Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 12
God’s Will…Be Done
May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 (NCV)
To pray, "Thy will be done" is to seek the heart of God. The word will means "strong desire."... [So] what is his heart? His passion? He wants you to know it.
Shall God hide from us what he is going to do? Apparently not, for he has gone to great lengths to reveal his will to us. Could he have done more than send his Son to lead us? Could he have done more than give his word to teach us? Could he have done more than orchestrate events to awaken us? Could he have done more than send his Holy Spirit to counsel us?
God is not the God of confusion, and wherever he sees sincere seekers with confused hearts, you can bet your sweet December that he will do whatever it takes to help them see his will.
Romans 8
Life Through the Spirit
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[i] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[j] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[k] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[l] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[m] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[n] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[o] And by him we cry, "Abba,[p] Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Future Glory
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that[q] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[r] who[s] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[t] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[u] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 14:22-33 (New International Version)
Jesus Walks on the Water
22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
August 12, 2009
He Is Enough
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READ: Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” —Matthew 14:27
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by life. The crushing waves of disappointment, endless debt, debilitating illness, or trouble with people can cause hopelessness, depression, or despair. It happened to Jesus’ disciples. And it has happened to me.
Three statements by the Lord beginning with the words “It is . . .” offer us comfort, reassurance, and hope that Jesus is enough. The first is in Matthew 4 and is repeated three times: “It is written” (vv.4,7,10). In responding to the three temptations of Satan, Jesus gave us proof enough that the Word of God is true and overcomes the most powerful forms of temptation and pressure.
The second statement, “It is I” (Matt. 14:27), was spoken when Jesus told His terrified disciples that He Himself was presence enough to stop the howling storm and calm the raging seas.
Jesus spoke the third “It is” from the cross: “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He assured us that His death was provision enough to pay the debt for our sins and set us free.
Whatever our circumstances, Jesus is present with His love, compassion, and grace. He is proof, presence, and provision enough to carry us safely through. — David C. Egner
When trials overwhelm our souls
And tempt us to despair,
We need to reach out to the Lord
And trust His tender care. —Sper
God’s love does not keep us from trials; it helps us get through them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 12, 2009
The Theology of Resting in God
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READ:
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26
When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.
". . . O you of little faith!" What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, "We missed the mark again!" And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.
There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.
We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Moving Day Without Notice - #5893
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The title song of the musical "Oklahoma" celebrates that state as the place "where the wind comes whippin' o'er the plains." Yeah, I guess so! Would you believe tornadoes that come whippin' o'er the plains? That's not quite as poetic, but it sure has been true in recent years. It seems like Oklahoma has had more than its share of severe weather. I saw an interview with some folks whose homes had been hit by one tornado that moved along the northern edge of Oklahoma City. It was amazing to see many people who faced their loss with a determination to rebuild. Some even faced it with a sense of humor, believe it or not. One man described what had happened pretty creatively. He said, "Well, it was sort of moving day without notice!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Moving Day Without Notice."
You know, we're all going to have one of those, no matter what the weather's like. On God's calendar is the day that we will all breathe our last and will keep our appointment with Him. As the Bible says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). No reincarnation. No second chance. No do-over. Death - then judgment. For each of us it will be "moving day" without notice.
That's why the Bible gives this advice in Proverbs 27:1, our word for today from the Word of God, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." And we have plenty of proof of the wisdom of that statement, don't we? We all know people who were literally here today and then gone tomorrow: one car crossing the center line, one deadly spasm in your heart, one deadly surprise. We live as if tomorrow's a sure thing. It is not.
And nowhere is it more foolhardy or more potentially fatal to postpone what we need to do than in our relationship with Almighty God, or the fact that we really don't have a personal relationship with God. You may have seen this Bible verse on a highway billboard and laughed it off, but listen, its way too serious to take lightly. The Bible simply says, "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). We prepare for an exam, we prepare for company, for a vacation, or for retirement. We don't prepare for eternity. It's a fatal mistake.
And the Bible makes it clear there's only one way you can prepare to meet your God; to prepare for that day when you will move without notice, either to heaven or to hell. The most urgent issue in our lives is to get all the sins of our life somehow forgiven, because without that, we don't stand a chance with a holy God. And the only One who can forgive your sins is the One who died to pay for your sins in your place. That's Jesus. The Bible couldn't be more clear, "He that has the Son (that's Jesus) has life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). Either you have Jesus because you've consciously given yourself to Him, or you don't have Jesus. In which case, you don't have eternal life.
It just doesn't make sense to risk one more day without Him. God puts it this way, "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (1 Corinthians 6:2). If you have never reached out to Jesus and given yourself to Him, please don't wait any longer. Today - what a day to tell Him, "Jesus, I am Yours. You died for me. I want to belong to you. I want to put all my trust in you." If that's what you want, this can be the day you actually begin your relationship with Him; have every sin forgiven and trade hell for heaven.
Our website is a place that a lot of people have gone when they have been at the threshold of beginning a relationship with Jesus. There's some great information from the Bible there. Not from a religion, but from the Bible as to how to get started with Jesus. And I want to encourage you to check it out today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my booklet Yours For Life. You can call for it toll free if you call this number: 877-741-1200.
See, today's all that you've got for sure. And there's just too much at stake to wait.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Romans 7, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 11
A Personal Invitation
“Come to me…and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NCV)
When Jesus says, “Come to me,” he doesn’t say come to religion, come to a system, or come to a certain doctrine. This is a very personal invitation to a God, and invitation to a Savior.
Our God is not aloof—he’s not so far above us that he can’t see and understand our problems. Jesus isn’t a God who stayed on the mountaintop—he’s a Savior who came down and lived and worked with the people. Everywhere he went, the crowds followed, drawn together by the magnet that was—and is—the Savior.
The life of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world.
Romans 7
An Illustration From Marriage
1Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[f] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Struggling With Sin
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."[g] 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[h] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 5:6-11 (New International Version)
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
GAD Or God?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 5:6-11
Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:7
Are you a chronic worrier? Do you worry about bills, the future, health, debt, marriage issues? Has worry so consumed you that you have become “a fret machine”? If this describes you, perhaps you have generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD—a condition marked by a perpetual state of worry about most aspects of life. According to David Barlow, professor of psychology at Boston University, “the key psychological feature of GAD is a state of chronic, uncontrollable worry.” A little anxiety is normal, but constant worry is not.
Overwhelmed by suffering and persecution, the first-century Christians were driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia (1 Peter 1:1-7). Many of these Jesus-followers were experiencing feelings of distress because of possible danger or misfortune. Peter encouraged these believers not to be filled with anxiety but to cast all their worries upon God (5:7). He wanted them to realize that it made very little sense for them to carry their worries when they could cast them on God who cared deeply about what happened to them.
Are you a chronic worrier? Let God be responsible for your anxieties. Stop worrying and start trusting Him completely. — Marvin Williams
When every worry, every care
To God in faith is brought,
We have no place whereon to found
One single anxious thought. —Anon.
Worry is a burden God never intended us to bear.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 11, 2009
This Experience Must Come
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READ:
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha . . . saw him no more —2 Kings 2:11-12
It is not wrong for you to depend on your "Elijah" for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, "I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ " Yet God says you must continue.
Alone at Your "Jordan" ( Kings 2:14 ). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your "Elijah." You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your "Jordan" alone.
Alone at Your "Jericho" ( 2 Kings 2:15 ). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your "Elijah" do great things. Yet when you come alone to your "Jericho," you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your "Elijah," you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.
Alone at Your "Bethel" ( 2 Kings 2:23 ). At your "Bethel" you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your "Elijah"— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14 ). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Turning Lights Green - #5892
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I was speeding along the Interstate; I mean legally speeding of course. Anyway, this van passed me. And he pulled into the right lane and then he seemed to be maintaining a pretty consistent speed. For many miles, I ended up traveling behind him. I noticed there was something unusual about this van - it had a plastic bubble that was mounted just above the roof. I had some ideas of why it might be there, especially in light of the words printed on the side of the van. It gave the name of a large express mail delivery service, followed by these words, "Critical Care Van." Later, a law enforcement friend of mine confirmed my theory of what that vehicle was actually carrying - parts. Body parts needed for transplants that can save lives. And the bubble on top? My friend said that's a strobe light that actually turns traffic lights green as the van approaches them! I'd like to get me one of those.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Turning Lights Green."
The driver of that Critical Care Van is, of course, on an important mission and he needs green lights all the way. So do we, if we're carrying out a mission that's been given to us by our Lord. He's got assignments for all of us who belong to Him. He's got assignments for you. Maybe you're living out His assignment right now, or maybe you're holding back on saying "yes" to an assignment He's trying to give you. In either case, there's something decisive that you need to know. When you're on a mission for Jesus, He's the One who turns the lights green as you go. He promised.
