to the neighboring property, he decided to find somebody to restore his building. Then the next neighbor did the same thing, and then the next neighbor, until finally the entire neighborhood was finally transformed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Shape Up the Neighborhood."
The recovery of historic Charleston demonstrates dramatically the renewing power of a model, and so does the story of the great Jewish leader Ezra at a time when God's people looked pretty dilapidated.
We read part of that story in Ezra 9. It's our word for today from the Word of God beginning at verse 3. He says, "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and I prayed: 'Oh my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.'"
Now, what have we got here? We've got a man so torn up over the sin of his people that he passionately repents - even publicly repents - and grieves over sin. And here's the result in chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. "While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. They, too, wept bitterly." Then they, too, went on to confess publicly.
It's like the renewal of Old Charleston. The revival of one man sparked the revival of the people around him. I remember, I think it was back in the spring of 1995, we began to hear some extraordinary spiritual renewal stories that were taking place on Christian college campuses. What began in one school spread to a lot of others, and in each case there were hundreds of students confessing their sins publicly, being surrounded by fellow students praying with them and for them. There was a public destruction of what I call "sin props": videos, magazines, books, and music. Broken relationships were restored, and suddenly the Holy Spirit exploded across entire student bodies.
In almost every case, it began the same way. Not with a sermon or a series of meetings. It began when one student spontaneously walked to the front of a meeting and asked if he or she could say something. And in each situation it was a student whose heart had been broken over its sin, like Ezra, who wanted to make it right with the accountability and support of their peers to solidify it.
In Ezra's day - in our day - revival conditions begin when one person becomes what Ezra embodied - a radical repenter - someone who's sick of their sin, sick of the wicked ways around them. Someone who's willing to repent of that sin even publicly, passionately. And that leads to your neighborhood, whether that's your church or your organization or your family, your circle of believers. Would you ask the Lord to help you see the immediate world around you through His eyes, and to see your sin and the sin around you? Would you dare look at it in light of Jesus dying on the cross for it?
And then maybe the Lord will ask you to be the one who makes it right in a public way. Who knows what might happen? If one person attacked what is decaying and began a renewing work, then God might use it to transform everyone around.
God loves all people groups and equips us to be his voice. He teaches us the vocabulary of distant lands, the dialect of the discouraged neighbor, the vernacular of the lonely heart, and the idiom of the young student. God outfits his followers to cross cultures and touch hearts. Pentecost makes this promise: if you are in Christ, God’s Spirit will speak through you.
Let God unshell you. Galatians 6:4 says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Discover your language. With whom do you feel most fluent? For whom do you feel most compassion? It’s amazing what happens when we get out of our shells.
Psalm 87
A Korah Psalm
He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain—
and oh, how God loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
the homes of Jacob put together!
God’s hometown—oh!
everyone there is talking about you!
4 I name them off, those among whom I’m famous:
Egypt and Babylon,
also Philistia,
even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word’s getting around; they point them out:
“This one was born again here!”
5 The word’s getting out on Zion:
“Men and women, right and left,
get born again in her!”
6 God registers their names in his book:
“This one, this one, and this one—
born again, right here.”
7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
“All my springs are in you!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Job 19:21–27
“Have pity on me, my friends,z have pity,
for the hand of God has strucka me.
22 Why do you pursueb me as God does?c
Will you never get enough of my flesh?d
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,e
24 that they were inscribed with an iron toolf onb lead,
or engraved in rock forever!g
25 I know that my redeemerc h lives,i
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.d
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yete inf my flesh I will see God;j
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyesk—I, and not another.
How my heart yearnsl within me!
Insight
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In Job 19:25, he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Leviticus 25:47–55; Ruth 3:9; Proverbs 23:10–11; Jeremiah 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus.
A Hundred Years from Now
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. Job 19:25
“I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now,” said screenwriter Rod Serling in 1975. Creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone, Serling wanted people to say of him, “He was a writer.” Most of us can identify with Serling’s desire to leave a legacy—something to give our lives a sense of meaning and permanence.
The story of Job shows us a man struggling with meaning amid life’s fleeting days. In a moment, not just his possessions but those most precious to him, his children, were taken. Then his friends accused him of deserving this fate. Job cried out: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23–24).
Job’s words have been “engraved in rock forever.” We have them in the Bible. Yet Job needed even more meaning in his life than the legacy he’d leave behind. He discovered it in the character of God. “I know that my redeemer lives,” Job declared, “and that in the end he will stand on the earth” (19:25). This knowledge gave him the right longing. “I myself will see him,” Job said. “How my heart yearns within me!” (v. 27).
In the end, Job didn’t find what he expected. He found much more—the Source of all meaning and permanence (42:1–6). By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
Why do you think Job wanted his words preserved forever? How do you want people to remember you one hundred years from now?
God, everything is fleeting except for You. We praise You for Your unshakable character. Show us what is truly important.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Is My Sacrifice Living?
Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We all have the trick of saying—If only I were not where I am!—If only I had not got the kind of people I have to live with! If our faith or our religion does not help us in the conditions we are in, we have either a further struggle to go through, or we had better abandon that faith and religion. The Shadow of an Agony, 1178 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
How to Shape Up the Neighborhood - #8608
One of the cities that symbolizes the charm of the Old South for me is Charleston, South Carolina. When you go down to the harbor and hire a carriage ride to go to the old part of the city, you feel like you're suddenly back in like "Gone With the Wind" or something. These antebellum homes and mansions are classic. I thought it was great that this historic part of the city had been so well preserved over the years, until the carriage driver told me what really happened. These old buildings had actually deteriorated terribly over the years and the area had become pretty shabby until some people took an interest in financing a renewal.
According to our driver, they only had a limited amount of money, so they decided to invest in one building. Now the owner used those funds to convert this dilapidated old building into a historic masterpiece. "Well, that's only one building. What about the neighborhood?" Well, it's interesting. The fellow next door was so inspired by what had happened to the neighboring property, he decided to find somebody to restore his building. Then the next neighbor did the same thing, and then the next neighbor, until finally the entire neighborhood was finally transformed.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Shape Up the Neighborhood."
The recovery of historic Charleston demonstrates dramatically the renewing power of a model, and so does the story of the great Jewish leader Ezra at a time when God's people looked pretty dilapidated.
We read part of that story in Ezra 9. It's our word for today from the Word of God beginning at verse 3. He says, "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and I prayed: 'Oh my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.'"
Now, what have we got here? We've got a man so torn up over the sin of his people that he passionately repents - even publicly repents - and grieves over sin. And here's the result in chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. "While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. They, too, wept bitterly." Then they, too, went on to confess publicly.
It's like the renewal of Old Charleston. The revival of one man sparked the revival of the people around him. I remember, I think it was back in the spring of 1995, we began to hear some extraordinary spiritual renewal stories that were taking place on Christian college campuses. What began in one school spread to a lot of others, and in each case there were hundreds of students confessing their sins publicly, being surrounded by fellow students praying with them and for them. There was a public destruction of what I call "sin props": videos, magazines, books, and music. Broken relationships were restored, and suddenly the Holy Spirit exploded across entire student bodies.
In almost every case, it began the same way. Not with a sermon or a series of meetings. It began when one student spontaneously walked to the front of a meeting and asked if he or she could say something. And in each situation it was a student whose heart had been broken over its sin, like Ezra, who wanted to make it right with the accountability and support of their peers to solidify it.
In Ezra's day - in our day - revival conditions begin when one person becomes what Ezra embodied - a radical repenter - someone who's sick of their sin, sick of the wicked ways around them. Someone who's willing to repent of that sin even publicly, passionately. And that leads to your neighborhood, whether that's your church or your organization or your family, your circle of believers. Would you ask the Lord to help you see the immediate world around you through His eyes, and to see your sin and the sin around you? Would you dare look at it in light of Jesus dying on the cross for it?