1 Thessalonians 5:24, our word for today from the Word of God, is one of the places where He made that promise. It simply says, "The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it." That's it! When Jesus prompts you to do something for Him, He isn't about to leave you stranded somewhere in the middle of His mission and in the middle of His will. You can't see how it's going to get done, how it's ever going to come together. He says, "I got you into this, I'll see that it gets done!"
Where's the money going to come from? His problem. If it's God's will, it's God's bill. Where are the people you need going to come from? He's already getting them ready for you and you ready for them. How are you going to get over the huge obstacles that are in the way? The God who parts Red Seas is going to make the way for you. How can you possibly do this thing when you are so flawed, so inadequate, so ordinary? Since when is this about what you can do? With God's assignment always comes God's enabling!
Jesus may be summoning you right now to undertake some work for Him. It may be here; it may be thousands of miles from here. He may be summoning you to touch some lives for Him, maybe a few in your immediate world, maybe more people than you could ever imagine. But many times, all we can see are red lights ahead. So we resist our Master's call and we miss His amazing will. Your Lord has promised to turn those red lights green; not before you move out for Him, but as you're moving out for Him.
Just like that Critical Care Van, you're carrying something that lives depend on - the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are people that He is depending on you to tell, on you to rescue from an eternity without God and without hope. Don't let those red lights keep you sitting in the parking lot. Right now, start driving toward that mission God has given you, and leave the green lights to Him!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 11
A Personal Invitation
“Come to me…and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NCV)
When Jesus says, “Come to me,” he doesn’t say come to religion, come to a system, or come to a certain doctrine. This is a very personal invitation to a God, and invitation to a Savior.
Our God is not aloof—he’s not so far above us that he can’t see and understand our problems. Jesus isn’t a God who stayed on the mountaintop—he’s a Savior who came down and lived and worked with the people. Everywhere he went, the crowds followed, drawn together by the magnet that was—and is—the Savior.
The life of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world.
Romans 7
An Illustration From Marriage
1Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[f] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Struggling With Sin
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."[g] 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[h] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Peter 5:6-11 (New International Version)
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
GAD Or God?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Peter 5:6-11
Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:7
Are you a chronic worrier? Do you worry about bills, the future, health, debt, marriage issues? Has worry so consumed you that you have become “a fret machine”? If this describes you, perhaps you have generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD—a condition marked by a perpetual state of worry about most aspects of life. According to David Barlow, professor of psychology at Boston University, “the key psychological feature of GAD is a state of chronic, uncontrollable worry.” A little anxiety is normal, but constant worry is not.
Overwhelmed by suffering and persecution, the first-century Christians were driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia (1 Peter 1:1-7). Many of these Jesus-followers were experiencing feelings of distress because of possible danger or misfortune. Peter encouraged these believers not to be filled with anxiety but to cast all their worries upon God (5:7). He wanted them to realize that it made very little sense for them to carry their worries when they could cast them on God who cared deeply about what happened to them.
Are you a chronic worrier? Let God be responsible for your anxieties. Stop worrying and start trusting Him completely. — Marvin Williams
When every worry, every care
To God in faith is brought,
We have no place whereon to found
One single anxious thought. —Anon.
Worry is a burden God never intended us to bear.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 11, 2009
This Experience Must Come
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha . . . saw him no more —2 Kings 2:11-12
It is not wrong for you to depend on your "Elijah" for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, "I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ " Yet God says you must continue.
Alone at Your "Jordan" ( Kings 2:14 ). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your "Elijah." You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your "Jordan" alone.
Alone at Your "Jericho" ( 2 Kings 2:15 ). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your "Elijah" do great things. Yet when you come alone to your "Jericho," you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your "Elijah," you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.
Alone at Your "Bethel" ( 2 Kings 2:23 ). At your "Bethel" you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your "Elijah"— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14 ). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Turning Lights Green - #5892
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I was speeding along the Interstate; I mean legally speeding of course. Anyway, this van passed me. And he pulled into the right lane and then he seemed to be maintaining a pretty consistent speed. For many miles, I ended up traveling behind him. I noticed there was something unusual about this van - it had a plastic bubble that was mounted just above the roof. I had some ideas of why it might be there, especially in light of the words printed on the side of the van. It gave the name of a large express mail delivery service, followed by these words, "Critical Care Van." Later, a law enforcement friend of mine confirmed my theory of what that vehicle was actually carrying - parts. Body parts needed for transplants that can save lives. And the bubble on top? My friend said that's a strobe light that actually turns traffic lights green as the van approaches them! I'd like to get me one of those.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Turning Lights Green."
The driver of that Critical Care Van is, of course, on an important mission and he needs green lights all the way. So do we, if we're carrying out a mission that's been given to us by our Lord. He's got assignments for all of us who belong to Him. He's got assignments for you. Maybe you're living out His assignment right now, or maybe you're holding back on saying "yes" to an assignment He's trying to give you. In either case, there's something decisive that you need to know. When you're on a mission for Jesus, He's the One who turns the lights green as you go. He promised.
1 Thessalonians 5:24, our word for today from the Word of God, is one of the places where He made that promise. It simply says, "The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it." That's it! When Jesus prompts you to do something for Him, He isn't about to leave you stranded somewhere in the middle of His mission and in the middle of His will. You can't see how it's going to get done, how it's ever going to come together. He says, "I got you into this, I'll see that it gets done!"
Where's the money going to come from? His problem. If it's God's will, it's God's bill. Where are the people you need going to come from? He's already getting them ready for you and you ready for them. How are you going to get over the huge obstacles that are in the way? The God who parts Red Seas is going to make the way for you. How can you possibly do this thing when you are so flawed, so inadequate, so ordinary? Since when is this about what you can do? With God's assignment always comes God's enabling!
Jesus may be summoning you right now to undertake some work for Him. It may be here; it may be thousands of miles from here. He may be summoning you to touch some lives for Him, maybe a few in your immediate world, maybe more people than you could ever imagine. But many times, all we can see are red lights ahead. So we resist our Master's call and we miss His amazing will. Your Lord has promised to turn those red lights green; not before you move out for Him, but as you're moving out for Him.
Just like that Critical Care Van, you're carrying something that lives depend on - the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are people that He is depending on you to tell, on you to rescue from an eternity without God and without hope. Don't let those red lights keep you sitting in the parking lot. Right now, start driving toward that mission God has given you, and leave the green lights to Him!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Romans 6, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 10
Forgiveness Frees the Soul
If you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then God is pleased.
1 Peter 2:20 (NCV)
Is there any emotion that imprisons the soul more than the unwillingness to forgive? What do you do when people mistreat you or those you love? Does the fire of anger boil within you, with leaping flames consuming your emotions? Or do you reach somewhere, to some source of cool water and pull out a bucket of mercy--to free yourself?
Don't get on the roller coaster of resentment and anger. You be the one who says, "Yes, he mistreated me, but I am going to be like Christ. I'll be the one who says, 'Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they're doing.'"
Romans 6
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[d] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[e] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
August 10, 2009
The Heart Of The Gospel
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed. —2 Corinthians 3:18
When E. Stanley Jones, well-known missionary to India, had the opportunity to meet with Mahatma Gandhi, he asked a searching question of India’s revered leader: “How can Christianity make a stronger impact on your country?” Gandhi very thoughtfully replied that three things would be required.
First, Christians must begin to live more like Jesus. Second, the Christian faith should be presented without any adulteration. Third, Christians should emphasize love, which is at the heart of the gospel.
These insightful suggestions are the key to effective evangelism around the world. As messengers of God’s love, we are to be human mirrors who reflect without distortion a growing likeness to our Lord; we are not to walk in “craftiness” (2 Cor. 4:2). If our lives reflect an image that is spiritually blurred, the truth of saving grace may not be clearly communicated (vv.3-5). We are also to share the biblical essentials of our faith clearly. We must not handle the Word of God “deceitfully” (v.2). And our lives are to be marked by love for God and others (1 John 5:1-2).
Let’s be sure that we reflect a clear image of Jesus’ likeness, the truth of God, and love. — Vernon C. Grounds
Called to be salt and light in this world,
Called to preserve and to shine,
Called to reflect the glory of God—
Oh, what a calling is mine! —Fitzhugh
The primary reason for living in this world is to reflect the likeness of Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 10, 2009
The Holy Suffering of the Saint
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good . . . —1 Peter 4:19
Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.