And then maybe the Lord will ask you to be the one who makes it right in a public way. Who knows what might happen? If one person attacked what is decaying and began a renewing work, then God might use it to transform everyone around.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: GOD LOVES THE NATIONS
Pentecost was the busiest day of the year in Jerusalem. And Jesus’ followers were gathered in prayer. They were not separated from society but smack-dab in the center of it. Once God had them where he needed them, the Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly; first as wind and then as individual tongues of fire (Acts 2:4 KJV). Individual flames hovered over each person and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
People from all over the world heard the wonderful works of God. Whatever could this miracle mean? It means at least this much: God loves the nations. He has a red-hot passion to reach every people group on the planet. He loves everybody. And that includes you, my friend.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
20-22 And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.
23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
27-28 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
33-34 So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:1–4
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.g If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.h
Insight
Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s well-known Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27). In this chapter, He emphasizes three things believers should do in secret: give (vv. 1–4), pray (vv. 5–15), and fast (vv. 16–18). In explaining each of these actions Jesus starts with a prohibition, gives a command, and ends with a promise: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (vv. 4, 6, 18).
In contrast, hypocrites make their acts known “to be honored by others” (v. 2). The word hypocrite comes from the Greek hypokrites and refers to actors in a play. It implies a lack of sincerity and genuineness. Jesus is emphasizing the importance of the motive behind our actions. By: Julie Schwab
Secret Delivery
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3
A clear, glass vase with bell-shaped lilies of the valley, pink tulips, and yellow daffodils greeted Kim at her front door. For seven months, an anonymous believer in Jesus sent Kim beautiful bouquets from a local flower shop. Each monthly gift arrived with a note filled with scriptural encouragement and signed: “Love, Jesus.”
Kim shared photos of these secret deliveries on Facebook. The flowers gave her opportunity to celebrate an individual’s kindness and to acknowledge the way God expressed His love to her through His people. As she trusted Him through her battle with a terminal disease, every colorful blossom and handwritten note affirmed God’s loving compassion for her.
The sender’s anonymity reflects the heart motive Jesus encourages His people to adopt when giving. He warns against practicing righteous acts “to be seen” by others (Matthew 6:1). Good deeds are intended to be expressions of worship overflowing from hearts grateful for all God’s done for us. Highlighting our own generosity with the hope or expectation of being honored can take the focus off the Giver of all good things—Jesus.
God knows when we give with good intentions (v. 4). He simply wants our generosity motivated by love as we give Him the glory, the honor, and the praise. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
How can you place the spotlight on Jesus by giving to someone in secret this week? How can you give God credit while still accepting appreciation?
Jesus, thank You for reminding us that giving to others is a privilege and a wonderful way to thank You for all You’ve given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Intimate With Jesus
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" —John 14:9
These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: “…I have called you friends…” (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away…” (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).
Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
The Breathtaking Finish Line - #8607
The Lewis and Clark Expedition! They were that bold group of explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent to explore the largely uncharted Louisiana Purchase. The expedition was under the leadership of Captains Lewis and Clark, and it faced blazing heat and bone-chilling cold. They had some close calls with vicious animals, they were attacked by insects, they had the prospect of massacre by many Indian tribes whose land they were crossing, there were perilous passages, and even the death of one of their own. After a year and a half of paying a really high price, Captain William Clark stood one day in the bow of his boat, pointed west up the Columbia River, and shouted, "Ocean in view!" Later he wrote in his journal: "Ocean in view! O joy! Great joy in camp! For we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we had been so long anxious to see!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Breathtaking Finish Line."
When I saw that incredible moment dramatized in a movie recently, something happened in my heart, because I saw myself at the bow of my boat some day, pointing ahead and shouting, "Heaven in view! O the joy!" There it will be - the gates of heaven - the entrance into the personal presence of the King I have tried to serve for so long. The place and the person that I had been "so long anxious to see!" The ultimate, triumphant finish line!
I don't know what kind of struggle you've been through lately. I don't know what the hardships are, the hurts, the disappointments of your life. But I do know that when you see your great reward, you'll never think again about the great struggle to get there. The Apostle Paul was one of Jesus' all-time great warriors. And in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible he ever wrote, he reflects on his journey and looks just upriver to his glorious finish line. It's in 2 Timothy 4:6, our word for today from the Word of God.
Paul tells his young protégé Timothy to "discharge all the duties of your ministry." Why? "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... will award to me on that day." Okay, let me translate this into how we might say it today: "Yee-hah! It's worth it all!" Or something like that.
That isn't just about then. It's also about now. Because when Paul was in the middle of the hardships, he said, "We do not lose heart ... for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Today's crushing troubles weigh in much lighter when you put heaven on the other side of the scale.
Remembering your finish line really affects how you make today's values choices. You invest in what's going to matter in heaven, not what matters on earth. You'll spend on what will last forever. And with heaven in view, you realize you cannot let the people around you miss heaven because you didn't tell them about Jesus and how to get there.
Maybe you're not so sure you're going to heaven when you die. Did you know how you can be? The Bible plainly says, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus, the Son of God), has life." So if you've put your total trust for going to heaven in Jesus, the One who died to pay for the sin - the sin that would keep you out of heaven - then you "have the Son of God" and you have heaven.
If not, honestly, you are risking an awful eternity every day you live without Jesus. But this could be the day that you tell Him you're all His. When you give Him what He died for - your life. And this could be the day you change your eternal address from hell to heaven.
Our website is all about helping to get across that finish line. And if you go there today, I promise you, you will find some very helpful information. That's ANewStory.com.
Death has no fear for the person who knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that heaven is on the other side. That Jesus is on the other side. For one of these days, the long, hard journey will be over and I hope you'll be shouting, "Heaven in view!"
Pentecost was the busiest day of the year in Jerusalem. And Jesus’ followers were gathered in prayer. They were not separated from society but smack-dab in the center of it. Once God had them where he needed them, the Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly; first as wind and then as individual tongues of fire (Acts 2:4 KJV). Individual flames hovered over each person and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
People from all over the world heard the wonderful works of God. Whatever could this miracle mean? It means at least this much: God loves the nations. He has a red-hot passion to reach every people group on the planet. He loves everybody. And that includes you, my friend.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
20-22 And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.
23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
27-28 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
29-32 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
33-34 So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Matthew 6:1–4
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.g If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.h
Insight
Matthew 6 is part of Christ’s well-known Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27). In this chapter, He emphasizes three things believers should do in secret: give (vv. 1–4), pray (vv. 5–15), and fast (vv. 16–18). In explaining each of these actions Jesus starts with a prohibition, gives a command, and ends with a promise: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (vv. 4, 6, 18).
In contrast, hypocrites make their acts known “to be honored by others” (v. 2). The word hypocrite comes from the Greek hypokrites and refers to actors in a play. It implies a lack of sincerity and genuineness. Jesus is emphasizing the importance of the motive behind our actions. By: Julie Schwab
Secret Delivery
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3
A clear, glass vase with bell-shaped lilies of the valley, pink tulips, and yellow daffodils greeted Kim at her front door. For seven months, an anonymous believer in Jesus sent Kim beautiful bouquets from a local flower shop. Each monthly gift arrived with a note filled with scriptural encouragement and signed: “Love, Jesus.”
Kim shared photos of these secret deliveries on Facebook. The flowers gave her opportunity to celebrate an individual’s kindness and to acknowledge the way God expressed His love to her through His people. As she trusted Him through her battle with a terminal disease, every colorful blossom and handwritten note affirmed God’s loving compassion for her.
The sender’s anonymity reflects the heart motive Jesus encourages His people to adopt when giving. He warns against practicing righteous acts “to be seen” by others (Matthew 6:1). Good deeds are intended to be expressions of worship overflowing from hearts grateful for all God’s done for us. Highlighting our own generosity with the hope or expectation of being honored can take the focus off the Giver of all good things—Jesus.
God knows when we give with good intentions (v. 4). He simply wants our generosity motivated by love as we give Him the glory, the honor, and the praise. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect & Pray
How can you place the spotlight on Jesus by giving to someone in secret this week? How can you give God credit while still accepting appreciation?
Jesus, thank You for reminding us that giving to others is a privilege and a wonderful way to thank You for all You’ve given us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Intimate With Jesus
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" —John 14:9
These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: “…I have called you friends…” (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away…” (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).
Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”? Disciples Indeed, 389 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
The Breathtaking Finish Line - #8607
The Lewis and Clark Expedition! They were that bold group of explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent to explore the largely uncharted Louisiana Purchase. The expedition was under the leadership of Captains Lewis and Clark, and it faced blazing heat and bone-chilling cold. They had some close calls with vicious animals, they were attacked by insects, they had the prospect of massacre by many Indian tribes whose land they were crossing, there were perilous passages, and even the death of one of their own. After a year and a half of paying a really high price, Captain William Clark stood one day in the bow of his boat, pointed west up the Columbia River, and shouted, "Ocean in view!" Later he wrote in his journal: "Ocean in view! O joy! Great joy in camp! For we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we had been so long anxious to see!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Breathtaking Finish Line."
When I saw that incredible moment dramatized in a movie recently, something happened in my heart, because I saw myself at the bow of my boat some day, pointing ahead and shouting, "Heaven in view! O the joy!" There it will be - the gates of heaven - the entrance into the personal presence of the King I have tried to serve for so long. The place and the person that I had been "so long anxious to see!" The ultimate, triumphant finish line!
I don't know what kind of struggle you've been through lately. I don't know what the hardships are, the hurts, the disappointments of your life. But I do know that when you see your great reward, you'll never think again about the great struggle to get there. The Apostle Paul was one of Jesus' all-time great warriors. And in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible he ever wrote, he reflects on his journey and looks just upriver to his glorious finish line. It's in 2 Timothy 4:6, our word for today from the Word of God.
Paul tells his young protégé Timothy to "discharge all the duties of your ministry." Why? "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord ... will award to me on that day." Okay, let me translate this into how we might say it today: "Yee-hah! It's worth it all!" Or something like that.
That isn't just about then. It's also about now. Because when Paul was in the middle of the hardships, he said, "We do not lose heart ... for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Today's crushing troubles weigh in much lighter when you put heaven on the other side of the scale.
Remembering your finish line really affects how you make today's values choices. You invest in what's going to matter in heaven, not what matters on earth. You'll spend on what will last forever. And with heaven in view, you realize you cannot let the people around you miss heaven because you didn't tell them about Jesus and how to get there.
Maybe you're not so sure you're going to heaven when you die. Did you know how you can be? The Bible plainly says, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus, the Son of God), has life." So if you've put your total trust for going to heaven in Jesus, the One who died to pay for the sin - the sin that would keep you out of heaven - then you "have the Son of God" and you have heaven.
If not, honestly, you are risking an awful eternity every day you live without Jesus. But this could be the day that you tell Him you're all His. When you give Him what He died for - your life. And this could be the day you change your eternal address from hell to heaven.
Our website is all about helping to get across that finish line. And if you go there today, I promise you, you will find some very helpful information. That's ANewStory.com.
Death has no fear for the person who knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that heaven is on the other side. That Jesus is on the other side. For one of these days, the long, hard journey will be over and I hope you'll be shouting, "Heaven in view!"
Monday, January 6, 2020
Psalm 85 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: AN ORDINARY LIFE
1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.
I invite you to pray this prayer with me:
Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you—and you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion among others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Psalm 85
A Korah Psalm
God, you smiled on your good earth!
You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don’t hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren’t going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!
8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 13:1–3
Concluding Exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.k 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,l for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.m 3 Continue to remember those in prisonn as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Insight
Scholars are uncertain of the author, date, and audience of the book of Hebrews, but it appears to be written for Jews (Hebrews) who are evaluating the claims of Jesus or struggling with their faith. Chapters 1–10 point to the superiority of Christ to the angels, Moses, and the high priests.
In chapter 13, the author concludes his letter with final exhortations. Verse 1 begins with a call to maintain brotherly love and then verse 2 encourages readers to go further by extending love to strangers (those outside the community) by offering meals and lodging. This command is reinforced by the observation that some people “have shown hospitality to angels” without knowing it, and points to Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah and his wife’s encounters (Genesis 18:2, 16; Judges 6:11; 13:2–11). Verse 3 calls readers to remember (and extend empathy) to prisoners and the mistreated. By Alyson Kieda
Mysterious Helpers
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2
Louise suffers from muscular dystrophy. While trying to exit a train station one day, she found herself facing a large flight of stairs without an elevator or escalator. On the verge of tears, Louise saw a man suddenly appear, pick up her bag, and gently help her up the stairs. When she turned to thank him, he was gone.