The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, "God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult." That is why Jesus said that self-pity was of the devil (see Matthew 16:21-23 ). We must be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy for us to tarnish God’s character because He never argues back; He never tries to defend or vindicate Himself. Beware of thinking that Jesus needed sympathy during His life on earth. He refused the sympathy of people because in His great wisdom He knew that no one on earth understood His purpose (see Matthew 16:23 ). He accepted only the sympathy of His Father and the angels (see Luke 15:10 ).
Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, "God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him." Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Too Many Fans - #5891
Monday, August 10, 2009
If you've ever listened to the fans at a college or professional football game, you know some of them are the ultimate experts at what their team is doing wrong and what they should be doing. It's just amazing some of those fans haven't been hired as head coach of the team, right? After speaking for professional football chapels and getting to know some of the players, I was less than patient with their critics all around me in the stands. I knew those guys on the field. I knew they had everything on the line when they played and that the only heroes were in the game, not in the stands. Sometimes I just wanted to stand up and say to one of those guys: by the way, I never did because they were all bigger than I am. But I wanted to say, "Hey! Why don't you get out of the stands and get in the game!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Many Fans."
I've got to wonder if Jesus isn't trying to say something like that to many of His "fans," which by the way, He has plenty of. There are millions of believers who are willing to go to Jesus' meetings, give to Jesus' causes, and cheer for the ones that are on the field. Oh yes, and sometimes criticize from the stands how the players are playing. But Jesus doesn't need any more fans. He needs players; players who will join Him in winning some victories; some lives for the cause that He gave His life for!
In Numbers 32, where we find our word for today from the Word of God, there is a sobering picture of the spiritual dynamics in Christ's church today. The Jews are preparing to go in and challenge the Canaanites for the Promised Land. The Jewish tribes of Reuben and Gad had been told that the land God was giving them was on the East side of the Jordan - the safe side. All the other tribes would have to go in and fight for their land on the other side of the river. The "East-siders" had this great idea, "Moses, how about we just stay here with our families and set up our little homes and farms?"
Moses' reply in Numbers 32:6 comes echoing down through the centuries as a wakeup call for complacent Christians today. He said, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?" Man, I can almost hear Jesus saying that to us today. "Should persecuted Christians and struggling missionaries take all the risks and fight all the battles to reach the lost while you sit here?" Or, in other words, "Get out of the stands and get in the game!"
Later, Moses said that if they failed to leave their comfort zone and go with their brothers into the combat zone, they should "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). Did you know that's where that verse comes from? And sin that will find you out is the sin of complacency and passivity when there are battles to fight for the Lord!
Today, the battle isn't for land, but it's for lives; people who will spend eternity in either heaven or hell; people all around us and half a world away. Jesus' Great Commission to get out His Gospel can't be delegated to a few spiritual daredevils we call missionaries. The Great Commission is always first person singular! Jesus intends for the cost and the risk of rescuing a dying world to be equally shared by all those who belong to Him! The Son of God sacrificed everything for it, and many have over the years, including this past year, sacrificed their lives for it. And many others have given their whole lives to this greatest cause in the universe.
So who are we to just sit passively in the stands, simply cheering or even jeering? So many of our brothers and sisters have gone to war, how can we sit here and ask them to make all the sacrifices? There's a war to win for Jesus Christ! It is time to get out of your comfort zone and join your Savior in the combat zone!
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 10
Forgiveness Frees the Soul
If you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then God is pleased.
1 Peter 2:20 (NCV)
Is there any emotion that imprisons the soul more than the unwillingness to forgive? What do you do when people mistreat you or those you love? Does the fire of anger boil within you, with leaping flames consuming your emotions? Or do you reach somewhere, to some source of cool water and pull out a bucket of mercy--to free yourself?
Don't get on the roller coaster of resentment and anger. You be the one who says, "Yes, he mistreated me, but I am going to be like Christ. I'll be the one who says, 'Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they're doing.'"
Romans 6
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[d] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[e] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
August 10, 2009
The Heart Of The Gospel
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed. —2 Corinthians 3:18
When E. Stanley Jones, well-known missionary to India, had the opportunity to meet with Mahatma Gandhi, he asked a searching question of India’s revered leader: “How can Christianity make a stronger impact on your country?” Gandhi very thoughtfully replied that three things would be required.
First, Christians must begin to live more like Jesus. Second, the Christian faith should be presented without any adulteration. Third, Christians should emphasize love, which is at the heart of the gospel.
These insightful suggestions are the key to effective evangelism around the world. As messengers of God’s love, we are to be human mirrors who reflect without distortion a growing likeness to our Lord; we are not to walk in “craftiness” (2 Cor. 4:2). If our lives reflect an image that is spiritually blurred, the truth of saving grace may not be clearly communicated (vv.3-5). We are also to share the biblical essentials of our faith clearly. We must not handle the Word of God “deceitfully” (v.2). And our lives are to be marked by love for God and others (1 John 5:1-2).
Let’s be sure that we reflect a clear image of Jesus’ likeness, the truth of God, and love. — Vernon C. Grounds
Called to be salt and light in this world,
Called to preserve and to shine,
Called to reflect the glory of God—
Oh, what a calling is mine! —Fitzhugh
The primary reason for living in this world is to reflect the likeness of Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 10, 2009
The Holy Suffering of the Saint
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good . . . —1 Peter 4:19
Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.
The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, "God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult." That is why Jesus said that self-pity was of the devil (see Matthew 16:21-23 ). We must be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy for us to tarnish God’s character because He never argues back; He never tries to defend or vindicate Himself. Beware of thinking that Jesus needed sympathy during His life on earth. He refused the sympathy of people because in His great wisdom He knew that no one on earth understood His purpose (see Matthew 16:23 ). He accepted only the sympathy of His Father and the angels (see Luke 15:10 ).
Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, "God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him." Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Too Many Fans - #5891
Monday, August 10, 2009
If you've ever listened to the fans at a college or professional football game, you know some of them are the ultimate experts at what their team is doing wrong and what they should be doing. It's just amazing some of those fans haven't been hired as head coach of the team, right? After speaking for professional football chapels and getting to know some of the players, I was less than patient with their critics all around me in the stands. I knew those guys on the field. I knew they had everything on the line when they played and that the only heroes were in the game, not in the stands. Sometimes I just wanted to stand up and say to one of those guys: by the way, I never did because they were all bigger than I am. But I wanted to say, "Hey! Why don't you get out of the stands and get in the game!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Too Many Fans."
I've got to wonder if Jesus isn't trying to say something like that to many of His "fans," which by the way, He has plenty of. There are millions of believers who are willing to go to Jesus' meetings, give to Jesus' causes, and cheer for the ones that are on the field. Oh yes, and sometimes criticize from the stands how the players are playing. But Jesus doesn't need any more fans. He needs players; players who will join Him in winning some victories; some lives for the cause that He gave His life for!
In Numbers 32, where we find our word for today from the Word of God, there is a sobering picture of the spiritual dynamics in Christ's church today. The Jews are preparing to go in and challenge the Canaanites for the Promised Land. The Jewish tribes of Reuben and Gad had been told that the land God was giving them was on the East side of the Jordan - the safe side. All the other tribes would have to go in and fight for their land on the other side of the river. The "East-siders" had this great idea, "Moses, how about we just stay here with our families and set up our little homes and farms?"
Moses' reply in Numbers 32:6 comes echoing down through the centuries as a wakeup call for complacent Christians today. He said, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?" Man, I can almost hear Jesus saying that to us today. "Should persecuted Christians and struggling missionaries take all the risks and fight all the battles to reach the lost while you sit here?" Or, in other words, "Get out of the stands and get in the game!"
Later, Moses said that if they failed to leave their comfort zone and go with their brothers into the combat zone, they should "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). Did you know that's where that verse comes from? And sin that will find you out is the sin of complacency and passivity when there are battles to fight for the Lord!
Today, the battle isn't for land, but it's for lives; people who will spend eternity in either heaven or hell; people all around us and half a world away. Jesus' Great Commission to get out His Gospel can't be delegated to a few spiritual daredevils we call missionaries. The Great Commission is always first person singular! Jesus intends for the cost and the risk of rescuing a dying world to be equally shared by all those who belong to Him! The Son of God sacrificed everything for it, and many have over the years, including this past year, sacrificed their lives for it. And many others have given their whole lives to this greatest cause in the universe.
So who are we to just sit passively in the stands, simply cheering or even jeering? So many of our brothers and sisters have gone to war, how can we sit here and ask them to make all the sacrifices? There's a war to win for Jesus Christ! It is time to get out of your comfort zone and join your Savior in the combat zone!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Romans 5, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 9
He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us.
Micah 7:18-19 (NKJV)
When Joseph was dropped into a pit by his own brothers, God didn't give up.