Michael was late for a meeting. Already stressed from a relationship breakdown, he started battling London’s traffic only to get a flat tire. As he stood helplessly in the rain, a man stepped out of the crowd, opened the boot (trunk), jacked up the car, and changed the wheel. When Michael turned to thank him, he was gone.
Who were these mysterious helpers? Kind strangers, or something more?
The popular image we have of angels as radiant or winged creatures is only half true. While some appear this way (Isaiah 6:2; Matthew 28:3), others come with dusty feet, ready for a meal (Genesis 18:1–5) and are easily mistaken for everyday people (Judges 13:16). The writer of Hebrews says that by showing hospitality to strangers, we can entertain angels without realizing it (13:2).
We don’t know if Louise and Michael’s helpers were angels. But according to Scripture, they could have been. Angels are at work right now, helping God’s people (Hebrews 1:14). And they can appear as ordinary as a person on the street. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What do you know about angels? Can you think of an instance when you may have encountered one without realizing it at the time?
Thank You, God, for the angels You send, meeting us in our time of need.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 06, 2020
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 06, 2020
Singular Love - #8606
It was one of those primitive science experiments that a lot of boys try. OK, it's a sunny winter day. You lay out a board on the ground - this is what I did anyway. Now you can leave it there all day with the sun beating down on it. It won't even get warm. Oh, but now the exciting part of the experiment. Yep! You take a piece of glass and you focus the sun's rays on one spot on that board. Same sun, same board - very different result. Eventually, that board starts to get hot - and you've got smoke - maybe even a fire going there. Amazing, huh?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Singular Love."
It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of the sun on one spot. It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of your love on one person. Especially if that person is the life partner you have or one of the children God has entrusted to you. The question for today isn't whether you love your family - I'm sure you do. The question is does each member of your family feel loved by you. Well, that might depend on how much focused love they get from you.
As always, Jesus is a wonderful example for us in how we need to treat people. Like in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 8:42, we have an example. "As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him." Okay, lots of people who need Him, lots of demands for His attention. That sound familiar at all? Sound like you? Well it goes on to say, "A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped."
"'Who touched Me,' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'" Again, maybe a feeling you can relate to. "But Jesus said, 'Someone touched Me. I know that power has gone out from Me.' Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. Then He said, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
I love that story. It's so indicative of our Lord's heart - in the midst of great pressures and many needs, He is able to focus His love and attention on just one person. He's showing us how we ought to live. And right now, I'm thinking especially about how we live at home. For your spouse, for your son or daughter, to feel loved by you, they need your exclusive attention on a regular basis. Not just a general "I love all of you, family." Well, that's about as powerful as the unfocused sun on that board. It's when you focus your love on one person that the fire of love is kindled in their heart.
To make this practical, let me suggest a commitment to consider - "I will give each member of my family ALL of me at least once a day." Well, some days it might be for two minutes and others for two hours. But you consciously go to each one sometime during the day and you give them your total, undivided, undistracted love and attention. It's not the frantic, occasional bursts of love that make people feel loved. It's that regular, consistent, focused attention, making the person you're with feel like they're the only person on earth right now.
The people you love may have had you around them quite a bit, but not really with them - listening, working together, sharing feelings, laughing, hugging, encouraging. Why not commit yourself to consciously follow your Master's loving example - to warm the lives of those you love the most by, each day, aiming all your love just at them.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.
I invite you to pray this prayer with me:
Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you—and you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion among others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Psalm 85
A Korah Psalm
God, you smiled on your good earth!
You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don’t hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren’t going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!
8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 06, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Hebrews 13:1–3
Concluding Exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.k 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,l for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.m 3 Continue to remember those in prisonn as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Insight
Scholars are uncertain of the author, date, and audience of the book of Hebrews, but it appears to be written for Jews (Hebrews) who are evaluating the claims of Jesus or struggling with their faith. Chapters 1–10 point to the superiority of Christ to the angels, Moses, and the high priests.