When Moses said, "Here I am, send Aaron," God didn't give up....
When Peter worshiped Him at the supper and cursed Him at the fire, He didn't give up.
God never gives up.
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
August 9, 2009
Yeah, But . . .
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
They will turn their ears away from the truth. —2 Timothy 4:4
Grading university papers is full of surprises. Sometimes, one of my students will successfully handle a subject and display good writing style, and I feel as if my instruction was worthwhile.
Other surprises aren’t so pleasant. Like the paper in which a student wrote, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not ____.’?” He filled in the blank with the activity he was writing about—even though Scripture does not contain such a verse. I thought his biggest problem was not knowing Scripture, until he concluded, “Although the Bible says this is wrong, I don’t see why, so I think it’s okay.”
It’s dangerous and the worst kind of arrogance to think we know more about an issue than God does. Scripture predicted this kind of thinking. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4: “They will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires . . . they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth” (vv.3-4). This points to people who set aside the inspired Word of God (3:16) in order to accept teaching they think is “okay.”
When the Bible clearly spells out a principle, we honor
God by obeying Him. For believers, there’s no room for “Yeah, but . . .” responses to Scripture. — Dave Branon
God who formed worlds by the power of His Word
Speaks through the Scriptures His truth to be heard;
And if we read with the will to obey,
He by His Spirit will show us His way. —D. De Haan
The Bible: Read it, believe it, obey it!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 9, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19 ) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. ". . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . " ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, "In that day you will ask in My name . . ." ( John 16:26 ). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 9
He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us.
Micah 7:18-19 (NKJV)
When Joseph was dropped into a pit by his own brothers, God didn't give up.
When Moses said, "Here I am, send Aaron," God didn't give up....
When Peter worshiped Him at the supper and cursed Him at the fire, He didn't give up.
God never gives up.
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
August 9, 2009
Yeah, But . . .
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
They will turn their ears away from the truth. —2 Timothy 4:4
Grading university papers is full of surprises. Sometimes, one of my students will successfully handle a subject and display good writing style, and I feel as if my instruction was worthwhile.
Other surprises aren’t so pleasant. Like the paper in which a student wrote, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not ____.’?” He filled in the blank with the activity he was writing about—even though Scripture does not contain such a verse. I thought his biggest problem was not knowing Scripture, until he concluded, “Although the Bible says this is wrong, I don’t see why, so I think it’s okay.”
It’s dangerous and the worst kind of arrogance to think we know more about an issue than God does. Scripture predicted this kind of thinking. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4: “They will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires . . . they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth” (vv.3-4). This points to people who set aside the inspired Word of God (3:16) in order to accept teaching they think is “okay.”
When the Bible clearly spells out a principle, we honor
God by obeying Him. For believers, there’s no room for “Yeah, but . . .” responses to Scripture. — Dave Branon
God who formed worlds by the power of His Word
Speaks through the Scriptures His truth to be heard;
And if we read with the will to obey,
He by His Spirit will show us His way. —D. De Haan
The Bible: Read it, believe it, obey it!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 9, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19 ) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. ". . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . " ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, "In that day you will ask in My name . . ." ( John 16:26 ). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
2 Corinthians 9, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 8
This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge.
Acts 2:23 (NIV)
Jesus planned his own sacrifice.
He intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.
He willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of earth from which the nails
would be cast....
Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem....
He didn't have to do it--but he did.
2 Corinthians 9
1There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. 2For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Sowing Generously
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."[c] 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
James 1:19-27 (New International Version)
Listening and Doing
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
August 8, 2009
Granville Sharp
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: James 1:19-27
Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. —James 1:22
When I was a Bible college student, a name occasionally mentioned in Greek class was that of Granville Sharp. He was a renowned Greek scholar (1735–1813) whose studies resulted in principles of biblical interpretation that continue to guide our understanding of the original language of the New Testament.
To study the Scriptures and learn the powerful truths they contain is a noble exercise but, no matter how deeply we study, it is not enough. James challenged us to understand this when he wrote: “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (James 1:22-24).
Granville Sharp understood this and put his faith into practice. In addition to being a biblical scholar, he also fought to eradicate slavery in England. Sharp said, “A toleration of slavery is, in effect, a toleration of inhumanity.” His biblical understanding of the worth of a human soul and the justice of a holy God compelled him to act on his beliefs.
We can benefit from Sharp’s passion for the Word—and for living out the truth that Word contains. — Bill Crowder
It is God’s will that we should read
His Word from day to day,
Not just for knowledge, but much more—
To love Him and obey. —Hess
We don’t really know the Bible unless we obey the Bible.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 8, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s Honor
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God —Luke 1:35
If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child— the right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, "Why did you want me to turn here or to go over there? ’Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ " ( Luke 2:49 ). Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.
Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19 ), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father.
Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, suffering so that His own purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to ". . . fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . ." ( Colossians 1:24 ). And when we think of what it takes to "fill up," there is always something yet to be done.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 8
This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge.
Acts 2:23 (NIV)
Jesus planned his own sacrifice.
He intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.
He willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of earth from which the nails
would be cast....
Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem....
He didn't have to do it--but he did.
2 Corinthians 9
1There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. 2For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Sowing Generously
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."[c] 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
James 1:19-27 (New International Version)
Listening and Doing
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
August 8, 2009
Granville Sharp
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: James 1:19-27
Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. —James 1:22
When I was a Bible college student, a name occasionally mentioned in Greek class was that of Granville Sharp. He was a renowned Greek scholar (1735–1813) whose studies resulted in principles of biblical interpretation that continue to guide our understanding of the original language of the New Testament.
To study the Scriptures and learn the powerful truths they contain is a noble exercise but, no matter how deeply we study, it is not enough. James challenged us to understand this when he wrote: “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (James 1:22-24).
Granville Sharp understood this and put his faith into practice. In addition to being a biblical scholar, he also fought to eradicate slavery in England. Sharp said, “A toleration of slavery is, in effect, a toleration of inhumanity.” His biblical understanding of the worth of a human soul and the justice of a holy God compelled him to act on his beliefs.
We can benefit from Sharp’s passion for the Word—and for living out the truth that Word contains. — Bill Crowder
It is God’s will that we should read
His Word from day to day,
Not just for knowledge, but much more—
To love Him and obey. —Hess
We don’t really know the Bible unless we obey the Bible.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 8, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s Honor
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God —Luke 1:35
If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me? What was true of the Virgin Mary in the history of the Son of God’s birth on earth is true of every saint. God’s Son is born into me through the direct act of God; then I as His child must exercise the right of a child— the right of always being face to face with my Father through prayer. Do I find myself continually saying in amazement to the commonsense part of my life, "Why did you want me to turn here or to go over there? ’Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ " ( Luke 2:49 ). Whatever our circumstances may be, that holy, innocent, and eternal Child must be in contact with His Father.
Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way? Is He having His wonderful way with me? Is God’s will being fulfilled in that His Son has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19 ), or have I carefully pushed Him to one side? Oh, the noisy outcry of today! Why does everyone seem to be crying out so loudly? People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father.
Is the Son of God praying in me, bringing honor to the Father, or am I dictating my demands to Him? Is He ministering in me as He did in the time of His manhood here on earth? Is God’s Son in me going through His passion, suffering so that His own purposes might be fulfilled? The more a person knows of the inner life of God’s most mature saints, the more he sees what God’s purpose really is: to ". . . fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . ." ( Colossians 1:24 ). And when we think of what it takes to "fill up," there is always something yet to be done.
Friday, August 7, 2009
2 Corinthians 8, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 7
A Heavenly Affirmation
I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:18 (NCV)
Each of us has a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our dearest friends will be our next of kin. Jesus didn't have that expectation. Look how he defined his family: "My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants" (Mark 3:35).
When Jesus' brother didn't share his convictions, he didn't try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family didn't....
We can't control the way our family responds to us. When it comes to the behavior of others toward us, our hands are tied. We have to move beyond the naive expectation that if we do good, people will treat us right. The fact is they may not--we cannot control how people respond to us....
Let God give you what your family doesn't. If your earthly father doesn't affirm you, then let your heavenly Father take his place....
2 Corinthians 8
Generosity Encouraged
1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."[b]
Titus Sent to Corinth
16I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
22In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Mark 8:34-38 (New International Version)
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
August 7, 2009
Subtle Wisdom
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Mark 8:34-38
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. —John 12:26
When I was in college, my co-worker Bud, a fork-truck driver, often enriched my life with his pithy wisdom. We were eating lunch one day, sitting on the back of his fork truck, when I announced that I was transferring to another school.
“Why?” he asked.
“All my friends are transferring,” I answered.
Bud chewed his sandwich for a moment and then replied quietly and with subtle irony, “I guess that’s one way to pick a school.”
His words struck me with rare force. Of course, I thought. But is this the only way to choose a school? Will I follow my friends for the rest of my days, or will I follow Jesus? Will I seek His face and His will and go where He wants me to go?
Twenty-five times in the New Testament, Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow Me.” In Mark 8:34, He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” No matter what others do or what direction their lives may take, we must do what He asks us to do.
The words of an old song come to mind: “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow!” — David H. Roper
As I walk along life’s pathway,
Though the way I cannot see,
I shall follow in Christ’s footsteps,
For He has a plan for me. —Thiesen
To find your way through life, follow Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 7, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s House
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49
Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?
The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. ". . . I must be about My Father’s business"— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.
Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.
The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The God Who Knows Your Name - #5890
Friday, August 7, 2009
I was getting pretty bored with our family fishing vacation in Minnesota. So my dad decided to take little nine-year-old Ronnie to see Paul Bunyan, the legendary giant lumberjack. Actually, it's this huge Paul Bunyan, sitting on a chair with his big ax and Babe the Blue Ox nearby, and this little log cabin at his feet. My dad went over to the ticket booth and came back with my ticket, which I eagerly gave to the ticket taker so I could go in and see big old Paul. As I walked in, I almost became the youngest heart attack victim in Minnesota history. Paul Bunyan's big old voice boomed out across the grounds and said, "Hello, Ronnie." I was blown away! How could I know that this was all a conspiracy? The ticket booth guy gets the kid's name, relays it to the little man with a microphone in Paul's log cabin, who then uses that information to welcome some unsuspecting little guy like me. All I knew was that big guy knew my name!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The God Who Knows Your Name."
I guess that's one of the greatest surprises in our life, isn't it? When it dawns on you that the biggest person there is in the entire universe actually knows your name and loves you, not as one of six billion inhabitants of Planet Earth, but as if you were the only one on this planet!
The day this God surprised a Jewish tax collector called Zacchaeus is the subject of our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 19, beginning with verse 1. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man (I love this guy!) he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him...When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly."
OK, surprise #1: Jesus knows me. Not only can He call you by name, but He knows exactly where you are, no matter how concealed you might think you are. He knows every dream, every fear, every sin, every battle, and every wound. And knowing all He knows, He wants to be with you forever!
Surprise #2: Jesus wants to go with you into your world. Notice, Jesus said, "Zacchaeus I want to go into your world." Because of his greed and cheating, people despised this man. But Jesus scandalizes the town by picking Zacchaeus' place as the place He would go. Jesus stands ready today, upon your invitation, to go with you into your personal world, no matter how broken or how shameful, and He will meet you there, not after you've cleaned yourself up.
Surprise #3: Jesus makes you what you never dreamed you could be. Zacchaeus ends up a new person, giving half of what he has to the poor and repaying four times whatever he has stolen from people. He's a really big man for the first time in his life. When you welcome Jesus into your life, just as you are, He will make you into a man or woman you never thought possible. He died on the cross to forgive every sin of your life and to offer you the power to become a brand new person inside. But just like Zacchaeus, it starts only when you "welcome Him gladly."
Maybe you've never really thrown open your life to Jesus even though you may have been around Him for a long, long time. He's waiting to move into your life upon your invitation. In a way, He may be (deep in your heart) calling your name, even as you're listening right now. Would you grab Him while He's in town? Tell Him, "Jesus, from this day forward, I'm pinning all my hopes on You. I am Yours." If you want to be sure you belong to Him; if you'd like to know some of the things the Bible says about beginning a relationship with Him, let me direct you to our website. It's YoursForLife.net. Check it out today. Or call toll free if you'd like the booklet Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200.
He's calling your name. Don't miss Him.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 7
A Heavenly Affirmation
I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:18 (NCV)
Each of us has a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our dearest friends will be our next of kin. Jesus didn't have that expectation. Look how he defined his family: "My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants" (Mark 3:35).
When Jesus' brother didn't share his convictions, he didn't try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family didn't....
We can't control the way our family responds to us. When it comes to the behavior of others toward us, our hands are tied. We have to move beyond the naive expectation that if we do good, people will treat us right. The fact is they may not--we cannot control how people respond to us....
Let God give you what your family doesn't. If your earthly father doesn't affirm you, then let your heavenly Father take his place....
2 Corinthians 8
Generosity Encouraged
1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."[b]
Titus Sent to Corinth
16I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
22In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Mark 8:34-38 (New International Version)
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
August 7, 2009
Subtle Wisdom
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Mark 8:34-38
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. —John 12:26
When I was in college, my co-worker Bud, a fork-truck driver, often enriched my life with his pithy wisdom. We were eating lunch one day, sitting on the back of his fork truck, when I announced that I was transferring to another school.
“Why?” he asked.
“All my friends are transferring,” I answered.
Bud chewed his sandwich for a moment and then replied quietly and with subtle irony, “I guess that’s one way to pick a school.”
His words struck me with rare force. Of course, I thought. But is this the only way to choose a school? Will I follow my friends for the rest of my days, or will I follow Jesus? Will I seek His face and His will and go where He wants me to go?
Twenty-five times in the New Testament, Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow Me.” In Mark 8:34, He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” No matter what others do or what direction their lives may take, we must do what He asks us to do.
The words of an old song come to mind: “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow!” — David H. Roper
As I walk along life’s pathway,
Though the way I cannot see,
I shall follow in Christ’s footsteps,
For He has a plan for me. —Thiesen
To find your way through life, follow Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 7, 2009
Prayer in the Father’s House
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49
Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?
The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. ". . . I must be about My Father’s business"— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.
Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.
The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The God Who Knows Your Name - #5890
Friday, August 7, 2009
I was getting pretty bored with our family fishing vacation in Minnesota. So my dad decided to take little nine-year-old Ronnie to see Paul Bunyan, the legendary giant lumberjack. Actually, it's this huge Paul Bunyan, sitting on a chair with his big ax and Babe the Blue Ox nearby, and this little log cabin at his feet. My dad went over to the ticket booth and came back with my ticket, which I eagerly gave to the ticket taker so I could go in and see big old Paul. As I walked in, I almost became the youngest heart attack victim in Minnesota history. Paul Bunyan's big old voice boomed out across the grounds and said, "Hello, Ronnie." I was blown away! How could I know that this was all a conspiracy? The ticket booth guy gets the kid's name, relays it to the little man with a microphone in Paul's log cabin, who then uses that information to welcome some unsuspecting little guy like me. All I knew was that big guy knew my name!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The God Who Knows Your Name."
I guess that's one of the greatest surprises in our life, isn't it? When it dawns on you that the biggest person there is in the entire universe actually knows your name and loves you, not as one of six billion inhabitants of Planet Earth, but as if you were the only one on this planet!
The day this God surprised a Jewish tax collector called Zacchaeus is the subject of our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 19, beginning with verse 1. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man (I love this guy!) he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him...When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly."
OK, surprise #1: Jesus knows me. Not only can He call you by name, but He knows exactly where you are, no matter how concealed you might think you are. He knows every dream, every fear, every sin, every battle, and every wound. And knowing all He knows, He wants to be with you forever!
Surprise #2: Jesus wants to go with you into your world. Notice, Jesus said, "Zacchaeus I want to go into your world." Because of his greed and cheating, people despised this man. But Jesus scandalizes the town by picking Zacchaeus' place as the place He would go. Jesus stands ready today, upon your invitation, to go with you into your personal world, no matter how broken or how shameful, and He will meet you there, not after you've cleaned yourself up.
Surprise #3: Jesus makes you what you never dreamed you could be. Zacchaeus ends up a new person, giving half of what he has to the poor and repaying four times whatever he has stolen from people. He's a really big man for the first time in his life. When you welcome Jesus into your life, just as you are, He will make you into a man or woman you never thought possible. He died on the cross to forgive every sin of your life and to offer you the power to become a brand new person inside. But just like Zacchaeus, it starts only when you "welcome Him gladly."
Maybe you've never really thrown open your life to Jesus even though you may have been around Him for a long, long time. He's waiting to move into your life upon your invitation. In a way, He may be (deep in your heart) calling your name, even as you're listening right now. Would you grab Him while He's in town? Tell Him, "Jesus, from this day forward, I'm pinning all my hopes on You. I am Yours." If you want to be sure you belong to Him; if you'd like to know some of the things the Bible says about beginning a relationship with Him, let me direct you to our website. It's YoursForLife.net. Check it out today. Or call toll free if you'd like the booklet Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200.
He's calling your name. Don't miss Him.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
2 Corinthians 5, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 6
The God You Need
The LORD created the heavens. He is the God who formed the earth and made it.