In chapter 13, the author concludes his letter with final exhortations. Verse 1 begins with a call to maintain brotherly love and then verse 2 encourages readers to go further by extending love to strangers (those outside the community) by offering meals and lodging. This command is reinforced by the observation that some people “have shown hospitality to angels” without knowing it, and points to Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah and his wife’s encounters (Genesis 18:2, 16; Judges 6:11; 13:2–11). Verse 3 calls readers to remember (and extend empathy) to prisoners and the mistreated. By Alyson Kieda
Mysterious Helpers
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2
Louise suffers from muscular dystrophy. While trying to exit a train station one day, she found herself facing a large flight of stairs without an elevator or escalator. On the verge of tears, Louise saw a man suddenly appear, pick up her bag, and gently help her up the stairs. When she turned to thank him, he was gone.
Michael was late for a meeting. Already stressed from a relationship breakdown, he started battling London’s traffic only to get a flat tire. As he stood helplessly in the rain, a man stepped out of the crowd, opened the boot (trunk), jacked up the car, and changed the wheel. When Michael turned to thank him, he was gone.
Who were these mysterious helpers? Kind strangers, or something more?
The popular image we have of angels as radiant or winged creatures is only half true. While some appear this way (Isaiah 6:2; Matthew 28:3), others come with dusty feet, ready for a meal (Genesis 18:1–5) and are easily mistaken for everyday people (Judges 13:16). The writer of Hebrews says that by showing hospitality to strangers, we can entertain angels without realizing it (13:2).
We don’t know if Louise and Michael’s helpers were angels. But according to Scripture, they could have been. Angels are at work right now, helping God’s people (Hebrews 1:14). And they can appear as ordinary as a person on the street. By: Sheridan Voysey
Reflect & Pray
What do you know about angels? Can you think of an instance when you may have encountered one without realizing it at the time?
Thank You, God, for the angels You send, meeting us in our time of need.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 06, 2020
Worship
He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. —Genesis 12:8
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.
Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 06, 2020
Singular Love - #8606
It was one of those primitive science experiments that a lot of boys try. OK, it's a sunny winter day. You lay out a board on the ground - this is what I did anyway. Now you can leave it there all day with the sun beating down on it. It won't even get warm. Oh, but now the exciting part of the experiment. Yep! You take a piece of glass and you focus the sun's rays on one spot on that board. Same sun, same board - very different result. Eventually, that board starts to get hot - and you've got smoke - maybe even a fire going there. Amazing, huh?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Singular Love."
It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of the sun on one spot. It really makes a difference when you focus the warmth of your love on one person. Especially if that person is the life partner you have or one of the children God has entrusted to you. The question for today isn't whether you love your family - I'm sure you do. The question is does each member of your family feel loved by you. Well, that might depend on how much focused love they get from you.
As always, Jesus is a wonderful example for us in how we need to treat people. Like in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 8:42, we have an example. "As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him." Okay, lots of people who need Him, lots of demands for His attention. That sound familiar at all? Sound like you? Well it goes on to say, "A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped."
"'Who touched Me,' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'" Again, maybe a feeling you can relate to. "But Jesus said, 'Someone touched Me. I know that power has gone out from Me.' Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. Then He said, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
I love that story. It's so indicative of our Lord's heart - in the midst of great pressures and many needs, He is able to focus His love and attention on just one person. He's showing us how we ought to live. And right now, I'm thinking especially about how we live at home. For your spouse, for your son or daughter, to feel loved by you, they need your exclusive attention on a regular basis. Not just a general "I love all of you, family." Well, that's about as powerful as the unfocused sun on that board. It's when you focus your love on one person that the fire of love is kindled in their heart.
To make this practical, let me suggest a commitment to consider - "I will give each member of my family ALL of me at least once a day." Well, some days it might be for two minutes and others for two hours. But you consciously go to each one sometime during the day and you give them your total, undivided, undistracted love and attention. It's not the frantic, occasional bursts of love that make people feel loved. It's that regular, consistent, focused attention, making the person you're with feel like they're the only person on earth right now.
The people you love may have had you around them quite a bit, but not really with them - listening, working together, sharing feelings, laughing, hugging, encouraging. Why not commit yourself to consciously follow your Master's loving example - to warm the lives of those you love the most by, each day, aiming all your love just at them.
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