Isaiah 45:18 (NCV)
You don’t need what Dorothy found. Remember her discovery in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? She and her trio followed the yellow-brick road only to discover that the wizard was a wimp! Nothing but smoke and mirrors and tin-drum thunder. Is that the kind of god you need?
You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god…a god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the universe. You need a God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain.
And you need a God who, while so mind-numbingly mighty, can come in the soft of the night and touch you with the tenderness of an April snow.
2 Corinthians 5
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[c] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
August 6, 2009
Breath Mint, Anyone?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Galatians 6:1-5
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. —Galatians 6:2
A new Web site helps you tell a co-worker what you’re afraid to say in person. Comments like: “A breath mint would be beneficial today” or “Your cell phone ringer is very loud today” or “Your perfume/cologne is very strong on a regular basis.” You confront issues anonymously by having the Web site send an e-mail message for you.
It’s understandable that we’re cautious in talking to others about something that bothers us. But when it comes to confronting fellow believers about their sin, that’s serious. We might wish we could do it anonymously, yet we have to do it face to face.
Galatians 6:1-5 offers some guidelines for confronting a fellow Christian who is living a sinful lifestyle. The first requirement is that we’re close to the Lord ourselves, and that we don’t exalt ourselves as superior to the one who is sinning. Then we are to look at the situation as restoring the person, not bringing condemnation. We’re to have “a spirit of gentleness,” all the while keeping in mind that we too may be tempted. Jesus also gave instructions that can help us with issues of sin against us personally (Matt. 7:1-5; 18:15-20).
With God’s enablement we can courageously and sensitively confront and restore others. — Anne Cetas
Lord, give us courage to confront
Believers who have strayed,
And then with gentleness restore
By coming to their aid. —Sper
To help people get back on the right path, walk with them and show them the way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 6, 2009
The Cross in Prayer
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26
We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.
"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" ( Matthew 6:8 ). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.
". . . I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . ." ( John 16:26-27 ). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then "in that day" you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Maestro at His Best - #5889
Thursday, August 6, 2009
When the famous violinist Paganini played a concert in one of the great halls of Europe, it was equivalent to the draw of a modern rock concert. The story is told of one such night in Paris. As Paganini appeared on the stage, the excited buzz of the audience turned to expectant applause. But as the maestro began to play, a string broke on his exquisite violin. Any concern passed very quickly as the artist picked up the tune on his remaining three strings. Unbelievably, another string snapped, followed moments later by a third string. Now the buzz in the audience was more anxious, even disgruntled; it wasn't expectant anymore. But the old maestro just raised his hand - called for silence. As the audience became quiet again, he made a simple announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen Paganini and one string." What followed was easily the most amazing musical performance that crowd had ever seen, or ever would see, as the master played a rich and flawless melody, on one string.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Maestro at His Best."
When did the master most powerfully demonstrate his skill? When he had the least to work with - one string. When does the Lord Jesus, our Master, most powerfully demonstrate how much He can do? When He has the least to work with. When our strings are broken and we have almost nothing left, that is when He plays His masterpieces.
That's what the great Apostle Paul learned when virtually all the strings of his life had broken. His testimony is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, our word for today from the Word of God. Paul had been given some spiritual revelations that no man had ever experienced before. He says, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh...Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'"
Because Paul experiences God's power the most when he has nothing left, he says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...For when I am weak, then I am strong." Why? Because the less there is of you, the more there is of God and the more of His power you experience. Which actually can make you, much like Paul, really embrace your hard times, your hurting times with a sense of expectancy instead of dread or discouragement. It's not that you like the pain, but you realize what that pain can produce. And all through it, you have God's unbreakable promise, "My grace is sufficient for you."
Our weakness means an opportunity for a display of His strength, His glory: a chance to experience God's ability to heal, to intervene, to carry you. Malcolm Muggeridge, the brilliant British journalist who gloriously came to Christ late in life, put it this way, "Everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness."
So maybe most of your strings have broken and you're down to one string. That's the moment when the Maestro is at His very best. He lovingly holds you in His arms and He says, "Almighty God and one string." He's about to play something beautiful, something unforgettable, something amazing through your life.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 6
The God You Need
The LORD created the heavens. He is the God who formed the earth and made it.
Isaiah 45:18 (NCV)
You don’t need what Dorothy found. Remember her discovery in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? She and her trio followed the yellow-brick road only to discover that the wizard was a wimp! Nothing but smoke and mirrors and tin-drum thunder. Is that the kind of god you need?
You don’t need to carry the burden of a lesser god…a god on a shelf, a god in a box, or a god in a bottle. No, you need a God who can place 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the universe. You need a God who can shape two fists of flesh into 75 to 100 billion nerve cells, each with as many as 10,000 connections to other nerve cells, place it in a skull, and call it a brain.
And you need a God who, while so mind-numbingly mighty, can come in the soft of the night and touch you with the tenderness of an April snow.
2 Corinthians 5
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[c] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
August 6, 2009
Breath Mint, Anyone?
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Galatians 6:1-5
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. —Galatians 6:2
A new Web site helps you tell a co-worker what you’re afraid to say in person. Comments like: “A breath mint would be beneficial today” or “Your cell phone ringer is very loud today” or “Your perfume/cologne is very strong on a regular basis.” You confront issues anonymously by having the Web site send an e-mail message for you.
It’s understandable that we’re cautious in talking to others about something that bothers us. But when it comes to confronting fellow believers about their sin, that’s serious. We might wish we could do it anonymously, yet we have to do it face to face.
Galatians 6:1-5 offers some guidelines for confronting a fellow Christian who is living a sinful lifestyle. The first requirement is that we’re close to the Lord ourselves, and that we don’t exalt ourselves as superior to the one who is sinning. Then we are to look at the situation as restoring the person, not bringing condemnation. We’re to have “a spirit of gentleness,” all the while keeping in mind that we too may be tempted. Jesus also gave instructions that can help us with issues of sin against us personally (Matt. 7:1-5; 18:15-20).
With God’s enablement we can courageously and sensitively confront and restore others. — Anne Cetas
Lord, give us courage to confront
Believers who have strayed,
And then with gentleness restore
By coming to their aid. —Sper
To help people get back on the right path, walk with them and show them the way.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 6, 2009
The Cross in Prayer
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26
We too often think of the Cross of Christ as something we have to get through, yet we get through for the purpose of getting into it. The Cross represents only one thing for us— complete, entire, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer.
"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" ( Matthew 6:8 ). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God’s grace.
". . . I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . ." ( John 16:26-27 ). Have you reached such a level of intimacy with God that the only thing that can account for your prayer life is that it has become one with the prayer life of Jesus Christ? Has our Lord exchanged your life with His vital life? If so, then "in that day" you will be so closely identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to place the blame on someone else. That is always a trap of Satan. When you seem to have no answer, there is always a reason— God uses these times to give you deep personal instruction, and it is not for anyone else but you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Maestro at His Best - #5889
Thursday, August 6, 2009
When the famous violinist Paganini played a concert in one of the great halls of Europe, it was equivalent to the draw of a modern rock concert. The story is told of one such night in Paris. As Paganini appeared on the stage, the excited buzz of the audience turned to expectant applause. But as the maestro began to play, a string broke on his exquisite violin. Any concern passed very quickly as the artist picked up the tune on his remaining three strings. Unbelievably, another string snapped, followed moments later by a third string. Now the buzz in the audience was more anxious, even disgruntled; it wasn't expectant anymore. But the old maestro just raised his hand - called for silence. As the audience became quiet again, he made a simple announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen Paganini and one string." What followed was easily the most amazing musical performance that crowd had ever seen, or ever would see, as the master played a rich and flawless melody, on one string.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Maestro at His Best."
When did the master most powerfully demonstrate his skill? When he had the least to work with - one string. When does the Lord Jesus, our Master, most powerfully demonstrate how much He can do? When He has the least to work with. When our strings are broken and we have almost nothing left, that is when He plays His masterpieces.
That's what the great Apostle Paul learned when virtually all the strings of his life had broken. His testimony is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, our word for today from the Word of God. Paul had been given some spiritual revelations that no man had ever experienced before. He says, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh...Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'"
Because Paul experiences God's power the most when he has nothing left, he says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...For when I am weak, then I am strong." Why? Because the less there is of you, the more there is of God and the more of His power you experience. Which actually can make you, much like Paul, really embrace your hard times, your hurting times with a sense of expectancy instead of dread or discouragement. It's not that you like the pain, but you realize what that pain can produce. And all through it, you have God's unbreakable promise, "My grace is sufficient for you."
Our weakness means an opportunity for a display of His strength, His glory: a chance to experience God's ability to heal, to intervene, to carry you. Malcolm Muggeridge, the brilliant British journalist who gloriously came to Christ late in life, put it this way, "Everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness."
So maybe most of your strings have broken and you're down to one string. That's the moment when the Maestro is at His very best. He lovingly holds you in His arms and He says, "Almighty God and one string." He's about to play something beautiful, something unforgettable, something amazing through your life.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
2 Corinthians 4, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 5
From Heaven Itself
God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all your sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow.
Colossians 2:13-14
All the world religions can be placed in one of two camps: legalism or grace. Humankind does it or God does it. Salvation as a wage based on deeds done--or salvation as a gift based on Christ's death.
A legalist believes the supreme force behind salvation is you. If you look right, speak right, and belong to the right segment of the right group, you will be saved. The brunt of responsibility doesn't lie within God; it lies within you.
The result? The outside sparkles. The talk is good and the step is true. But look closely. Listen carefully. Something is missing. What is it? Joy. What's there? Fear. (That you won't do enough.) Arrogance. (That you have done enough.) Failure. (That you have made a mistake.)...
Spiritual life is not a human endeavor. It is rooted in and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Every spiritual achievement is created and energized by God.
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 13:10-15 (New International Version)
10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'[a]
August 5, 2009
Matters Of The Heart
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 13:10-15
The hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. —Matthew 13:15
At the beginning of a spiritual retreat, our speaker Matt Heard asked, “How’s your heart?” It stunned me, because I tend to focus on believing with my mind and working with my hands. In the activity of thinking and serving, my heart is pushed to the side. As we were led through the Bible’s repeated emphasis on this crucial center of our lives, I began to grasp his premise that belief and service are, more than anything else, matters of the heart.
When Jesus told a story to illustrate how people receive and respond to His teaching (Matt. 13:1-9), His disciples asked, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” (v.10). In reply, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (v.15; Isa. 6:10).
How dangerously easy it is to neglect our hearts. If we become callous, we find no joy in living or serving; and life seems hollow. But when our hearts are tender toward God, understanding and gratefulness flow through us to others.
So, how’s your heart? — David C. McCasland
Our service for the Lord becomes
A duty that is hollow
If we neglect our heart for God
And Him we do not follow. —Sper
We can become so busy doing good that we lose our heart for God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 5, 2009
The Bewildering Call of God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
’. . . and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, "I wonder why God allowed this or that?" And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Harvest of Doing Good - #5888
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Our friend Mark grew up on the farm; actually on an Ozark Mountain farm. And that means rocks in your fields! One local grandfather used to say, "Every time it rains I grow rocks in my field." Mark knows all about that. Over a period of time, his mother made him clear hundreds of rocks out of one of their fields when he was just a little boy. Recently, Mark bought some land from his mother. And as he has started to work one of those fields, he was really pleasantly surprised by how amazingly rock-free it is. Then it dawned on him, this was the field he had made rock-free when he was a boy!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Harvest of Doing Good."
Mark is reaping the good work he did many years ago. He's enjoying the benefits of those efforts. It's a reminder of one of the wisest laws in the Bible, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). We usually think about that in terms of the bad consequences of the bad seed we sow, but there's another side to that reaping equation.
In Galatians 6:8-9, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, "The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life." You don't just reap the bad you sow; you reap the good you sow. Paul goes on to make a very practical application, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Why do we sometimes give up on some of the good we're trying to do? Well, because of the nature of harvesting. If a farmer plants corn on a Tuesday, he doesn't go out and pick it on a Wednesday, or for many, many Wednesdays after that. There's a time lag between sowing and reaping, and it can look like nothing's going to come from it. So we quit sowing in the lives of our children, our church, our coworkers or our friends.
But we end up living today in the life that we built yesterday - the relationships we built - good or bad, the reputation we built, the ways we've treated people. You did some sowing today and you'll ultimately get back the kinds of things you sowed. So spend the time that person needs from you. Consciously do random acts of kindness each day. Give a gift when there's no occasion for your appreciation but just the person himself. Send those thank you notes. Give that compliment; that word of encouragement. Use the money that God's entrusted to you to lift people's burdens and people's spirits. Don't be afraid to be generous. After all, Jesus said, "You lose your life by trying to hang onto it, but you find your life by giving it away" (Luke 9:24).
Scripture is actually full of encouragement to keep sowing good seed. "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again" (Ecclesiastes 11:1). "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more" (Mark 4:24). "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25). Don't be afraid of what you'll lose by giving. God has promised that you will gain so much more. You don't become richer by keeping what you've got. You become richer by giving it away.
So, keep scattering good seed wherever you go, because then there's an awesome harvest coming.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 5
From Heaven Itself
God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all your sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow.
Colossians 2:13-14
All the world religions can be placed in one of two camps: legalism or grace. Humankind does it or God does it. Salvation as a wage based on deeds done--or salvation as a gift based on Christ's death.
A legalist believes the supreme force behind salvation is you. If you look right, speak right, and belong to the right segment of the right group, you will be saved. The brunt of responsibility doesn't lie within God; it lies within you.
The result? The outside sparkles. The talk is good and the step is true. But look closely. Listen carefully. Something is missing. What is it? Joy. What's there? Fear. (That you won't do enough.) Arrogance. (That you have done enough.) Failure. (That you have made a mistake.)...
Spiritual life is not a human endeavor. It is rooted in and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Every spiritual achievement is created and energized by God.
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Matthew 13:10-15 (New International Version)
10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'[a]
August 5, 2009
Matters Of The Heart
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Matthew 13:10-15
The hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. —Matthew 13:15
At the beginning of a spiritual retreat, our speaker Matt Heard asked, “How’s your heart?” It stunned me, because I tend to focus on believing with my mind and working with my hands. In the activity of thinking and serving, my heart is pushed to the side. As we were led through the Bible’s repeated emphasis on this crucial center of our lives, I began to grasp his premise that belief and service are, more than anything else, matters of the heart.
When Jesus told a story to illustrate how people receive and respond to His teaching (Matt. 13:1-9), His disciples asked, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” (v.10). In reply, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (v.15; Isa. 6:10).
How dangerously easy it is to neglect our hearts. If we become callous, we find no joy in living or serving; and life seems hollow. But when our hearts are tender toward God, understanding and gratefulness flow through us to others.
So, how’s your heart? — David C. McCasland
Our service for the Lord becomes
A duty that is hollow
If we neglect our heart for God
And Him we do not follow. —Sper
We can become so busy doing good that we lose our heart for God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 5, 2009
The Bewildering Call of God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
’. . . and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, "I wonder why God allowed this or that?" And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Harvest of Doing Good - #5888
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Our friend Mark grew up on the farm; actually on an Ozark Mountain farm. And that means rocks in your fields! One local grandfather used to say, "Every time it rains I grow rocks in my field." Mark knows all about that. Over a period of time, his mother made him clear hundreds of rocks out of one of their fields when he was just a little boy. Recently, Mark bought some land from his mother. And as he has started to work one of those fields, he was really pleasantly surprised by how amazingly rock-free it is. Then it dawned on him, this was the field he had made rock-free when he was a boy!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Harvest of Doing Good."
Mark is reaping the good work he did many years ago. He's enjoying the benefits of those efforts. It's a reminder of one of the wisest laws in the Bible, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). We usually think about that in terms of the bad consequences of the bad seed we sow, but there's another side to that reaping equation.
In Galatians 6:8-9, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, "The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life." You don't just reap the bad you sow; you reap the good you sow. Paul goes on to make a very practical application, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Why do we sometimes give up on some of the good we're trying to do? Well, because of the nature of harvesting. If a farmer plants corn on a Tuesday, he doesn't go out and pick it on a Wednesday, or for many, many Wednesdays after that. There's a time lag between sowing and reaping, and it can look like nothing's going to come from it. So we quit sowing in the lives of our children, our church, our coworkers or our friends.
But we end up living today in the life that we built yesterday - the relationships we built - good or bad, the reputation we built, the ways we've treated people. You did some sowing today and you'll ultimately get back the kinds of things you sowed. So spend the time that person needs from you. Consciously do random acts of kindness each day. Give a gift when there's no occasion for your appreciation but just the person himself. Send those thank you notes. Give that compliment; that word of encouragement. Use the money that God's entrusted to you to lift people's burdens and people's spirits. Don't be afraid to be generous. After all, Jesus said, "You lose your life by trying to hang onto it, but you find your life by giving it away" (Luke 9:24).
Scripture is actually full of encouragement to keep sowing good seed. "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again" (Ecclesiastes 11:1). "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more" (Mark 4:24). "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25). Don't be afraid of what you'll lose by giving. God has promised that you will gain so much more. You don't become richer by keeping what you've got. You become richer by giving it away.
So, keep scattering good seed wherever you go, because then there's an awesome harvest coming.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
1 Corinthians 13, bible reading and devotions
Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 4
A Tiny Seed, a Tiny Deed
Do not despise…small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.
Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)
Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us…
Moses had a staff.
David had a sling.
Samson had a jawbone.
Rahab had a string.
Mary had some ointment.
Dorcas had a needle.
All were used by God.
What do you have?
God inhabits the tiny seed, empowers the tiny deed….Don’t discount the smallness of your deeds.
1 Corinthians 13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Chronicles 7
The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD's musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, "His love endures forever." Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, [a] because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo [b] Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
August 4, 2009
Our Moral Compass
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Chronicles 7:1-14
If My people . . . turn from their wicked ways, then I will . . . forgive their sin and heal their land. —2 Chronicles 7:14
When Abraham Lincoln was introduced to author Harriet Beecher Stowe, he reportedly said that she was “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”
Although President Lincoln’s comment wasn’t entirely serious, Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the US. Its graphic depiction of racism and the injustice of slavery helped lead to the start of civil war. Ultimately, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves “shall be free.” Thus, Stowe’s novel helped to change a nation’s moral compass.
Centuries earlier, King Solomon was told about what would change the moral compass of God’s people Israel. It was to start with humility and confession. The Lord told Solomon: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
As a Christian community, we should first take an inventory of our own personal lives. As we humbly seek God in prayer and repentance of sin, changes begin in our lives. God may then use us to change a nation’s moral compass. — Dennis Fisher
Revive us again,
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above. —Mackay
Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong. —Lincoln
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 4, 2009
The Brave Friendship of God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He took the twelve aside . . . —Luke 18:31
Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value"? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him "to Jerusalem" ( Luke 18:31 ). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Green Lights and God's Will - #5887
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
There's an island on the New Jersey Shore that our family loved to go to when we had a holiday weekend. After you cross the causeway from the mainland, you enter an island that is long and really narrow. In fact, at many points, you can drive down the long street that runs through the center of that island and you see the bay just to one side and the ocean just on the other side. I've driven that long street many, many times. Because it's flat, you can see the traffic lights way ahead of you. Often, I would start off with a green light in front of me and I'd be looking at some red lights up ahead; maybe a long line of red lights. But as I approached them, those reds would turn green, and I kept going. You'll be happy to know that when I came to a red light, I stopped - like the good boy I am. You knew that!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Green Lights and God's Will."
For some folks, when you just say those words "God's will," the fog starts rolling in, they hear mystical music, and their blood pressure goes up. This business of knowing what God's will is seems so hard for so many of us. But, of course, God didn't create a plan for your life to torture you with it. He wants you to know what He wants you to do, but in the way that will keep you closest to Him.
Now about those traffic lights on that long, straight street. They might actually help us visualize how a child of God knows and does the will of God. Let's get some guidance first from our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 37:23-24. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Notice how God directs us; it's our steps! He doesn't show you the whole plan. You'd either run to it or you'd run from it and either way, you'd ruin it. You can only take one step at a time anyway, right? So He shows you the next step. God's macro-will for your life is made up of thousands of micro-wills. It's "take a step, see a step."
When I'm driving that island highway, I don't wait until every light I can see turns green. I go when the one right in front of me turns green, and I keep driving toward the next light. As long as the lights are green when I get to them, I keep going. When I get to one that's red, I stop. What God is asking you to do is start moving in the direction of the green light that He's put right in front of you. You don't know where this is going to take you, but, by faith, you start following the light God has given you. Like those ancient Jews who discovered that the waters part when you step into them, not vice versa.
God will give you a green light often by Scripture that seems to have your name on it, strengthened by other verses that come your way at that time. He'll give you this strong compulsion in one direction during the times that you're praying, and He'll give you a sense of peace about that direction. He'll open and close doors circumstantially to confirm what He's been saying to your heart. So, move when the light is green. Keep moving that direction as long as the lights keep turn green. But don't blow past God's red light. Stop when the green light isn't there.
God's will for my life seems so huge, it's just beyond my grasp. But that's OK. It's God's will for my next step that's the real issue anyway. Let your Lord order your steps; He'll make those obedient steps into His grand and glorious will for your life. Don't wait for all the lights to turn green - for all the questions to be answered. They won't turn green until you start moving past the green light that's right in front of you.
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
August 4
A Tiny Seed, a Tiny Deed
Do not despise…small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.
Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)
Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us…
Moses had a staff.
David had a sling.
Samson had a jawbone.
Rahab had a string.
Mary had some ointment.
Dorcas had a needle.
All were used by God.
What do you have?
God inhabits the tiny seed, empowers the tiny deed….Don’t discount the smallness of your deeds.
1 Corinthians 13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Chronicles 7
The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD's musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, "His love endures forever." Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, [a] because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo [b] Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
August 4, 2009
Our Moral Compass
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 2 Chronicles 7:1-14
If My people . . . turn from their wicked ways, then I will . . . forgive their sin and heal their land. —2 Chronicles 7:14
When Abraham Lincoln was introduced to author Harriet Beecher Stowe, he reportedly said that she was “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”
Although President Lincoln’s comment wasn’t entirely serious, Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the US. Its graphic depiction of racism and the injustice of slavery helped lead to the start of civil war. Ultimately, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves “shall be free.” Thus, Stowe’s novel helped to change a nation’s moral compass.
Centuries earlier, King Solomon was told about what would change the moral compass of God’s people Israel. It was to start with humility and confession. The Lord told Solomon: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
As a Christian community, we should first take an inventory of our own personal lives. As we humbly seek God in prayer and repentance of sin, changes begin in our lives. God may then use us to change a nation’s moral compass. — Dennis Fisher
Revive us again,
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above. —Mackay
Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong. —Lincoln
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 4, 2009
The Brave Friendship of God
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
He took the twelve aside . . . —Luke 18:31
Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value"? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him "to Jerusalem" ( Luke 18:31 ). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Green Lights and God's Will - #5887
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
There's an island on the New Jersey Shore that our family loved to go to when we had a holiday weekend. After you cross the causeway from the mainland, you enter an island that is long and really narrow. In fact, at many points, you can drive down the long street that runs through the center of that island and you see the bay just to one side and the ocean just on the other side. I've driven that long street many, many times. Because it's flat, you can see the traffic lights way ahead of you. Often, I would start off with a green light in front of me and I'd be looking at some red lights up ahead; maybe a long line of red lights. But as I approached them, those reds would turn green, and I kept going. You'll be happy to know that when I came to a red light, I stopped - like the good boy I am. You knew that!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Green Lights and God's Will."
For some folks, when you just say those words "God's will," the fog starts rolling in, they hear mystical music, and their blood pressure goes up. This business of knowing what God's will is seems so hard for so many of us. But, of course, God didn't create a plan for your life to torture you with it. He wants you to know what He wants you to do, but in the way that will keep you closest to Him.
Now about those traffic lights on that long, straight street. They might actually help us visualize how a child of God knows and does the will of God. Let's get some guidance first from our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 37:23-24. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Notice how God directs us; it's our steps! He doesn't show you the whole plan. You'd either run to it or you'd run from it and either way, you'd ruin it. You can only take one step at a time anyway, right? So He shows you the next step. God's macro-will for your life is made up of thousands of micro-wills. It's "take a step, see a step."
When I'm driving that island highway, I don't wait until every light I can see turns green. I go when the one right in front of me turns green, and I keep driving toward the next light. As long as the lights are green when I get to them, I keep going. When I get to one that's red, I stop. What God is asking you to do is start moving in the direction of the green light that He's put right in front of you. You don't know where this is going to take you, but, by faith, you start following the light God has given you. Like those ancient Jews who discovered that the waters part when you step into them, not vice versa.
God will give you a green light often by Scripture that seems to have your name on it, strengthened by other verses that come your way at that time. He'll give you this strong compulsion in one direction during the times that you're praying, and He'll give you a sense of peace about that direction. He'll open and close doors circumstantially to confirm what He's been saying to your heart. So, move when the light is green. Keep moving that direction as long as the lights keep turn green. But don't blow past God's red light. Stop when the green light isn't there.
God's will for my life seems so huge, it's just beyond my grasp. But that's OK. It's God's will for my next step that's the real issue anyway. Let your Lord order your steps; He'll make those obedient steps into His grand and glorious will for your life. Don't wait for all the lights to turn green - for all the questions to be answered. They won't turn green until you start moving past the green light that's right in front of you.
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